Missing A Story of American Merchant Mariners in World War II by Andreasen Norma

Author:Andreasen, Norma [Andreasen, Norma]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Createspace.com
Published: 2014-09-04T21:00:00+00:00

C H A P T E R S I X

U-211

Keil, Germany 1941: The U-boat hub of the German Kriegsmarine. Here the boats are built, launched, and sent on shakedown cruises. In March of 1941 the keel for U-211 is laid in Keil, and the boat is launched on January 15 of 1942. She is a Type VII C boat, the most commonly used boat in the North Atlantic during the height of conflict. At her commissioning ceremony on March 7, 1942 a proud KL Karl Hause takes command.

Horst Bredow of the U-Boat Archives in Cuxhaven, Germany maintains the U-boat files. Courtesy of his archives, information and photographs provide insight into the men who sailed U-211. Kapitänleutnantzur See (KL) Karl Hause is a slightly built man with narrow shoulders, a man of less than average height. In the commissioning photograph, his dark hair falls down across his forehead, slipping slightly below the brim of the jauntily placed officer's cap that perches on the right side of his head. He stands straight and proud in his obviously new blue uniform with its white belt and double row of brass buttons, a Navy sword hanging at his left side near his gloved hand. In the background, U-211 looms.

A second photo shows Hause standing with his officers, Karl-Heinz Schmidt, 1WO; Fritz Gross, Lt. Jg.; and Wolf Hellemeyer, 2WO. All but Hellemeyer wear the white belt; he was the youngest, and the best looking. These are clean-cut men with even features. The wind snaps across the deck of the submarine, whipping their coats astray. Other photos show the crew lined up for inspection, and the U-211 sailing out to sea, Swastika flying in the wind.

After the commissioning ceremony on March 7, U-211 is assigned to the 8th U-boat flotilla in Danzig, until August of 1942. On August 8, U-211 leaves for Arendal, Norway, arriving there on August 8. The boat sails from Arendal on the 18th and arrives in Bergen, Norway on the 24th. It should be noted that by this time Norway was thoroughly invaded by Germany and under the control of its military forces. Hence, the western coast of Norway was used by the Kriegsmarine not only as a destination for shakedown voyages but also as a launching point for U-boats assigned to patrols in the North Atlantic. U-211 was such a boat.

On August 16, KL Hause and the crew sail U-211 out of Bergen and on to operations in the North Atlantic. Her first assigned “wolf pack” is the Vorwärts group gathering west of Ireland. Vorwärts joins Stier group and forms a patrol line south of Iceland. On September 9, Convoy ON 127 is sighted by U-584 and the U-boats begin circling their prey, looking for the easiest pickings, the stragglers. During the next four days, they manage to sink seven ships and one corvette.

KL Hause and U-211, novices to war patrol, did well. On September 12, they shoot two torpedoes and damage Hektoria (12,797 tons), a large British ship, and a smaller ship, the SS Empire Moonbeam (6,849 tons).

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