- German submarine U-464
Unterseeboot 464 (U-464) was a
Type XIV U-boat ("Milchkuh") of theKriegsmarine .Her keel was laid down
March 18 ,1941 , byDeutsche Werke ofKiel . She was commissionedApril 30 ,1942 with "Kapitänleutnant" Otto Harms in command. Harms commanded her for her entire career.U-464 was lost on her first patrol. As a supply boat, she avoided combat. On
August 20 ,1942 , south-east ofIceland , she was attacked by a USPBY Catalina aircraft. Although the aircraft dropped all its bombs without sinking the boat, two crewmen were killed during the attack, and the boat was left unable to dive. While U-464 could still make some eight knots, it was only a matter of time before another aircraft or ship would find and destroy her. Harms spotted a ship nearby and decided to scuttle U-464.The 60 ton Icelandic merchant vessel "Skaftfellingur" sighted for the distressed U-boat and began rescue operations. The seven-man Icelandic crew placed the 52 German survivors in the bow of their ship and guarded them with a machine gun on the bridge. Later that same day the ship rendezvoused with a pair of British destroyers and turned the German prisoners over to them.
This story was unacceptable to the
Kriegsmarine , which published a slightly edited version: the U-boat crew boarded the trawler by force, captured its crew, and was heading for Germany when they were intercepted by the destroyers and taken prisoner.In July
1999 a squadron ofDeutsche Marine submarines visitedReykjavík to honor the Icelandic seamen who rescued the U-boat crew."See also:"
List of U-boats
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.