Diary of the War – September 1944

Historic sepia photograph of Wolf Rock lighthouse seen at a distance over mildly choppy seas and foam swirling around its base. — Image of Wolf Rock Lighthouse in 1943.https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/3045319
© George Baker, CC-BY-SA 2.0

U-247 lost off Wolf Rock, Land’s End

For this month’s entry we turn to my colleague and fellow Maritime Research Specialist Tanja Watson. Thank you, Tanja, for putting this together! Tanja writes:

Over 1,500 British and foreign vessels are known to have been lost along the English coast during the Second World War. Some forty-five of these losses were German U-boats – not all located, or identities confirmed, but nearly all of them went down on the Bristol Channel and English Channel coasts. [1]

One of the identified wrecks is the U-247, a German Type VIIC patrol submarine.[2] Over 600 Type VIIs were built and represented the workhorses of the Kriegsmarines submarine fleet during World War II.

The U-247 was built in 1943 at the Friedrich Krupp Germaniawerft yard at Kiel. She was fitted with a Schnorchel underwater-breathing apparatus in April 1944, which allowed U-boats to stay under water for longer to avoid enemy detection. [3]

Modern colour photograph of a propped submarine with visitor access steps, sitting on a beach, with passing vessels in the background. In the foreground are trees. — A surviving Type VIIC/41 submarine, the *U-995*, displayed at the Laboe Naval Memorial near Kiel (2004), CC BY-SA 2.0 By File:U995 2004 1.jpg: Darkonederivative work: Georgfotoart – This file was derived from: U995 2004 1.jpg: CC BY-SA 2.0.

The U-247 was part of the 1st U-boat flotilla, also known as the Weddigen flotilla – the first operational U-boat unit in Nazi Germany’s Kriegsmarine. This combat flotilla was stationed first in Kiel (1935-41) and then Brest from June 1941 until it was disbanded in September 1944, and its remaining boats were distributed to other flotillas. [4]

The U-boat was sunk by two Canadian war frigates, the HMCS Swansea and Saint John, on 1 September 1944, while out on her second and final patrol. She had left Brest a few days earlier, on 26 August, with 52 crew on board under the command of 24-year-old Oberleutnant zur See Gerhard Matschulat who had been in post for one year. [5]

Historic black & white photograph of a warship in starboard broadside view. — River class frigate HMCS *Saint John* that served with the Royal Canadian Navy, by unknown creator – Naval Museum of Manitoba, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=31838456

Historic black and white photograph of man in full naval uniform. — Lt Cdr W.R. Stacey, Commanding Officer of HMCS *Saint John*, holding a small cupboard door panel recovered from U-*247*. Credit: Lt F. Roy Kemp / Canada. Dept. of National Defence / Library and Archives Canada / PA-190440

She was just entering the English Channel, near Wolf Rock – a rock located 9 miles (15 km) southwest of Land’s End, Cornwall, when six Canadian frigates from the 9th Escort Group, sweeping the convoy route between Land’s End and Hartland Point, picked up a strong signal at 6:45pm, 15 miles east of the Wolf Rock Light on Thursday 31 August 1944.

Monnow, Stormont, and Meon of Escort Group 9 (EG9) were ordered north to pursue the search, while Saint John, Swansea and Port Colborne were ordered to remain to pursue the contact. However, ‘tide conditions made the contact difficult to hold, and after a number of depth-charge and Hedgehog attacks contact was lost’ just after 11pm.

Contact was re-established at 1.55am by Saint John three miles from Wolf Rock, on the bottom at 77 metres. Two depth charge attacks from the frigate brought up oil and explosions from the target. A search was conducted of the area, but nothing was found other than the oil slick. Saint John’s echo sounder trace indicated the U-boat was heavily damaged, and directed by this, Saint John dropped five more depth charges on the target at 2pm, which completely destroyed U-247. [6]

Eventually rising debris, including a scrap of paper from the engine log (a certificate for the 10 millionth revolution of U-247‘s diesel engines); a door panel; clothing and other paperwork, confirmed the identity and the sinking. There were no survivors. [7]

Both depth-charges and Hedgehog had been used. A naval intelligence record (AUD Assessment) of the attack shows U-247 was detected by Asdic (sonar) but due to a lack of records, it was not possible to determine when or exactly how the U-boat was destroyed. [8]

Originally developed during World War I, at a time when the technology to locate submarines was very primitive, depth charges did not have to be direct hits. Once detonated the explosion created a fast-expanding gas bubble, generating a high-pressure shock wave that multiplied through the water, and could cause fatal damage to a submarine’s hull, even if the depth charge exploded some distance away. [9]

Historic black & white photograph of four young men hoisting a depth charge onto a depth charger. — A Mk VII depth charge being loaded onto a Mk IV depth charge thrower on board HMS Dianthus. (A11948) Copyright: © IWM. Original Source: http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205194536

Developed in the years just before 1944, the Hedgehog antisubmarine mortar fired a spread of smaller explosive charges (eventually as many as 24 projectiles) ahead of the firing vessel. [10] The device proved to have a much higher kill to use ratio than depth charges, which a U-boat could survive hundreds of over a period of several hours, [11] but the Hedgehog relied on a direct hit. On average, one in every five attacks made by a Hedgehog resulted in a kill – compared with fewer than one in 80 with depth charges. [12]

Historic black & white photograph of men operating the mortar with officers looking on to the left. — The Hedgehog, a 24 barrelled anti-submarine mortar mounted on the forecastle of HMS *Westcott*. **(A 31000)** **Copyright: © IWM. Original Source: http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205194539**

The general wreck position was recorded as 49.54N, 05.49W, [13] where it lies at a general depth of circa 68-73 metres (sources vary). When located in the 1960s, it was still giving off oil. [14]

The UK Hydrographic Office (UKHO) recorded a more precise position in 2002 (49°53,933’N, 05°49,916’W); and observed that the hull had blown open in front of the conning tower and was lying on its starboard side with bows facing south-east. [15]

The U-247 was of the same U boat type featured in the West German film Das Boot (1981). [16] This film gives a good impression of the experience working on a U-boat and of being under attack from depth charges.