|
This information has been provided by Derek Waller, retired Air Commodore (1-Star) in the Royal Air Force
He is a naval historian who, using original records, has carefully researched the post-war stories of all the German U-Boats which surrendered at the end of WW2". |
|
U-873 in the US Navy
The U-Boats which surrendered to the US Navy in May 1945 were:
U-234 Surrendered at sea on 12 May
U-805 Surrendered at sea on 9 May U-858 Surrendered at sea on 9 May U-873 Surrendered at sea on 11 May U-1228 Surrendered at sea on 9 May Of these five U-Boats, the Type IXD U-873 had originally been earmarked to transport materials to Japan and, though most of its cargo had been unloaded before leaving Norway on 31 March 1945 for its first and only operational war patrol off the east coast of the USA, it was still carrying some mercury and optical glass in its keel, which was subsequently unloaded at Portsmouth Navy Yard (PNY) in June 1945. U-873 received the surrender order on 9 May when it was in the vicinity of the Azores, and in accordance with the Allied instructions it should have proceeded to Gibraltar to surrender, but the U-Boat remained submerged and continued south-westwards whilst the CO and crew decided what action to take. Finally, U-873 surfaced and reported its position on the morning of 11 May, and was ordered to set course for Bermuda. The U-Boat then proceeded in accordance with this instruction, and was met in the early hours of 12 May by the destroyer escort USS Vance. USS Vance, in company with USS Durant, had been escorting a convoy when an unidentified vessel, which proved to be a surfaced submarine, was seen ahead of the convoy. The submarine was first identified as a German U-Boat, and later, after a boarding party had been placed onboard, as U-873. USS Durant then departed to rejoin the convoy, whilst USS Vance began escorting U-873, first to the designated 'Surrender Point' off the Delaware Capes, and then to the one further north in Casco Bay near Portland. However, the latter instruction was changed yet again, and the two vessels were instead directed to the 'Examination Anchorage' in Portsmouth Lower Harbour to the south of Casco Bay. The 1,600-mile passage from the Azores took place in heavy seas and lasted five and a half days until the U-Boat reached Portsmouth Harbour, where it and USS Vance arrived at 1400 hours on 16 May, with U-873 being finally moved into the Navy Yard on 17 May. The US Navy took very early action to outline its approach to the use of the five U-Boats in American ports, starting with a message on 19 May from the CNO containing initial instructions about the inspection and testing of the U-Boats. Dockyard inspections were to be supervised by the Commandant of PNY, and operational tests were to be co-ordinated by ComSubLant, the objective being to determine which of the five U-Boats could be of any future use to the US Navy. Then, on 28 May 1945, these instructions was incorporated into a comprehensive policy letter titled "Inspections and Tests of Surrendered German Submarines", which was distributed to a wide US Navy audience, and in which the Vice Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Frederick J Horne, stated that: There are five surrendered German U-Boats of various types in East Coast Ports. They will be available for inspections and tests. Tests will be scheduled in two distinct categories, namely underway operational tests and dockside research tests. All authorised underway operational tests and trials will be conducted by Commander Submarines, Atlantic Fleet. Where warranted and recommended by the Bureau of Ships the underway tests will follow the prescribed acceptance tests to which new construction submarines are subjected. The Commandant, Navy Yard, Portsmouth will conduct all authorised dockside research test and will control the authorised removal of all equipment. These, in general, consist of design studies and tests of individual installations in the U-Boats. Upon completion of the trials, tests and inspections, it is desired that the Navy Yard, Portsmouth compile reports for each design type so that the data may be readily available for reference in connection with future design work. In response, the US Navy Bureau of Ships (BuShips), in a letter dated 23 June 1945 and titled "Surrendered German Submarines - Recommendations for Trials and Tests", focused on the five U-Boats and stated that: It is desired to conduct underway operational tests and trials on one vessel of each major design type available. Of the [five U-Boats] listed above, it is considered that the priority of underway trials, based upon the expected value of the results, should be in the order Type IXD2 (U-873), Type XB (U-234), and Type IXC (U-858). In view of the fact that U-858 will apparently be ready for underway operations before U-873, it will be satisfactory to the Bureau to conduct trials on this vessel first, to be followed by trials on U-873 and U-234 in the order named. When U-858, U-873 and U-234 are cleaned, inspected and tested as necessary for underway operations, minimum preservative measures should be taken for preservation of tanks, hull interior and exterior, and operating equipment for a period of one year. Thus, in less than two months after the end of the war in Europe, the US Navy had set out a clear policy and way forward for dealing with the surrendered German U-Boats in its custody. PNY was to prepare formal Design Studies, perform tests and compile reports on one each of the three main types of U-Boat then in United States' custody (Type IXC, Type IXD and Type XB), and ComSubLant was to conduct any necessary underway trials. The US Navy, without waiting for Allied authority, wasted no time in initiating the actions necessary to make use of the three U-Boats, the policy for which had been made clear by BuShips on 23 June. U-234, U-858 and U-873 were to be cleaned, inspected and tested as necessary for underway operations, but only minimum preservative measures were to be taken, the indication being that they were unlikely to be used for more than a year. The first essential action was to make U-234, U-858 and U-873 seaworthy and fit for use in the planned trials. Originally it was thought that they could be made available for their initial standardisation trials quite quickly, but this proved to be optimistic, and the planned availability dates continued to slip, particularly because of problems with the availability of spares. In the meantime, it had been agreed at the Potsdam Conference in July/August 1945 that the three main Allied powers (UK, USSR and the USA) should each be allocated 10 U-Boats for experimental and technical purposes. As a result, U-873 was one of the 10 which were formally allocated to the USA by the Tripartite Naval Commission in October 1945. The planned date for the standardisation trials of all three U-Boats, including U-873, was slipped to 5 November 1945, but this quickly moved to the right again, as recorded in this pair of messages: 15 Oct from PNY: Estimated readiness date for underway operations for U-234 and U-873 is 26 October. 19 Oct from New London: Revised estimated readiness date for all three U-Boats (U-858, U234 and U-873) is 26 November. Whilst U-858 was being renovated at New London, similar action was being undertaken at PNY on the other two U-Boats, and on 7 September U-234 and U-873 were dry docked for a period of about 10 days. Once U-858 had rejoined the other two U-Boats at PNY, the dockyard concentrated on improving the seaworthiness of all three U-Boats in whatever order they became available. U-858 eventually left PNY for New London on 19 December 1945, with U-234 and U-873 following on 17 January 1946. Operational control of the U-Boats was exercised by the Special Submarine Group (SSG) which was located at the US Submarine Base at New London and, after the initial standardisation tests in late 1945 (with U-858) and early 1946 (with U-234 and U-873), the SSG published a schedule of proposed activities for each, from which it was apparent that they were expected to have only very short-term futures in the US Navy. This was particularly clear from the SSG's outline schedule which set out the proposed activities for U-873. These started on 25 February 1946 and only lasted for a month, viz: U-873 25 Feb Diving trials in New London area 4 Mar Oceanographic Institute tests in New London area 11 Mar Sound survey tests in New London area 18 Mar Magnetic survey By 27 March 1946 the trials with U-873 were complete, and the CNO directed CincLant to: Sail U-873 to Portsmouth. Upon arrival report to Com 1. About 1 April place subject vessel out of service. Retain U-873 for preservation and use in explosive program. As a result, U-873 was transferred from New London to PNY on 3 April 1946, and Commander Subron 1 advised the CNO on 23 April that: U-873 placed out of service 12 April at Navy Shipyard Portsmouth. So, by the middle of April 1946, the US Navy had completed its planned trials with U-873, and it had been returned to and was moored at PNY pending decisions about its final disposal. A further indication of the US Navy's policy in respect of the U-Boats then in service with the US Navy can be gained from the Minutes of the Submarine Officers Conference held in Washington on 26 March 1946, which recorded that: Eight U-Boats are being retained for explosive programs. The U-2513 (Type 21) has been made available for OPDEVFOR. The U-3008 (Type 21) is being placed in service at Portsmouth with high priority. The U-1406 (Type 17-B) will not be placed in service, but the hull will be retained for the present. This confirmed that, by the spring of 1946, the US Navy's long-term interests were already concentrated on the single Type XXIB U-Boat (U-1406) and the two Type XXI U-Boats (U-2513 and U-3008) in its possession, and that the remainder had been earmarked for early disposal after the short series of planned tests on just three of them, including U-873. On 28 May 1946 the CNO made the US Navy's position quite clear, when he said that: In regard to German submarines, it is desired to retain the following: U-858 for conventional depth charging U-873 for conventional depth charging U-2513 for operations U-3008 for operations U-1406 for indefinite retention All other German submarines will be disposed of upon completion of exploitation of equipment, and cannibalisation of equipment and spare parts. However, this policy was subsequently modified on 6 August 1947 when BuShips confirmed that, as a result of a joint BuShips/BuOrd review in early 1947, the two U-Boats previously retained as target vessels for the depth charge program, including U-873, had been released for disposal by the CNO for either use in torpedo tests or for sale as scrap. BuShips summarised the situation in August 1947 by saying: The following ex-German submarines are now located in Portsmouth Naval Shipyard awaiting disposal by the Chief of Naval Operations: U-234, U-505, U-530, U-858, U-873 and U-889. Originally, BuShips had recommended that the vessels be sold as a hulk or be scrapped. Since then, the Bureau has determined it is in the best interests of the Government to sell surplus combatant vessels rather than to demolish in Naval Shipyards or by private contract. Accordingly, it is recommended that the above vessels by declared to the US Navy Vessel Disposal Office (NVDO) for sale. Despite this, the final disposal actions did not always follow the line envisaged by BuShips. Instead, U-234, U-530, U-858 and U-889 were sunk in torpedo tests in November 1947, and U-505 was retained until May 1954 before being donated to the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry. In the case of U-873, rather than being sunk in torpedo tests off New England (as happened to four of the other surplus U-Boats at PNY in November 1947), it was decided to follow the agreed policy and to sell it for scrap. Thus it was instead advertised for sale in January 1948 by the New York-based NVDO. The bids were opened in the Brooklyn Navy Yard in early March 1948, and U-873 was sold to the Interstate Metals Corporation of New York. Finally U-873 was towed out of Portsmouth Navy Yard on 10 March 1948 en-route for the ship-breakers, and it was broken-up later in the year. |