Post by Dave Homewood on Jan 25, 2023 9:23:11 GMT 12
St. Heliers Pilot Avenged Barham Sinking By U-Boat
WEARING the awards of a grateful Reich for the destruction of the 30-000-ton British battleship Barham on November 25, 1941, Kapitanleutnant Frieherr Hans-Deidrich Tiesenhausen and his crew of the submarine U-331, a year after their crowning achievement, met the revenge of an R.A.F. Hudson, piloted by a New Zealander, Squadron-Leader I. C. Patterson, D.S.O., of St. Heliers, now a Tasman Airways pilot.
By skilful manoeuvring, Squadron-Leader Patterson damaged the U-boat and caused it to remain crippled on the surface until it was sunk by a British carrier-borne aircraft. Subsequently seventeen of the Germans, including the commander, were rescued.
The citation to Squadron-Leader Patterson's award reads as follows: — "On November 12, he sighted a U-boat, which submerged before he could deliver an attack. Squadron-Leader Patterson waited for two hours in the vicinity, and on the U-boat coming to the surface, delivered a skilful attack, which resulted in the U-boat's destruction. On November 18, after seriously damaging a U-boat which remained on the surface, by frequent machine-gun attacks, he prevented the crew from manning their guns. His action resulted in the surrender of the U-boat."
The second exploit mentioned in the citation concerns the capture, and subsequent destruction of U-331. The submarine was in the Mediterranean on her ninth patrol, the sixth since the sinking of the Barham. She had already torpedoed and sunk a big United States troopship which was lying in the company of a destroyer off Cape Matafou on the Algerian coast. Twice later on the same day she had sighted likely targets; first, an aircraft carrier and then a transport, but both were travelling at such high speeds that attack had been out of the question.
Destroyers Abandon Attack
Coming to periscope depth next day to receive signals from Control, Tiesenhausen found destroyers in sight on either beam. He gave the order to dive, but before the submarine got to 70 feet the destroyers had closed, and 25 depth charges began to rock the U-331 from bow to stern. Tiesenhausen, however, awaited his opportunity. He loosed two torpedoes and the destroyers became more wary, later abandoning the attack. Eventually, U-331 surfaced only slightly damaged after a hunt which had lasted six or seven hours.
The day's blazing Mediterranean sun sparkled in the wake of the surfaced submarine as she travelled westward at a leisurely 12 knots. But the brief period of inaction was cut short when, at 0930 hours, an eastward-flying aircraft was spotted on the port bow. When the plane turned toward the U-boat, the diving order was given, but U-331 surfaced when no attack materialised. The sea was calm and visibility extreme. The captain was still fully alive to the aircraft menace, and demanded a high standard of efficiency from his lookouts.
The aircraft was Hudson "Z for Zebra," of No. 500 Squadron, and piloted by Squadron-Leader Patterson, it had taken off from Tarafacni aerodrome, Oran, at 0800 hours that morning. Near Algiers, at 5000 ft, the. U-boat had been sighted. The New Zealander knew that attack from down-sun would be useless with the prevailing degree of visibility, and endeavoured to work around until he was up-sun. But despite the application of every wile learned in the hard months of training, the initial attempt at attack was a failure.
Long Dive To The Attack
The distance was closed to 10 miles, and when the U-boat dived Squadron-Leader Patterson's only hope was to "bait" the quarry. This entailed flying eastwards and up-sun for nearly 100 miles and climbing to a height where white camouflage could be most effective—10,000ft, on such a day. That the move was a complete success was conclusively proved two hours later, when, on returning to the U-boat's former position the Hudson crew were rewarded by the sight of the submarine's wake. The long dive to the attack was begun...
The port quarter lookout of U-331 did not see the plane. The young Bootsmaat on the starboard quarter, on his first operational patrol, saw it too late, and Tiesenhausen himself sounded the alarm which started the submarine's dive. For the Hudson pilot everything was working to plan...
The bomber roared down, and when within 1000 yards of the U-boat was rocketing to the kill only 20ft above the water. Just before she lifted over the U-boat's conning tower four depth charges, set to shallow depth, plummetted down and straddled the target. The explosions lifted the submarine half out of the water, her 88mm gun was put out of action and the forward hatch opened and jammed. Water poured into the forward compartment, and Tiesenhausen ordered it to be cleared and the watertight bulkhead closed. - Any attempt to man the guns were foiled by "Z -for Zebra," which swung in time and again, raking the decks with machine-gun fire.
The aircraft then pulled away, climbed to 1000 ft and reported the attack. Two more planes of No. 500 Squadron raced to the position. They closed in on the now almost stationary U-331 and laid depth charges close alongside her. The explosions of these wrecked the gauges and compass and put the steering gear out of action, while the blast knocked a number of men overboard and killed one. Another attempt to retaliate with the guns was nipped in the bud by "Z for Zebra," which cut down every man who set foot on the deck.
The crew began to panic. A number of them scrambled up from below, and waiting until "Z" had finished a run, donned life-jackets and dived overboard. Climbing away to release the last 100lb antisubmarine bomb, Squadron-Leader Patterson saw two small white dots flutter out above the mortally wounded U-331. Tiesenhausen had had enough.
At High Speed
"Z" acknowledged the surrender. Petrol was low and calculated to be insufficient to take the aircraft back to base, so the Hudson set course for the nearest aerodrome, Maison Blache, Algiers. On arrival, Squadron-Leader Patterson informed the Navy by telephone of the exact position of U-331 and made known his intention to have his aircraft refuelled and rearmed and return to the spot. H.M.S. Wilton was dispatched to the position given, and on the return journey "Z" passed close to the destroyer, which was steaming at high speed on a direct line for the U-boat.
While the Hudson had been away, her signal was intercepted and acted upon by the aircraft carrier Formidable. A striking force of three Albacores with an escort of Martlet fighters at once left her decks. When they arrived, Hudson "Z" was hovering above her prize, which was by now seriously down by the bows. When he sighted the carrier planes, the possibility that they would attack caused Squadron-Leader Patterson some alarm, as he had everything under control, and wished the submarine to be captured as intact as possible.
Torpedo Spells The End
He tried to warn the new arrivals, but a Martlet dived on the U-boat and machine-gunned her decks from bow to stern. From 700 yards an 18-in torpedo set to 12 feet was dropped by one of the Albacores. The explosion was the coup-de-grace. The U-331's career of destruction came to a violent end, and she sank with 32 casualties.
Squadron-Leader Patterson and the crew of the "Z for Zebra" were disappointed at the turn of events, and left the scene as the Wilton was searching for survivors.
AUCKLAND STAR, 8 AUGUST 1945
WEARING the awards of a grateful Reich for the destruction of the 30-000-ton British battleship Barham on November 25, 1941, Kapitanleutnant Frieherr Hans-Deidrich Tiesenhausen and his crew of the submarine U-331, a year after their crowning achievement, met the revenge of an R.A.F. Hudson, piloted by a New Zealander, Squadron-Leader I. C. Patterson, D.S.O., of St. Heliers, now a Tasman Airways pilot.
By skilful manoeuvring, Squadron-Leader Patterson damaged the U-boat and caused it to remain crippled on the surface until it was sunk by a British carrier-borne aircraft. Subsequently seventeen of the Germans, including the commander, were rescued.
The citation to Squadron-Leader Patterson's award reads as follows: — "On November 12, he sighted a U-boat, which submerged before he could deliver an attack. Squadron-Leader Patterson waited for two hours in the vicinity, and on the U-boat coming to the surface, delivered a skilful attack, which resulted in the U-boat's destruction. On November 18, after seriously damaging a U-boat which remained on the surface, by frequent machine-gun attacks, he prevented the crew from manning their guns. His action resulted in the surrender of the U-boat."
The second exploit mentioned in the citation concerns the capture, and subsequent destruction of U-331. The submarine was in the Mediterranean on her ninth patrol, the sixth since the sinking of the Barham. She had already torpedoed and sunk a big United States troopship which was lying in the company of a destroyer off Cape Matafou on the Algerian coast. Twice later on the same day she had sighted likely targets; first, an aircraft carrier and then a transport, but both were travelling at such high speeds that attack had been out of the question.
Destroyers Abandon Attack
Coming to periscope depth next day to receive signals from Control, Tiesenhausen found destroyers in sight on either beam. He gave the order to dive, but before the submarine got to 70 feet the destroyers had closed, and 25 depth charges began to rock the U-331 from bow to stern. Tiesenhausen, however, awaited his opportunity. He loosed two torpedoes and the destroyers became more wary, later abandoning the attack. Eventually, U-331 surfaced only slightly damaged after a hunt which had lasted six or seven hours.
The day's blazing Mediterranean sun sparkled in the wake of the surfaced submarine as she travelled westward at a leisurely 12 knots. But the brief period of inaction was cut short when, at 0930 hours, an eastward-flying aircraft was spotted on the port bow. When the plane turned toward the U-boat, the diving order was given, but U-331 surfaced when no attack materialised. The sea was calm and visibility extreme. The captain was still fully alive to the aircraft menace, and demanded a high standard of efficiency from his lookouts.
The aircraft was Hudson "Z for Zebra," of No. 500 Squadron, and piloted by Squadron-Leader Patterson, it had taken off from Tarafacni aerodrome, Oran, at 0800 hours that morning. Near Algiers, at 5000 ft, the. U-boat had been sighted. The New Zealander knew that attack from down-sun would be useless with the prevailing degree of visibility, and endeavoured to work around until he was up-sun. But despite the application of every wile learned in the hard months of training, the initial attempt at attack was a failure.
Long Dive To The Attack
The distance was closed to 10 miles, and when the U-boat dived Squadron-Leader Patterson's only hope was to "bait" the quarry. This entailed flying eastwards and up-sun for nearly 100 miles and climbing to a height where white camouflage could be most effective—10,000ft, on such a day. That the move was a complete success was conclusively proved two hours later, when, on returning to the U-boat's former position the Hudson crew were rewarded by the sight of the submarine's wake. The long dive to the attack was begun...
The port quarter lookout of U-331 did not see the plane. The young Bootsmaat on the starboard quarter, on his first operational patrol, saw it too late, and Tiesenhausen himself sounded the alarm which started the submarine's dive. For the Hudson pilot everything was working to plan...
The bomber roared down, and when within 1000 yards of the U-boat was rocketing to the kill only 20ft above the water. Just before she lifted over the U-boat's conning tower four depth charges, set to shallow depth, plummetted down and straddled the target. The explosions lifted the submarine half out of the water, her 88mm gun was put out of action and the forward hatch opened and jammed. Water poured into the forward compartment, and Tiesenhausen ordered it to be cleared and the watertight bulkhead closed. - Any attempt to man the guns were foiled by "Z -for Zebra," which swung in time and again, raking the decks with machine-gun fire.
The aircraft then pulled away, climbed to 1000 ft and reported the attack. Two more planes of No. 500 Squadron raced to the position. They closed in on the now almost stationary U-331 and laid depth charges close alongside her. The explosions of these wrecked the gauges and compass and put the steering gear out of action, while the blast knocked a number of men overboard and killed one. Another attempt to retaliate with the guns was nipped in the bud by "Z for Zebra," which cut down every man who set foot on the deck.
The crew began to panic. A number of them scrambled up from below, and waiting until "Z" had finished a run, donned life-jackets and dived overboard. Climbing away to release the last 100lb antisubmarine bomb, Squadron-Leader Patterson saw two small white dots flutter out above the mortally wounded U-331. Tiesenhausen had had enough.
At High Speed
"Z" acknowledged the surrender. Petrol was low and calculated to be insufficient to take the aircraft back to base, so the Hudson set course for the nearest aerodrome, Maison Blache, Algiers. On arrival, Squadron-Leader Patterson informed the Navy by telephone of the exact position of U-331 and made known his intention to have his aircraft refuelled and rearmed and return to the spot. H.M.S. Wilton was dispatched to the position given, and on the return journey "Z" passed close to the destroyer, which was steaming at high speed on a direct line for the U-boat.
While the Hudson had been away, her signal was intercepted and acted upon by the aircraft carrier Formidable. A striking force of three Albacores with an escort of Martlet fighters at once left her decks. When they arrived, Hudson "Z" was hovering above her prize, which was by now seriously down by the bows. When he sighted the carrier planes, the possibility that they would attack caused Squadron-Leader Patterson some alarm, as he had everything under control, and wished the submarine to be captured as intact as possible.
Torpedo Spells The End
He tried to warn the new arrivals, but a Martlet dived on the U-boat and machine-gunned her decks from bow to stern. From 700 yards an 18-in torpedo set to 12 feet was dropped by one of the Albacores. The explosion was the coup-de-grace. The U-331's career of destruction came to a violent end, and she sank with 32 casualties.
Squadron-Leader Patterson and the crew of the "Z for Zebra" were disappointed at the turn of events, and left the scene as the Wilton was searching for survivors.
AUCKLAND STAR, 8 AUGUST 1945
