U-Boats
continued - pg 2
U-Boat Battles
Listed by U-Boat number
U-549
Data:
Built by Deutsche Werft AG, Hamburg (werk 370); type IXC/40; commissioned 14 Jul 1943; last commander Kptlt. Detlev Krankenhagen; two combat patrols; 9,393 tons sunk (CVE 21 USS Block Island).
Fate:
Sunk 29 May, 1944 in the mid-Atlantic south-west of Madeira, Portugal, in position 31.13N, 23.03W, by depth charges from the US destroyer escorts USS Eugene E. Elmore and USS Ahrens. German casualties were 57 dead (all hands lost).
U-603
Data:
Built by Blohm & Voss, Hamburg (werk 579); type VIIC; commissioned 2 Jan 1942; 
last commander Kptlt. Hans-Joachim Bertelsmann; five patrols; 22,406 tons sunk.
Fate:
Sunk 1 Mar 1944 in the North Atlantic, in position 48.55N, 26.10W, by depth charges from the destroyer escort DE 189 USS Bronstein. German casualties were 51 dead (all hands lost).
U-607
Data:
Built by Blohm & Voss, Hamburg (werk 583); type VIIC; commissioned 29 Jan 1942; last commander Oblt. Wolf Jeschonnek; five patrols; 28,937 tons sunk.
Fate:
On 29 Feb 1944, planes from the CVE 21 USS Block Island spotted a periscope and commenced a mine run. DD 463 Corry and DE 189 Bronstein sped to the scene. Four German submarines, U-709, U-603, U-607, and U-441 were thought to be in the area. The Bronstein sunk U-603 and along with the DE 102 Thomas and the DE 103 Bostwick, sunk U-709. The U-441 was badly damaged and returned to Brest, France 14 days later. U-607 escaped apparently undamaged.
Sunk at 0800hrs on 13 Jul 1943 in the Bay of Biscay north-west of Cape Ortegal, Spain, in position 45.02N, 09.14W, by depth charges from a British Sunderland aircraft. German casualties were 45 dead and 7 survivors.
U-709
Data:
Built by H C Stülcken Sohn, Hamburg (werk 773); type VIIC; commissioned 12 Aug 1942; last commander 
Oblt. Rudolf Ites; five patrols; no ships sunk or damaged.
Fate:
Sunk 1 Mar 1944 north of the Azores, in approximate position 49.10N, 26.00W, by depth charges from the DE 102 USS Thomas, DE 103 USS Bostwick and DE 189 USS Bronstein. German casualties were 52 dead (all hands lost).
U-758
Data:
Built by Kriegsmarinewerft (KMW), Wilhelmshaven (werk 141); type VIIC; commissioned 5 May 1942; last commander Oblt. Hans-Arend Feindt; 7 combat patrols; 13,989 tons sunk.
Fate:
Attacked by 2 Avenger aircraft from the hunter-killer group USS Block Island with rockets (8 each) and depth charges (2 each) on 11 Jan 1944. Forced the boat to return to port on 20 Jan 1944 at St. Nazaire.
Stricken at Kiel, Germany on 16 Mar 1945 after being badly damaged by British bombs. Broken up in 1946-1947.
U-801
Data:
Built by Deutsche Schiff und Maschinenbau AG, Bremen (werk 359); type IXC/40;
commissioned 24 Mar 1943; last commander Kptlt. Hans-Joachim Brans; two patrols; no ships sunk or damaged.
Fate:
Sunk 17 Mar 1944 in the mid-Atlantic near the Cape Verde Islands, in position 16.42N, 30.28W, by a Fido homing torpedo from 2 Avenger aircraft (VC-9) of CVE 21 USS Block Island and depth charges and gunfire from the DD 463 USS Corry and DE 189 USS Bronstein. German casualties were 10 dead with 47 survivors.
U-1059
Data:
Built by F. Krupp Germaniawerft AG, Kiel (werk 693); type VIIF; commissioned 1 May 1943; last commander Oblt. Günter Leupold; one patrol; no ships sunk or damaged.
Fate:
On 19 Mar 1944 near the Cape Verde Islands, U-1059 was attacked by a 
TBF Avenger/ FM-2 Wildcat team from CVE 21 USS Block Island. As the aircraft approached they saw that U-1059 was on the surface, stopped, and crewmen were seen swimming in the water. While the Wildcat piloted by Lt(jg) W.H. Cole made a strafing run, the Avenger, piloted by Lt(jg) N.T. Dowty, dropped three depth charges on the boat. U-1059 began to sink, but the AA gunners on her deck scored hits on the TBF Avenger during its second attack run and it crashed into the sea during a turn, killing the pilot and one crewman. The mortally wounded pilot had dropped two depth charges that sent the U-Boat to the bottom. Ens M.E. Fitzgerald survived the aircraft crash and found himself on a floatation raft among a number of German survivors. He helped one wounded survivor but kept the others on distance with his pistol until DD 463 USS Corry arrived and rescued him and eight German survivors, including the badly wounded U-Boat commander. The photo is of a torpedo recovered from U-1059.
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References:
CDR Roy L. Swift with Robert J Cressman(1986, Winter). The Tale of Two Block Islands. The Hook, 22-39
UBoat.net 1995-2000, www.uboat.net