Немецкая подводная лодка U-852 времен Второй мировой войны

German World War II submarine

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.