Secret Naval Investigator by Ashe Lincoln QC RNVR Commander F.;

Author:Ashe Lincoln QC, RNVR, Commander F.;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Frontline Books
Published: 2017-09-20T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 8

The U-570

As a naval investigator one always had to be prepared at a moment’s notice to turn one’s hand to the most diverse practical problems. Training fitted one to tackle most of these quite satisfactorily, but there were times when a specialist skill was required that had not been included in training. Once, for example, I was almost obliged to become an oxy-acetylene welder, a highly specialised trade for which none of my past training had remotely equipped me. Under the circumstances, it was fortunate that I received a last-minute reprieve, or this account might not now be written.

The reason I came to contemplate the use of a rather fearsome acetylene torch arose, indirectly, from the capture of the German submarine U-570, complete with crew. The capture, one of the most strikingly dramatic successes of the war, was a triumph for the Royal Air Force. The story of that exploit, on August 27, 1941, has been fully told, so it is necessary only briefly to recall the facts.

While on patrol eighty miles south of Iceland, a Lockheed Hudson aircraft of Coastal Command spotted the U-boat on the surface. The submarine dived before her commander realised his presence had been observed. The aircraft marked the spot where the submarine had submerged, and when she surfaced a couple of hours later there was another Hudson waiting to deal with her. The time was then about 10.30 a.m. The submarine attempted to reach safety by diving, but the Hudson dropped depth charges which caused sufficient damage to make the Germans think better of chancing escape below the surface. When they made to man their anti-aircraft guns, the Hudson soon put an end to that with machine-gun fire.

The German commander, Hans Rahmlow, now found himself in the position where he could not – or would not – dive; could not – or would not – risk fighting it out with the aircraft. He resolved his dilemma by waving his white shirt in token of surrender. The Hudson, operating in the sort of weather found usually in the area of Iceland, kept the submarine in this state of surrender until relieved by other aircraft. These circled the vessel until well into the night, when a trawler arrived to make sure that the Germans did not try to scuttle their ship or to use the cover of darkness to get away. By this time, according to the official record, the submariners – or, at any rate, the bulk of them – had little thought of getting away; they were seasick and thoroughly demoralised. When morning came, a destroyer and more trawlers arrived. The U-boat crew were taken off, and their ship was towed to Iceland.

The fact that this particular crew, making their first war-time cruise, did not give a very impressive account of themselves should not be taken as being in any way typical of German U-boat seamen. They were a tough, well-disciplined breed and highly skilled in their job. The fact that they were

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