The Burning Shore (36 page)

5
.  396th Medium Bombardment Squadron receives A-29 Hudsons, personnel increases, and assignment to Naval Air Station Alameda from 396th History; Kane comments on A-29 from Kane Oral Interview; USAAF personnel, aircraft numbers, casualties, and accidents from USAAF Statistical Digest, Tables 14, 34, and 213; in 1942, USAAF combat deaths totaled 3,477 compared with 2,384 in training or other stateside fatalities, but as the service went into large-scale combat operations in 1943, combat deaths increased at a higher rate. By the end of the war, 40,061 airmen had been killed in combat; yet 14,903 airmen were unable to take that risk since they had died before getting the chance to deploy overseas; Stimson concern over West Coast security was in his personal diary for April 21, 1942, and Marshall warning to Dewitt, both cited in Conn, Engleman, and Fairchild,
United States Army in World War II
, 89.

6
.  U-701 departure and stopover in Lorient from Degen,
Glory and Tragedy
; details of TMB mine from
Uboat.net
,
http://www.uboat.net/technical/mines.htm
; U-boat mine-laying procedure and daily life aboard U-701 from Degen,
Glory and Tragedy
.

7
.  Sighting of trawler and liner
Drottningholm
from Degen,
Glory and Tragedy
.

8
.  Battle of Midway details from Gordon Prang with Donald M. Goldstein and Katherine V. Dillon,
Miracle at Midway
(New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1982); additional Midway details, including army fear of West Coast attack and DeWitt cancellation of alert on June 8, from Conn, Engleman, and Fairchild,
United States Army in World War II
, 88–92; 396th Medium Bombardment Squadron transfer to Cherry Point from 396th History.

9
.  Tension as U-701 neared coast, absence of American patrols, MacArthur Day, and decision to ignore BdU operations order from Degen,
Glory and Tragedy
; ESF awareness of U-boat mining operation from ESF War Diary for June 1942, ch. 2, 1–3.

10
.  Intelligence warnings of U-boat mines from ESF War Diary for June 1942, ch. 2, 1–2.

11
.  U-701 minelaying operation from Degen,
Glory and Tragedy
.

12
.  Saboteur team on U-202 from Dobbs,
Saboteurs
, 48–49; U-202 departure from BdU KTB for May 27–28, 1942; U-202 runs aground from Dobbs,
Saboteurs
, 95–97. The fifth special operation U-boat, U-584, successfully landed its four Abwehr agents at Ponte Vedra Beach in northern Florida without incident on June 16.

13
.  Andrews’s warning on U-boat mine laying from ESF War Diary for June 1942, ch. 2; shipping losses from World War I mines from Clark,
When the U-boats Came to America
, 148–150, 308. The
San Diego
sinking was remarkable in that only 6 men of the 1,189-man crew died in the incident.

CHAPTER 10: THE WAR COMES HOME

1
.  Batten experience at Virginia Beach from a letter to the author, July 9, 1982; Convoy KN109 arrival from ESF War Diary for June 1942, ch. 2; coastal convoy data for May 15 to June 15, 1942, compiled from
ConvoyWeb.org
; 312 ships sailing without loss from rosters of KN and KS convoys correlated with U-boat sinkings for that month at
Uboat.net
; the actual number of vessels involved was 272, but 40 of them made passages in more than one convoy.

2
.  Different speeds of sound in air and in water from
Hypertextbook.com
; reports indicate the ships were between four and five miles from shore; Martin comments from “Battle of Atlantic Pushes Virginia’s Shores—Two U.S. Merchant Ships Torpedoed Before Eyes of Thousands Who Line Resort to See Grim War Drama,”
Virginian-Pilot
, June 17, 1942; Blomquist actions on
Esso Augusta
from his affidavit, “Esso Augusta—Damaged as a Result of War Perils,” June 16, 1942, from NARA RG 38, 10th Fleet files;
Dione
and
Bainbridge
depth charge attacks and sinking of
Kingston Ceylonite
and
Santore
from ESF War Diary for June 1942, ch. 2, 5–7, 11–12; phantom U-boat sightings from
Virginian-Pilot
.

3
.  Cross-country flight of the 396th Medium Bombardment Squadron and loss of two aircraft and description of Cherry Point construction from Kane Oral Interview; details of base from “History of U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point,” 4–5 (henceforth “Cherry Point History”); U-boats patroling within ESF boundaries between June 15 and July 7, 1942, compiled from their patrol reports at
Uboat.net
; number of ships damaged and sunk and tonnage totals from
Uboat.net
; description of patrols, ship sightings, and machine-gun attack on floating fuel tank from Kane Oral Interview.

4
.  World War II events in June 1942 from Polmar and Allen,
World War II
, 21–22; British agenda at Argonaut Conference from Blair,
Hitler’s U-boat War
, 1:592.

5
.  Marshall memorandum to King, King reply, and FDR complaint to King from Blair,
Hitler’s U-boat War
, 1:594–596; Roosevelt refusal to approve
Treasury
-class cutter or destroyer escort production from Blair,
Hitler’s U-boat War
, 1:449–451.

CHAPTER 11: HUNTER AND HUNTED

1
.  U-701 deploys to Cape Hatteras, reloads torpedo tubes, and escapes attack from patrol bomber from Degen,
Glory and Tragedy
.

2
.  U-701 hunts in vain from Degen,
Glory and Tragedy
; coastal convoy records from June 1942 at
ConvoyWeb.org
show that northbound Convoy KN110 passed Cape Hatteras during the day on Wednesday, June 17, and southbound Convoy KS511—minus the 7,117-ton collier
Santore
, which had sunk after striking one of Degen’s TMB mines—traversed the area the following day; encounter with patrol craft from Degen,
Glory and Tragedy
.

3
.  Background and details of
USS YP-389
and its crew from “Record of Proceedings of a Court of Inquiry to Inquire into Circumstances Attending the Attack on
YP-389
, July 19, 1942,” NARA RG 125/P2; other details from ESF War Diary for June 1942, ch. 5; U-701 attack on
YP-389
from Degen,
Glory and Tragedy
; the court of inquiry into the loss of
YP-389
recommended that Lieutenant Philips be tried by general court-martial for failing to seek encounter with the enemy and for being “culpably inefficient” in the performance of his duty. Vice Admiral Andrews at Eastern Sea Frontier rejected the recommendation on grounds that Philips had attempted to delay the patrol due to the solitary gun being out of commission, which rendered
YP-389
unable to defend itself; BdU congratulatory message from Degen,
Glory and Tragedy
.

4
.  Convoys off Cape Hatteras between June 19 and 26 from
ConvoyWeb.org
; they were southbound convoys KS512 and KS513 and northbound convoys KN111 and KN112; details of attack on
Tamesis
from Fifth Naval District report of attack, July 4, 1942, NARA RG 38;
British Freedom
attack from “Summary of Statements by Survivors of
MV British Freedom
,” OP-16-B-5, July 10, 1942, NARA RG 38; minor damage to U-701 from U-701 Interrogation Report; attack on
William Rockefeller
from Degen,
Glory and Tragedy
, and “Summary of Statements by Survivors of
SS William Rockefeller
, Standard Oil Company of New Jersey, Enemy Attack on Merchant Ships,” Office of Naval Intelligence, OP-16-B-5, July 10, 1942, NARA RG 38; Stewart description of attack from “Affidavit of William R. Stewart, Master
SS William Rockefeller
, Torpedoed and Sunk, June 28, 1942”; sinking of tanker from Degen,
Glory and Tragedy
.

5
.  Schwendel comment on poor air quality from Schwendel 2011 interview; Degen decision to ventilate the boat from Degen,
Glory and Tragedy
; U-701 message of July 6, 1942, from BdU reconstruction of U-701 patrol compiled from KTB war diary and message traffic.

6
.  A-29 engine startup procedures from A-29 Contractor’s Handbook; MCAS Cherry Point described in Cherry Point History.

7
.  Degen decision to ventilate U-701 from Degen,
Glory and Tragedy
; Junker reprimanded from U-701 Interrogation Report.

8
.  Sighting of U-boat from Kane Oral Interview.

9
.  Attack on U-701 from Kane Oral Interview; two depth charges straddle U-boat from Kane’s “Report on U-boat Attack to I Bomber Command,” July 7, 1942.

CHAPTER 12: THE ORDEAL

1
.  Accounts of the sinking of U-701 by three former crewmen were originally in personal letters to Horst Degen (Herbert Grotheer, November 23, 1965; Gerhard Schwendel, January 16, 1966; and Werner Seldte, August 22, 1972) and were provided to the author by Degen; Vaupel encounter with Junker in the control room recounted in a letter to Degen on July 22, 1951; Degen’s account of the sinking from
Glory and Tragedy
and Annex B to the U-701 Interrogation Report.

2
.  Kane and aircrew attempt to help U-701 survivors from Kane Oral Interview; A-29 life raft installation from A-29 Pilot’s Handbook; Kane comment on “beaten” U-701 crew from Dennis Rogers, “A Duel at Sea Destined to Allow Only One Victor,”
Raleigh News & Observer
, September 1, 1980.

3
.  Events of Degen’s group for late July 7 from Degen,
Glory and Tragedy
and Annex B to the U-701 Interrogation Report.

4
.  Kane attempts to obtain rescuers for U-boat survivors from Kane Oral Interview and “Log of Events, Lt. Kane’s Attack on U-boat,” annex to “Report on U-boat Attack to I Bomber Command.”

5
.  Events of July 8–9 for U-701 survivors from Degen,
Glory and Tragedy
, Annex B to the U-701 Interrogation Report, and Grotheer’s 1965 letter to Degen.

6
.  Kane fury over navy officials’ doubt of sinking and meeting with Degen in Norfolk from Kane Oral Interview.

EPILOGUE

1
.  Naval Intelligence suspicions of a third U-boat ferrying saboteurs from undated ONI Memorandum reviewing the German sabotage mission, from NARA RG 38UD; Degen conversation with Bernard in ONI transcript of intercepted conversation, August 10, 1942, also in NARA RG 38UD.

2
.  U-701 survivors transferred to Massachusetts from U-701 Interrogation Report; Dasch and Berger betrayal of Operation Pastorius from Dobbs,
Saboteurs
, 123, 189–191; seven weeks after landing ashore, six of the eight men were executed after a military commission found them guilty of violating the law of war, but Dasch and Berger received lengthy prison sentences and were deported in 1948; ONI interrogation of Degen and his concealment of U-701 mining mission from U-701 Interrogation Report, 9–13.

3
.  U-701 War Diary reconstruction by BdU; attacks on U-402 and U-576 and loss of U-576 from Blair,
Hitler’s U-boat War
, 1:626–627; background of U-402 and U-576 from
Uboat.net
,
http://www.uboat.net/boats/listing.html
, and Busch and Röll,
German U-boat Commanders
, 71, 97; Convoys KN117 and KS520 ships and tonnage from
ConvoyWeb.org
; roster of escorts for two convoys from same; BdU calls off coastal campaign from BdU KTB for July 19, 1942; U-boat deployments and Allied shipping losses in the western Atlantic from US littoral waters to 060:00 degrees west longitude from January through July 1942 compiled from
Uboat.net
, “Ship Losses by Month,”
http://www.uboat.net/allies/merchants/losses_year.html
, and “U-boat Losses During 1942,” at
Uboat.net
,
http://www.uboat.net/fates/losses/1942.htm
.