List of all U-boats
U-852
Type | IXD2 | |||||||||
| Ordered | 20 Jan 1941 | |||||||||
| Laid down | 15 Apr 1942 | AG Weser, Bremen (werk 1058) | ||||||||
| Launched | 28 Jan 1943 | |||||||||
| Commissioned | 15 Jun 1943 | Kptlt. Heinz-Wilhelm Eck | ||||||||
| Commanders |
| |||||||||
| Career 1 patrol |
| |||||||||
| Successes | 2 ships sunk, total tonnage 9,972 GRT | |||||||||
| Fate |
Badly damaged on 2 May 1944 in the Arabian Sea east of Ras Hafun, Somalia, in position 10.32N, 52.00E, by depth charges from a British Wellington aircraft (621 Sqn RAF/E) and subsequently attacked by five other Wellington aircraft (621 Sqn/T, F, D, U & 8 Sqn RAF/G). Beached and blown up on 3 May 1944 north of Bandar Beyla, Somalia, in position 09.34'36.01N, 50.48'11.55E. 7 dead and 59 survivors. | |||||||||
| Loss position | ||||||||||
General notes on this boat
14 Mar 1944. U-852 was proceeding to the Indian Ocean to join the Monsun wolfpack when its commander committed an act that made it infamous.
Kptlt. Heinz Eck had survivors and wreckage from the Greek steamer Peleus machine-gunned with the intention of erasing all traces of the sinking. Eck and two of his crew were tried and executed after the war: he was the only U-boat commander indicted for war crimes. See our article Heinz-Wilhelm Eck: Siegerjustiz and the Peleus Affair.
3 May 1944. On 3 May 1944 the Allies captured an intact Fa330 "Bachstelze" autogyro carried by the U-852, the first inkling of its existence. Impressed by its simplicity and ease of assembly, they began evaluation.
Source: Aircraft of the Smithsonian
Men lost from U-boats
Unlike many other U-boats, which during their service lost men due to accidents and various other causes, U-852 did not suffer any casualties (we know of) until the time of her loss.
U-boat Emblems
We have 1 emblem entry for this boat. See the emblem page for this boat or view emblems individually below.
 Turtle |
Media links
|
|
|
As an Amazon Associate uboat.net earns a commission from qualifying purchases.