Unterseeboot 852

German submarine ''U-852'' was a Type IXD2 U-boat built for Nazi Germany's ''Kriegsmarine'' during World War II. The submarine, which was a special long-range version of the Type IX, had four bow and two stern torpedo tubes and a Focke-Achgelis Fa 330 ''Bachstelze'' cable-towed lookout gyroglider. It was laid down in Bremen and completed in June 1943. She was commanded by ''Kapitänleutnant'' Heinz-Wilhelm Eck, who led her through her sea trials and onto her first war patrol on 18 January 1944.

Eck and his officers were the only ''Kriegsmarine'' submariners to be tried for war crimes at the end of World War II in Europe. They were convicted at a British military tribunal in Hamburg, (held concurrently during the Nuremberg Trials) for killing the survivors of the torpedoed Greek steamer in 1944.

Design

German Type IXD2 submarines were considerably larger than the original Type IXs. ''U-852'' had a displacement of when at the surface and while submerged. The U-boat had a total length of , a pressure hull length of , a beam of , a height of , and a draught of . The submarine was powered by two MAN M 9 V 40/46 supercharged four-stroke, nine-cylinder diesel engines plus two MWM RS34.5S six-cylinder four-stroke diesel engines for cruising, producing a total of for use while surfaced, and two Siemens-Schuckert 2 GU 345/34 double-acting electric motors producing a total of for use while submerged. She had two shafts and two propellers. The boat was capable of operating at depths of up to .

The submarine had a maximum surface speed of and a maximum submerged speed of . When submerged, the boat could operate for at ; when surfaced, she could travel at . ''U-852'' was fitted with six torpedo tubes (four fitted at the bow and two at the stern), 24 torpedoes, one SK C/32 naval gun, 150 rounds, and a SK C/30 with 2575 rounds as well as two C/30 anti-aircraft guns with 8100 rounds. The boat had a complement of fifty-five.

Asian mission

''Peleus''

In early 1944, the Kriegsmarine dispatched ''U-852'' on a top-secret mission to disrupt the Allies' Far East war effort by attacking sea lanes in the Indian Ocean. However, to do this successfully the submarine would have to maintain a high-level of secrecy throughout her journey from Europe. On 13 March while crossing the latitude of Freetown in the Atlantic Ocean, the U-boat spotted the lone Greek steamer . Eck, despite his mission, decided to attack the ship. After stalking her until nightfall, the steamer was sunk with two torpedoes.

However, the sinking of the ''Peleus'' had created a large debris field containing survivors in rafts and clinging to wreckage. Eck decided that this would indicate to any Allied shipping patrol aircraft there was a U-boat in the area, so he ordered his junior officers to destroy the wreckage by firing into it using hand grenades and automatic weapons. They did this while the rest of the crew remained below decks. There were only three survivors from the 35-man ''Peleus''.

''Dahomian''

Two weeks later the ''U-852'' sank the British cargo ship ''Dahomian'' off Cape Town on 1 April. This time the ''U-852'' left rather than attack the survivors.

Capture

On 30 April 1944, ''U-852'' was spotted in the Indian Ocean by a Vickers Wellington bomber flying from Aden. After being left unable to dive due to damage from aerial depth charges, she headed for the coast of Somalia. However, before reaching land the U-boat came under attack from six RAF bombers from 621 Squadron. Eck was forced to run aground on a coral reef () about from shore. Seven crewmen were lost in the engagement; the remainder fled ashore. Fifty-eight were captured by the Somaliland Camel Corps and local militia.

A British boarding party examined the wrecked U-boat and retrieved Eck's ''Kriegstagebuch'' ("War Diary"), which proved crucial in constructing the Allied case against him and his men. The British also discovered the Fa 330 ''Bachstelze'' rotor kite, a towed one-man aerial observation platform.

War crimes trial

In November 1945, Eck and the ''U-852s four junior officers were tried by the British at a special military tribunal in Hamburg for killing the crew from the ''Peleus''. The German commander said he carried out the attack because there might have been communications equipment on the survivors’ rafts and the Laconia Order forbade him from helping the crews of sunk enemy ships. However, the British tribunal rejected his plea of “operational necessity” and sentenced him to death. Despite claiming they were "only following orders", the boat's second-in-command, August Hoffmann, and Walter Weisspfennig, the ship's doctor (who was condemned for using a weapon in contravention of the Geneva Convention) were also given the death penalty.

Hans Lenz, the engineering officer, who had opposed Eck's order but eventually carried it out was given a life sentence (but was released seven years later, in 1952). Wolfgang Schwender, an enlisted engineer, who said he only shot at debris not survivors - until being replaced by the reluctant Lenz - received 15 years (but was paroled six years later, in 1951). On 30 November 1945, Eck, Hoffmann and Weisspfennig were executed by naval firing squad.Sharpe (1998), p.148

Summary of raiding history

See also

* German submarine ''U-247'', and for other boats alleged to be involved in war crimes.

Notes

References

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Further reading

* Bridgland, Tony, ''Waves of Hate'', Leo Cooper, Great Britain: 2002. .
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External links

Submarine atrocitiesArchived
2009-10-25)

{{DEFAULTSORT:U0852
World War II submarines of Germany
German Type IX submarines
World War II shipwrecks in the Indian Ocean
Massacres committed by Nazi Germany
Nazi war crimes
U-boats commissioned in 1943
Indian Ocean U-Boats
1943 ships
Ships built in Bremen (state)
U-boats scuttled in 1944
Maritime incidents in May 1944
Military history of British Somaliland during World War II
World War II crimes