German submarine U-859
History | |
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Name | U-859 |
Ordered | 5 June 1941 |
Builder | |
Yard number | 1065 |
Laid down | 15 May 1942 |
Launched | 2 March 1943 |
Commissioned | 8 July 1943 |
Fate | Sunk on 23 September 1944 by HMS Trenchant, near Penang |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Type IXD2 submarine |
Displacement | |
Length |
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Beam |
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Height | 10.20 m (33 ft 6 in) |
Draught | 5.35 m (17 ft 7 in) |
Installed power |
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Propulsion |
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Speed |
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Range |
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Test depth | Calculated crush depth: 230 m (750 ft) |
Boats & landing craft carried | 2 dinghies |
Complement | 55–64 officers & ratings |
Armament |
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Service record[1][2] | |
Part of: |
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Identification codes: | M 53 706 |
Commanders: |
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Operations: |
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Victories: |
3 merchant ships sunk (20,853 GRT) |
German submarine U-859 was a
Construction
U-859 was built in Bremen during 1942 and 1943, and was heavily adapted following her completion in July 1943, with the addition of a snorkel to enable her to stay underwater for longer during the hazardous passage to Penang in Malaya. Thus she was not ready for war service until the spring of 1944, when following her working up period and modifications she departed Kiel for the East.
Design
The submarine had a maximum surface speed of 20.8 knots (38.5 km/h; 23.9 mph) and a maximum submerged speed of 6.9 knots (12.8 km/h; 7.9 mph).
Service history
Although U-859 only had a single war patrol from which she never returned, her six month career was highly eventful and carried her halfway across the world and into an entirely different theatre of conflict.
Commanded by Kapitänleutnant Johann Jebsen, U-859 sailed from Kiel for Penang on 4 April 1944, carrying 31 tons of mercury in metal flasks destined for use in the Japanese munitions industry. She avoided shipping lanes and during her time in the North Atlantic, remained submerged for 23 hours every day, running on her schnorkel, surfacing for just one hour per day at 23:00, later reduced to 15 minutes.
Colin
Three weeks into her voyage, Jebsen saw a target he could not refuse. The Colin, formerly an Italian freighter taken over by American authorities and registered in Panama, was slowly steaming unescorted in the North Atlantic following engine failure. Three torpedoes sank her before U-859 went on her way southwards.[4]
The boat's voyage continued smoothly for the next two months, and she rounded the Cape of Good Hope and entered the Indian Ocean without further trouble. On 5 July she was spotted by a Lockheed Ventura aircraft, which swooped down on the boat only to be brought down by the anti-aircraft guns. There were no survivors from the aircraft's crew. One rating of U-859 was killed and one officer seriously injured. (Other sources say the attacking plane was a Catalina anti-submarine-plane).[5]
John Barry
Her second victim was her most famous, and became one of the most famous treasure shipwrecks of the Twentieth Century. The unescorted
Troilus
Three days later another unescorted merchantman, the British Troilus was also sunk,[7] with six hands drowned.
Fate
On 23 September 1944 U-859 was running on the surface, within 23 nmi (43 km; 26 mi) of Penang and the end of her voyage, when she was intercepted in the
Twenty of the crew did manage to escape however, opening the hatch in the relatively shallow sea and struggling to the calm surface. Eleven of the survivors were picked up by HMS Trenchant immediately following the sinking, and the remaining nine were picked up by the Japanese after being adrift for 24 hours and were taken ashore to await repatriation.[9]
Salvage
In 1972 a total of 12 tons of mercury were recovered from U-859 and brought into Singapore. The West German Embassy claimed ownership of the mercury. The Receiver of Wreck took possession of the mercury, and the High Court of Singapore ruled that "the German state has never ceased to exist despite Germany's unconditional surrender in 1945 and whatever was the property of the German State, unless it was captured and taken away by one of the Allied Powers, still remains the property of the German State..."[10]
Summary of raiding history
Date | Ship Name | Nationality | Tonnage (GRT) |
Fate[11] |
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26 April 1944 | Colin | ![]() |
6,255 | Sunk |
28 August 1944 | John Barry | ![]() |
7,176 | Sunk |
1 September 1944 | Troilus | ![]() |
7,422 | Sunk |
References
- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type IXD2 boat U-859". German U-boats of WWII – uboat.net. Retrieved 9 March 2010.
- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "War Patrols by German U-boat U-859". German U-boats of WWII – uboat.net. Retrieved 9 March 2010.
- ^ a b c d Gröner 1991, pp. 74–75.
- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "MV Colin (Panamanian Motor merchant)". German U-boats of WWII – uboat.net. Retrieved 13 February 2014.
- ISBN 0747527741
- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "John Barry (Steam merchant)". German U-boats of WWII – uboat.net. Retrieved 2 February 2015.
- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Troilus (Steam merchant)". German U-boats of WWII – uboat.net. Retrieved 2 February 2015.
- ISBN 978-0-521-35196-6.
- ^ "Interview with U-859 survivor Arthur Baudzus". Riverdale Electronic Books. Archived from the original on 14 February 2005. (via Internet Archive)
- ISBN 0-521-46401-3.
- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit by U-859". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 13 February 2014.
Bibliography
- Busch, Rainer; Röll, Hans-Joachim (1999). German U-boat commanders of World War II : a biographical dictionary. Translated by Brooks, Geoffrey. London, Annapolis, Md: Greenhill Books, Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-186-6.
- Busch, Rainer; Röll, Hans-Joachim (1999). Der U-Boot-Krieg, 1939-1945: Deutsche U-Boot-Verluste von September 1939 bis Mai 1945 [German U-boat losses from September 1939 to May 1945] (in German). Vol. IV. Hamburg, Berlin, Bonn: Mittler. ISBN 3-8132-0514-2.
- Gröner, Eric; Jung, Dieter; Maass, Martin (1991). German Warships 1815-1945: U-boats and Mine Warfare Vessels. Vol. 2. Translated by Thomas, Keith; Magowan, Rachel. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-593-4.
- Sharpe, Peter (1998). U-Boat Fact File. Great Britain: Midland Publishing. ISBN 1-85780-072-9.
External links
- Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type IXD2 boat U-859". German U-boats of WWII – uboat.net. Retrieved 7 December 2014.