’PLANE CAPTURES U-BOAT

Timaru Herald, Volume CL, Issue 22064, 10 September 1941, Page 5

’PLANE CAPTURES U-BOAT

Surrender Follows Four Attacks

Long Atlantic Vigil

Navy Escorts Victim

To Port

British Official Wireless

(Rec. 8.30 p.m.) RUGBY, Sept. 8. A description of the long vigil by an aircraft of the Coastal Command which followed the capture of a U-boat—the first time a land aircraft has performed such a feat —and the story that the capture reveals is one of the most interesting stories of aerial warfare.

A Hudson, completely unaided, held the U-boat in sight for nearly four hours. A Catalina flying-boat then arrived and acted as gaoler assisted by other Hudsons and Catalinas for nearly 10 hoers more.

The Hudson had been on patrol over the Atlantic since the early morning. Visibility was poor and there were frequent rainstorms. Suddenly there was a shout from the navigator’s cabin in the nose. “There’s one just in front of you.” There about 1200 yards away on the port bow was a U-boat. The pilot thrust the nose of the aircraft down and dived. At exactly the right moment bombs were dropped and the pilot turned steeply and climbed. Below him he could see a wide area of churned waves. As he watched there was another shout from everybody in the plane. The U-boat had come to the surface. The Hudson dived again. This time all guns blazed tracer bullets —the front guns near the turret and the belly gun. As the Hudson dived the U-boat’s conning tower hatch was thrown open and about a dozen of the crew scrambled out and dropped on the deck. The crew of the Hudson thought they were manning the guns so kept their own guns firing hard. This was too much for the Germans. Those who were already on deck turned and ran back into the conning tower. Those who were coming up from below still tried to push outwards. The crew of the U-boat were all mixed up together, some struggling to get in and others to get out. All the figures seemed to be capless and they were distinctly visible from above for they were all wearing bright yellow life-saving jackets.

Too Much For Crew Four times the Hudson roared over with guns screaming, banking steeply each time to swing round into the attack again while the rear guns and belly gun kept up their fire. Coming round for the fifth attack the U-boat surrendered. One of its crew held a white shirt up from the conning tower, waving it violently. The airmen ceased fire but continued to circle with guns trained, watching suspiciously. The Germans followed them anxiously round with the shirt and then to make their intentions quite clear held up what appeared to be some sort of white board. “They have shoved the white flag up,” called the wireless operator triumphantly. The Hudson flew right over the U-boat at 50 feet and by then the entire U-boat crew had crowded on to the conning tower, some 30 or 40 of them. They were packed so tightly that they could scarcely move. The problem now was how to hold them prisoner and get them taken into custody. The navigator prepared a message for the base and the wireless operator’s hand rattled up and down on the key. All this time the pilot was circling the U-boat keeping his eyes glued to it. He did that for three and a half hours. Had he lost sight of it for a second he might easily have lost it altogether. When at last he stepped on to his home aerodrome his neck was so stiff that he could not turn his head. The message reached the base and it was determined to bring that U-boat and its crew to shore if it was humanly possible. Never before in history had an underwater craft surrendered to a land aircraft. A Catalina was sent at once to relieve the Hudson and all other aircraft in the vicinity were diverted over the U-boat from time to time to demonstrate to the crew that there was a big striking force ready if they tried to escape. The Catalina arrived early in the afternoon. When the crew of the Hudson saw the Catalina approaching they were afraid it might bomb and sink the U-boat, so they signalled anxiously to it: “Look after our, repeat our, submarine which has shown the white flag.” The crew of the Hudson dived twice more over “their U-boat” to have a last look at it. Then it was the Catalina’s turn to circle endlessly. They kept it up for eight hours without having to fire a single shot. Surface craft were steaming towards the spot as quikly as possible but they were a long way off and the question was should they get there before nightfall. Chance of Losing Prize The weather was growing worse and daylight was fading. There was every chance of losing the U-boat during the night and the crew of the Catalina were growing desperate. But at the last moment they sighted one of his Majesty’s ships which steamed up and started to signal orders to the crew of the U-boat. Then came darkness and the Catalina lost touch with the Üboat. Long before daylight next day another Coastal Command Catalina was in the area continuing the vigil. By now a gale was blowing. The night was jet black and rain storms were lashing everywhere. Then in the darkness they picked up a glow of light from the submarine, but so fierce was the gale that they were blown off their course. They lost her again, but very soon saw her reflected in dim light through the storm with the white foam of the waves breaking acroci her bows. Throughout the remaining hours of darkness the Catalina continued to circle, sometimes losing sight of the U-boat for as much as 15 minutes, but always finding her again. At last the light began to break and the crew could just see the thin outline of the submarine. As the light strengthened they could make out a ship lying nearby and soon they saw other ships approaching. The crew of the Catalina watched the beginning of the long task of getting the U-boat and her crew to harbour. From the time when the first ship arrived the U-boat had been covered from the air by Coastal Command aircraft for the whole of the next 40 hours.