THREE U-BOATS SUNK

Dominion, Volume 37, Issue 125, 22 February 1944, Page 5

THREE U-BOATS SUNK

x Straits Of Gibraltar (British Official Wireless.)

RUGBY, February 20. ■ The Admiralty and the Air Ministry jointly announced that three U-boats were intercepted and destroyed when attempting to make individual passages from the Atlantic through-the Straits of Gibraltar, Seveial other U-boats were damaged. The U-boats’ attempts extended intermittently over II days and nights during the recent moonless period. Allied attacks were made by His Majesty’s ships and R.A.F. Coastal Command planes based on Gibraltar. During these combined operations three large Allied convoys passed through the Straits without interference.

The first U-boat was discovered at midnight in the approaches to the straits by a Wellington bomber, which attacked and sank it. Forty-nine survivors were picked up.

Later another Wellington illuminated and attacked a fully -surfaced U-boat which submerged in a damaged condition. A destroyer carried out a wide search, but no further contact was made. Next day a Wellington sighted a Üboat on the surface and attacked. A destroyer in tlie vicinity fired a pattern of depth charges after the U-boat had dived, but the result was inconclusive. Shortly afterward a trawler detected a U-boat in the vicinity of a convoy passing through the straits. U-Boat Forced to Surface.

The trawler attacked with depth charges and the U-boat surfaced, with its conning tower buckled and the barrel of its forward gun twisted. H.M.S. Imperialist opened fire with all the guns that could be brought 'to bear, scoring hits on tlie conn’tig tower and the hull. The U-iboat submerged and the trawler dropped more depth charges. No further contact was made.

That night, in the vicinity of the attack, a destroyer illuminated a U-boat. The crew were seen jumping into tlie sea. Soon afterward the U-boat sank. Eighteen survivors were picked up. On the following morning destroyers detected another U-boat and carried out a combined attack, but it was not possible to observe the full results. A few hours before midnight a sloop encountered a U-boat on the surface and ilium-, inateil it. The enemy crash-dived and' the sloop carried out depth-charge attacks. Later a number of U-boat survivors were picked up. There were no further indications of the presence of U-boats after this action.