Talk:German submarine U-635

Contradictory source

Here is what U-boat net says: "In the late evening on 4 April 1943, U-635 (Eckelmann) attacked convoy HX-231 and reported two ships with 13,000 grt sunk. At 01.58 hours on 5 April, U-630 also attacked two ships from the same convoy southeast of Cape Farewell, heard two detonations and sinking noises and reported one ship sunk and another probably sunk. The ships were Shillong and Waroonga, which had both been damaged in the attack of U-635 earlier.
The Waroonga (Master Charles Campbell Taylor) was scuttled by HMS Loosestrife (K 105) (T/Lt A.A. Campbell, RNR) in the morning on 6 April. Eleven crew members, one gunner and seven passengers (two DBS) were lost. The master, 97 crew members, seven gunners and eight passengers (one DBS) were picked up by the corvette and the American Liberty ship Joel R. Poinsett and landed at Londonderry on 9 April." (bold added)

In the escort commander's account, there is mention of Waroonga four times, one of which reads: "The weather had got worse during the night and just before dawn the Waroonga reported that her bulkheads had given way and that she was abandoning ship. The Loosestrife was sent to her help, but the sea was so rough that one boat capsized with the loss of seventeen men, and the ship sank shortly afterwards. It was tragic that their gallant efforts to keep up with the convoy had been so ill rewarded." Escort Commander: A Memoir of the Battle of the Atlantic (p. 101) Reading the whole account, Gretton was an eyewitness to much of what happened. Yes, this is a primary source, but so too, one has to presume, are the combat logs on which U-boat net base their version - which is, in itself contradictory.

I think we have the unsatisfactory position of conflicting references here, with little to choose between them. ThoughtIdRetired (talk) 20:19, 3 November 2021 (UTC)

See your point. However from the mention in Grettons book he doesn't make any comment on which U-Boat torpedoed Waroonga or indeed if there were two separate attacks and the comment that her bulkheads were giving away are just what you would expect after a torpedo hit, I don't think it supports any claim that she foundered and was not torpedoed. I'm dubious of anything Gretton says in a book written 20 years after the event (first published 1964, long enough for memories to fade and too soon to benefit from later research. So lets look at other sources, Rohwer states U-630 and U-635 both sunk one ship that night given tonnage shows Shillong for U-630 and Waroonga for U-635, Wynn (U-boat operations of the Second World War) has U-630 sinking Shillong and U-635 Waroonga, Jordan (The Worlds Merchant Fleets) credits U-630 with Waroonga (sinking after damage the following day) and U-635 Shillong. So as you say RS differ Lyndaship (talk) 16:40, 4 November 2021 (UTC)

I note your remarks. Gretton actually wrote the book quite soon after the events, and then discovered as a serving officer he was not allowed to publish it. So that waited until he retired, when he added a bit of extra stuff - mostly a few interpretations from having read some of the other works on the Battle of the Atlantic that had come out in the meantime. That said, he makes the point that he did not keep a diary and was relying on memory.

I don't know if you have taken a look at Gretton's book - he says quite a bit about Waroonga (I felt I should not quote a huge amount) and he went to see her captain when the survivors were disembarking. He also observed the damage from the original torpedo attack ("a hole you could have driven a car through"). It sounds like an event that was well etched into his mind - but then he could always have got the wrong impression at the time. Nevertheless, he gives no mention of a second torpedoing event, which would surely be something of which an escort commander would need to be acutely aware. (On another subject, Gretton's account makes it very clear how important Huff Duff was in supressing or destroying u-boats - I don't think wikipedia or others give it sufficient credit. Other Battle of the Atlantic memoirs say the same thing.)

Where have the other works that you list got their information? (Presumably not U-boat net.) The frustrating thing is that there is probably some official report on the convoy in the National Archives. Have either of your additional sources gone there for information?ThoughtIdRetired (talk) 17:31, 4 November 2021 (UTC)

Rohwer is Jurgen Rohwer, I think the contents of his Chronology is also available online. His sources seem to primarily official and unofficial German sources. Wynns book isbn is 1861760698, he lists Rohwer and every possible UK official source. Jordan isbn is 186176023X, he cites Rohwer and Wynn but no official ones, mostly his info seems to come from Lloyds. I guess only by looking at the Official UK report and discovering at what time(s) the torpedo(s) struck could you be sure which submarine was responsible, obviously the German reports have U-635 claiming two ships sunk and then U-630 claiming one sunk and one probably sunk but those are claims not certainties Lyndaship (talk) 19:17, 4 November 2021 (UTC)

Looking at the online resources of the National Archive, item number BT 389/31/184 is the merchant shipping movement card for Waroonga (explanation of these cards: [1]). Here you find the entry, transcribed from handwriting:
"Torpedoed in 57°10′N 35°30′W 5/4.. Hit aft - maintaining convoy speed Engine room bulkhead shaken Requested tug (CL 879 6/4)
[next page] Finally sunk 6/4(CL881 8/4) [then in different ink from all else " R/W slg UK"]
8/4 Notify all further movements. Int 296
Date of attack rptd as 4/4 (CL 884 11912/4)
Master's interview - date given as 5/4 (CL902 4/5) (OV 6 353 4/?)
Torpedoed on 5th in position shown Sank on 6/4"

So that's a readily available online resource, free to me and presumably free to anyone who logs into the site. Very much a primary source, but it seems to me to confirm Gretton's account. Torpedoed one day, sank the next - and there is comment about the engine room bulkhead. ThoughtIdRetired (talk) 19:13, 4 November 2021 (UTC)

So it seems U-635 damaged both ships but neither sank immediately, then U-630 fired at the same two ships but only hit Shillong which sank, then Wooronga succumbed to the hit from U-635 - agrees with Rohwer and Wynn. Is the Loosestrife info in Grettons book? Can't find any source for that (given that u-boat net got it from somewhere) Lyndaship (talk) 19:33, 4 November 2021 (UTC)

Loosestrife is mentioned many times in Gretton's book and he says she was sent to pick up survivors from Waroonga when the bulkheads finally gave way. The weather was extremely rough (hence the losses from the overturned lifeboat), so highly unlikely that Loosestrife sent anyone on board to scuttle - Gretton had forbidden the removal of all unnecessary people from Waroonga the day before because boatwork was too dangerous. Strangely, Gretton makes no mention of Shillong, but she possibly sank at a moment of hectic activity that is described just after Waroonga sank. On looking at Gretton's book again, it seems he was writing with the benefit of his ship's R/T log to hand. The movement card for Shillong confirms torpedoed on 5/4 but one needs to be able to understand the abbreviation system of the cards to decipher the rest. My guess is that she sank on the 5th and this event is recorded in a document titled "CL 879 6/4" - I see how someone could misread this as torpedoed on 5th and sunk on the 6th (or, perhaps my interpretation is wrong). ThoughtIdRetired (talk) 20:07, 4 November 2021 (UTC)

A further discovery, there appear to be some medals gazetted on 28 Sept 1943 for Waroonga- but I always seem to have difficulty finding these - do not see eye to eye with the gazette's search function.ThoughtIdRetired (talk) 20:15, 4 November 2021 (UTC)