Recovery operations were called off because the war against Germany was about to end (the war officially ended early in the morning of May 7, with the signing of surrender documents by German military leaders) and because it was dangerous to dive around so much unexploded ordnance. “Groping in the crowded conning tower,” Penguin's skipper recalled, “Gunner Bockelman thought there were six other bodies and as we were about to take them out, orders came over the diving telephone relayed from Sub Base, New London, to secure all operations.” It is not known what the Navy did with Hoffman's body. Bockelman, being quite small, wormed his way into the conning tower while I tended him and shortly thereafter pushed a body up to me which I moored a line to and had hauled up to the surface.”Īlbin added, “As I recall, the name of this seaman was Hoffman, a young lad of about 20, very well equipped in a black leather coat, his escape lung was on and ripped down the middle of the front as if it had suffered a sudden concussion after being inflated, possibly by a depth charge.”Ī list of U-853's crew includes Herbert Hoffmann, age 23 at the time he perished off Point Judith. “My diving officer, Chief Gunner Bockelman, and I made a joint dive in the vicinity of the conning tower and observed a hatch to be open. George Waugh Albin Jr., Penguin's commander from May 29, 1944, to May 28, 1945. The Naval War College Museum at Newport possesses an unsigned and undated letter, probably written about 1960 by Lt. The diver landed on the conning tower and reported that the submarine was lying on its side with its hull split open and with bodies strewn about inside. A diver from the submarine rescue vessel USS Penguin, arrived from New London, found the wreck in 130 feet of water. Navy divers attempted to enter the wreck to recover the U-boat commander's safe and papers late in the day on May 6, 1945.
Hardly known is that another crewman was removed from the submarine the day it was sunk.
German submarine full#
It was well-publicized that in 1960 a diver removed a crewman's remains, which were buried with full military honors in Newport's Island Cemetery.
Since its remains were discovered by recreational divers in 1953, divers have clipped off the upper eight inches of the periscope for a souvenir and brought up various other items including boots, a Walther pistol, and - distressingly - an occasional bone. The sinking of U-853 was far from the end of its saga. According to Frömsdorf's sister, the 24-year-old officer was neither a fanatic nor a member of the Nazi party. (Only in 2001 did the Navy concede that U-853 was responsible for the attack.) In the next several days off Maine, Navy forces made two attacks on an unidentified German submarine, likely against U-853, which could have damaged its radio.įrömsdorf's decision to steer U-853 into Rhode Island Sound, close to impressive naval and air bases at Newport and Quonset Point, and in shallow water where submarines were exposed, could be considered evidence that the submarine commander had a desire to end his U-boat's patrol in a burst of supposed glory - but it is not persuasive. On April 23, 1945, U-853 torpedoed Eagle Boat 56, a patrol boat, off Portland, Maine, with the loss of 49 sailors. U-853's radio probably became disabled, either soon after its voyage began or from attacks by U.S. intelligence forces had intercepted their radio messages. Four other U-boats sent to America about the same time all reported in regularly, but were sunk by early April. Kuhnke thought this approach kept the crew alive into May. Contrary to normal procedures, U-853 failed to radio back to headquarters.
A strong indication that Frömsdorf never heard the message was revealed in post-war correspondence between his sister, Helga Deisting, and his flotilla commander in Germany, Guenther Kuhnke.Īccording to Kuhnke, after U-853's departure for America, he never heard from Frömsdorf again.
0 kommentar(er)
