Eight German U-boats arrive at Londonderry (1945)
Eight German U-boats which had surrendered in Loch Eriboll, on the coast of northern Scotland, arrived at Londonderry during this week in 1945, reported the News Letter.
Shortly after they tied up, Northern Ireland Prime Minister Sir Basil Brooke, accompanied by Sir Max Horton, Commander-in-Chief, Western Approaches, went on board one of the vessels.
Admiral Horton said U-boats - about half the sea - had surrendered.
He told the News Letter that it was likely that some might not have received surrender instructions. He added that Londonderry, his largest base, had played a vital part in winning the Battle of the Atlantic.
LARGE CROWDS
There were large crowds at Culmore Point and other places to watch the arrival of the U-boats, none of which bore any markings except those placed there by their captors.
A portion of the crews had been taken off at Loch Eriboll. and skeleton crews, under British naval guards, worked, the ships across to the Foyle.
From the mouth of the Foyle they were provided with a British, American and Canadian escort and it was a memorable sight as the procession made its way up the channel.
The senior officer of the 14th Group, Commander R A Currie, led the way on board HMS Hesperus, followed by HMCS Thetford Mines (Lieutenant-Commander J A R Allen).
Then came four submarines - U-boat 1305 (Ober Lieutenant H Christiansen), U-1009 (Ober Lieutenant Uilzendorf), U-1005 (Ober Lieutenant Schwarz), and U-1058 (Ober Lieutenant Bruder.
USS Paine (Lieutenant-Commander Cochran) led the second division, consisting of U-826 (Captain Lieutenant C Lubeke), U-293 (Ober Lieutenant Creigspor), U-1109 (Captain Lieutenant von Riesen) and U-802 (Captain Lieutenant Schnoechel).
The long, sleek U-boats, their hulls glistening from the storm through which they had just passed and flying the White Ensign, tied up at Lisahally.
As the vessels drew alongside the jetty where Admiral Horton, the Prime Minister, and representatives of all the Services, were assembled, the enemy personnel stood on the decks at attention before taking orders from their own officers on the conning towers for the tying up of their craft.
LOOKED FIT
The News Letter noted of the German submariners: “Some of the Germans had long hair and many of them had beards. They looked fit and for the most part did not appear downcast at the knowledge that they were mooring their submarines for the last time. They carried out the instructions of their officers with alacrity, and then assembled together before being marched off by military unitss, led by their officers, for internment.”
The commander of each enemy was brought ashore and questioned by Admiral Horton. Some of them could speak excellent English, and for those who could not there was an interpreter.
The News Letter added: “They were asked if they understood the terms of surrender, and how long had they been at sea.
“The commanders gave smart (not Nazi) salutes, and their whole bearing, and that of their men, was that of accepting the inevitable.”
It also noted that the submarines had surrendered at widely dispersed areas: “They had surfaced in positions from north of Faroes, westward to the south of Ireland. Some had been well out in the Atlantic, and from the appearance of several it was obvious that they had been a long time at sea. Seven of the submarines were of 500 tons, the eighth being 750 tons.”
The visit of the Commander-in-Chief was a great occasion, and while flights of aeroplanes dived overhead, he inspected a guard of honour of the 13th Battalion the Welch Regiment.
The route to the jetty was lined by units of the Royal Navy, Royal Canadian Navy, the United States Navy, and the RUC.
Admiral Horton, who commanded a submarine in the 1914-18 war, sank the German cruiser Hela.
MORE SURRENDERS
Two more U-boats had surrendered the previous night at Loch Eriboll. Meanwhile, another, one of the latest types, surrendered at Dundee harbour.
U-858, which claimed 16 Allied vessels, became the first U-boat to surrender to the United States Forces since the German capitulation.