Royal Air force Coastal Command by John Campbell

Author:John Campbell [Campbell, John]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2013-07-07T21:00:00+00:00

1944

This was to be the year of the invasion of Europe, Operations Overlord and Neptune. In June Admiral Dönitz needed to bring his U-Boats into the English Channel to challenge the invasion force. These were inshore waters, where a maritime patrol could keep its radar on all the time and not necessarily give itself away as there would be many other radars transmitting. This would be a nightmare for the U-Boats. Such an area tends to favour the aircraft, and the nearer to the Straits of Dover the invasion beaches were, the greater the advantage.

Coastal Command saturated the area with aircraft. Three Liberators and a Wellington were lost on the night of 6/7 June, probably shot down by U-Boat flak. The details are impossible to confirm as the only message came from one of the aircraft and several of the U-Boats failed to return. U-981, commanded by Oberleutnant zur See Walter Sitek, believed that it had shot down a Halifax.This was a No 502 Squadron aircraft captained by Flt. Lt. W. G. Powell, and it was undamaged. Fifteen boats which had sailed from Brest on 6 June were ordered to make a highspeed run on the surface. This is not the sort of tactic that would make a submariner happy.The non-schnorkel boats sailed as an escorted group. It was a little after midnight that attacks started on these boats. U-621 reported at 0135Z that an aircraft passed just behind her and she opened fire.This was ignored and the aircraft flew towards the group. According to her records there was flak everywhere. The crew saw an aircraft go down but it remains unidentified. A short while later another aircraft was seen to go down; this may have been a Liberator shot down by U-256. This night saw the largest single battle between aircraft and U-Boats of the whole war.There were few survivors on either side.

MARITIME PATROL UK

No 10 Squadron Royal Australian Air Force was at Mountbatten with its Sunderlands. On 8 January 1944. Fg. Off. J. P. Roberts RAAF and crew were flying a Percussion patrol. A U-Boat was sighted, decks awash, from 12 miles in position 4647N 01042W. An attack was commenced and the boat opened fire. The aircraft returned fire and the flak stopped at 600 yards. The depth charges failed to run out in time and the aircraft went round again and dropped a stick of six DCs from 50 feet. Six bodies were seen lying in the conning tower. The boat sank and there were no survivors. It was U-426, a type VIIc commanded by Kapitänleutnant Christian Reich.

An aircraft from this squadron, captain Flt. Lt. H. A. McGregor RAAF, damaged U-333 commanded by Kapitänleutnant Peter Cremer on 11 June 1944. The boat’s 37mm gun and radar were put out of action and there were leaks in the hull. This, combined with a further attack a few hours later by a No 228 Squadron Sunderland, forced him to return to La Pallice. On 8 July 1944, Fg. Off.W. B.

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