  
U-BOATS
THE U-BOAT ARCHIVE SERIES
Edited by Jak P. Mallmann Showell.
THE MONTHLY ANTI-SUBMARINE REPORTS
The Monthly Anti-Submarine Reports, circulated secretly to officers in the Royal Navy's escort forces throughout the war, were a major weapon in the all important distribution of information for the Battle of the Atlantic. Sadly, most of these reports have vanished into obscurity, leaving hardly a trace of the original authors. Producing these magazine style sheets was no mean feat, even if the production team did have access to classified information. Most of their German statistical details were surprisingly good and they were exceedingly quick off the mark to report new introductions from both sides with astonishing exactness.
In fact, it is this small margin of error which makes the reproduction of much statistical information somewhat uninteresting. Obviously it was difficult to get the exact German figures, but for most of the time the error is too small to be of any significance. These days, researchers are best advised to use amended post-war details and therefore much of the masses of statistical information from the originals has been left out in this reproduction.
Of special interest are the numerous small inconsistencies in the narratives. These days one cannot be sure whether these were injected on purpose to aid propaganda, whether they were untruths swallowed from the interrogation of prisoners or whether they were genuine mistakes. However, the numerous neat little jabs of carefully placed propaganda, belittling the other side, must have had a significant influence on the officers who were allowed to read these highly classified pages. It must be borne in mind that all of this material was produced during the war under a strict code of secrecy and much of it was plucked from "unreliable" sources. Therefore not necessarily everything with in these pages is true.
One of the most astonishing points about the Monthly Anti-Submarine Reports is that they have hardly ever been listed by major historians as a research source. The reason for this could well be that the Reports have remained firmly classified and it is likely that the majority were re-called for destruction rather than being left in libraries. However, the Monthly Anti-Submarine Reports were and still are one of the major primary resources for anyone studying U-boats and the Battle of the Atlantic.
Volume I. WHAT BRITAIN KNEW AND WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT U-BOATS
In this volume we have reproduced one complete month - April 1943 - more or less in its entirety to give some impression about the contents of the Reports. April 1943 was chosen because that was the first time that a convoy succeeded in crossing the Atlantic while throwing off every attacking U-boat and this has been well documented, especially by the escort commander Vice-Admiral Sir Peter Gretton in his classic book Crisis Convoy.
The original was printed on foolscap, marginally larger than A4, which has created some difficulties with the layout. The other problem is that the original contained a vast number of large maps and pull-out illustrations, many of which are too expensive to reproduce, although the quality is generally excellent and the content matter more than interesting. As far as possible, we have tried to preserve not only the information in the original, but also its rather unique flavour and its distinct characteristics. The section dealing with April 1943 has been kept, as far as possible, with its original punctuation and with the older form of spelling, but many of the following pages have been slightly modified to make it easier for readers who do not have English as their first language.
Some of the original records do not identify U-boats and additional details have been added to complete the picture. Apart from the April 943 Report the following extracts from other Monthly Reports are included in this volume.
Contents
U-boats lost around April 1943, September 2001
Form for Reporting Submarine Attacks on Convoys, July 1939
Secret Standing War Orders for German U-boats, June 1940
Reloading Torpedoes, March 1941
Details of U651, August 1941
Information Obtained from Prisoners of War, August 1941
What Happens in a U-boat, January 1941
Sighting Convoys, January 1941
Boarding a Disabled U-boat, January 1941
The Crew of U70, March 1941
Results of the Escape of German Prisoners of War
Information Obtained from Survivors from U131, U434 & U574
Near Misses by Ramming, January 1942
Questions put to Eight Royal Navy Submarine Commanders
H.M. Submarine Graph (ex-U570), March 1942
Dönitz's Headquarters, March 1942
Visit to the U-boat Harbour, March 1942
The Weather in the North Atlantic, January 1944
U-boat W/T Transmissions during Attacks on Convoys
Watchkeeping in U-boats, May 1942
A German Broadcast, May 1942
Admiral Dönitz's Broadcast, July 1942
Information from Prisoners of War in HMS Duke of York
Information from Prisoners of War, December 1942
Young U-boat Crews in Contact with the Enemy
The Wisdom of Grand Admiral Dönitz, January 1944
The Gnat (Acoustic Homing) Torpedo, February 1944
Apparatus in the Wireless Cabinet, March 1941
Information about U-boats, October 1939
U-boat Radar, February 1944
Radar Decoy Spar-Buoy, February 1944
What a U-boat Ace Thinks of Hitler, April 1944
Trials with a Fast Submarine, December 1944
Handbook for German U-boat Captains, May 1944
The Last Cruise of U99, April 1941
The Sinking of U110, June 1941
210 x 295mm, 108 Pages.
ISBN 0-85420-042-8 Hardback Edition £25.00
ISBN 0-85420-047-9 Softback Edition £15.00
Volume 2. WEAPONS USED AGAINST U-BOATS
Contents.
Effect of the convoy system on the reduction of shipping
British counter measures
Protection of merchant shippin
Administration of convoys
Anti-submarine trawlers
Convoys
Administration of convoys B some difficulties
Signalling
Station B keeping
Visibility in convoys
The effect of the convoy system
Defence of unconvoyed ships
Remarks on main convoys
Research, experimental and design work in progress since April 1940
Hydrophones
Sonic versus asdic hydrophones
Present day use of hydrophones
Use of loudspeakers
Headphone reception of hydrophone effect
Training and practice
Whales
Progress at Fairlie (Anti-Submarine Experimental Establishment)
Self defence in cruisers
Listening for hydrophone effect
Experimental facilities
Asdic sets in “Town” class destroyers
HM Anti-submarine school in Australia
RD/F (Radio Direction Finder B radar) as an anti-submarine device
Performance
Operational use
Training
Maintenance
Defects
Future development at Fairlie (Anti-Submarine Experimental Establishment)
Revision of asdic operating procedure for surface craft
Iceland routing
A destroyer misses a magnificent opportunity
Accuracy of firing depth charge patterns
Remarks on anti-submarine weapons
The multi-spigot mortar (The Hedgehog)
The use of the ram
Illuminants
“Nimrod” anti-submarine hunting game
RDF (Radio Direction Finder B radar) and asdic detection of U-boats
Counter attack competition
New asdic set
Hedgehog fitting programme
RDF (Radio Direction Finder B radar)
Near misses by ramming
Practical experience of H/F D/F in HMS “Brocke” (High Frequency Direction Finder)
M/F D/F bearings of shadowing U-boats from merchant ships in Convoy HX175
A visit to the Russian anti-submarine school at Polyarnoe
Night attack by a Wellington aircraft fitted with a searchlight
The Mousetrap projector
Development in depth charges
Further developments with the Mousetrap projector
Asdic set, Type 144
Aircraft depth bombs
An appreciation of the work of base anti-submarine maintenance staffs
Detection of mines by asdic
Minol-filled, Mark IV, depth charges
Hedgehog ammunition
Anti-submarine bombs
SUEs, (Signals, underwater exploring)
Coastal Command activities
The Squid
Fitting asdics in merchant ships
Explosion of Hedgehog projectiles in HMS “Escapade”
Modern trends with anti-submarine attack instruments
The “Standard” night escort training device
The “Shark” anti-submarine projectile
Anti-submarine section of the naval forces of the Union of South Africa
Radio sono buoys
MAD (Magnetic Airborne Detector) and retro-bombs
Expansion of anti-submarine training
Illumination for night attacks on U-boats by aircraft
The British section of the US Navy sound school at Key West (Florida)
Successful all-radar attack by a British submarine
Training in the use and maintenance of weapons and equipment
A practical anti-U-boar exercise in the Indian Ocean
Anti-submarine training in New Zealand
Anti-submarine weapons in use by Fleet Air Arm and Coastal Command aircraft
Net Defence in moving merchant ships
Operational experience with sono buoys
Anti-submarine warfare B some general principles
United States Navy Killer Group instructions
Air escort of large, fast task forces
The radio war
H/F D/F (High Frequency Direction Finders)
Radar and GSR
Centimetric radar
Appreciations, June and July 1943
The great radiation scare
“Naxos”
The effects on morale
Radar decoys
A new approach
Jammers and decoys
GSR
The problem of invisibility
U-boat radar
H/F security
“Y”
The chase of a submerged U-boat capable of 25 knots submerged
A brief survey of anti-submarine weapons used throughout the war
210 x 295mm, 100 pages.
ISBN 0-85420-076-2 Hardback edition £25.00
ISBN 0-85420-077-0 Softback edition £15.00
Volume 3: THE BRITISH MONTHLY COUNTER MEASURES REVIEWS
Throughout the war the British Anti-Submarine Warfare Division of the Naval Staff distributed the latest essential news for combating the U-boat threat as Monthly Reviews. These were so secret at the time that only officers engaged in anti-submarine duties were provided copies and the vast majority of the men fighting the war at sea did not even know these documents existed. Volume 3 of the U-boat Archive Series contains re-prints of these remarkable Counter Measures Reviews. The original text has been annotated with post-war information to provide a fascinating glimpse into a most important aspect of the U-boat war.
210 x 295mm, 134 pages.
ISBN 0-85420-091-6 Hardback edition £25.00
ISBN 0-85420-301-X Softback edition £15.00
Volume 4: THE BRITISH MONTHLY U-BOAT OFFENSIVE REVIEWS
As a follow-on for volume 3, this book contains annotated reprints of the Monthly U-boat Offensive Reviews. Produced by the British Anti-Submarine Warfare Division of the Naval Staff, these accounts provided a clear insight into how Britain perceived the threat of the massive U-boat campaign. Once again the text has been annotated with post-war information to make it easier to identify individual actions.
ISBN 0-85420-036-3 Hardback edition £25.00
ISBN 0-85420-282-X Softback edition £15.00
Volume 5 : EXTRACTS FROM THE STRATEGIC BOMBING SURVEY OF THE GERMAN U–BOAT INDUSTRY
Contents: Raw Materials, U.S. Strategic Bombing Survey of Bremen:- Deutsche Schiff und Maschinenbau AG (Deschimag AG Weser), The Plant and its function in enemy economy, Products of the Plant, Physical description of the plant, Ownership and management, Organisation, Employees, Attacks , Effects of Bombing, Physical damage, Effects of Bombing on cranes and docks, Effects of the Bombing on Submarines, Effects of Bombing on buildings and dockyard plant Damage created by the bombing campaign , Effects of bombing on machine tools , Effects of bombing on air alarms, Effects of bombing on production targets, Welding difficulties created by the bombing damage, Causes for loss of production, Effects of bombing on the recuperability cycle, Intelligence check, Data relevant to other studies, Evaluations and impressions.
U.S. Strategic Bombing Survey of Concrete Submarine Bunkers, Submarine Pens (Fink II) at Deutsche Werft in Hamburg:- Object of study , Summary, General information, Description of target, Design and construction of the target, Summary of construction, Reinforcement, Walls, Foundations, Roof, Steel, Walls, Foundations, Description of the attack, Analysis of the damage, Recommendations and conclusions.
U.S. Strategic Bombing Survey of Hamburg : Blohm und Voss Shipyard:- The yard and its function in enemy economy, Products of the plant, Physical description of plant, Features of design and construction of buildings, Facilities, transportation, utilities, Ownership and management, Personnel interviewed and employees Blohm und Voss and submarine building, Prefabricated or section program of Type XXI, Attacks, Attack data , Effects of bombing, Damage to buildings, structures and utilities, Fire damage, Damage to machinery and equipment, Protection of machine tools, Weapon effectiveness, Production loss due to bombing, Type VIIC submarines, Type XXI submarines, Docks and other yard facilities, Diversion of productive workers, Shortages and bottlenecks, Recuperability, Vulnerability, Intelligence check, Evaluations and impressions.
U.S. Strategic Bombing Survey of Kiel Krupp Germania Werft :- The plant and its function in enemy economy, Products of plant and physical description of plant, Facilities, transportation, utilities. Ownership and management, Personnel interviewed and employees, Development of Type VIIC submarine, Talent supplied to design new submarines, Submarine building record of Germania Werft, Germania Werft as laboratory for submarine development, Attacks, Effects of bombing, Damage to buildings and structures, Damage to utilities and machine tools, Protection of machinery and tools, Weapon effectiveness , Production loss due to bombing Type VIIC submarines, Type XXIII submarines, Midget submarines, Other types of submarines, Diversion of yard activities, Recuperability, Vulnerability, Intelligence check, Evaluations and impressions.
210 x 295mm, 84 pages, index.
ISBN 085420-960-3 Hardback edition £25.00
ISBN 085420-965-4 Softback edition £15.00
Volume 6:- FROM THE EARLY U-BOAT ARCHIVE JOURNALS
Contents:- First Published in October 1998.
News from the Archive; U129’s second war cruise and the fate of the Submarine Supply Ship Kota Pinang; U192 Oblt.z.S. Werner Happe (Preparing for Action); Definition of Words; The naval author Jochen Brennecke (U34 and the sinking of HMS Whirlwind and Spearfish); U566’s successful fight against Allied aircraft; Flotillenadmiral Otto Kretschmer; A patrol of SM U22 in the eastern Baltic.
First Published in April 1999
The circulation of a lie; In Memory of Otto Kretschmer; Report for 1998; Printing ships’ names; New Books; Extracts from old war diaries - U188 fending off an aircraft attack in the Bay of Biscay; The Austro-Hungarian U-boat Ace Rudolf Singule and SM U-IV1; Oblt.z.S. Wolfgang Leu – The U-boat commander who sacrificed himself to save his crew.
First Published in November 1999
U47 in Scapa Flow and the sinking of the battleship Royal Oak; Royl Navy.
First Published in November 1999
News; From old war diaries - The sinking of the Fanad Head by Fritz-Julius Lemp (U30); How did it work? – Alarm bells and the flashing light facility; Food on board U-boats; Knight’s Cross during the 13th Voyage – Kptlt. Claus Korth (U93); The fight for the Confined Space Supplement; The last Knight Supplement – Rudolf Singule; Operational Training with the Agru-Front; Basic principles for the relaying of orders; Seehund wreck discovered in the Baltic; Submarines on postage stamps; Man overboard; Practical experience and warning radio signals; New books.
First Published May 2000
Newsletter; U-boot-Archiv report for the year 1999; The International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg; From old logbooks – The 7th voyage of U96 (Heinrich Lehmann-Willenbrock).
First Published December 2000
News and comments; Professor Hellmuth Walter; From old war diaries – The first U-boat group attack against a convoy; Operational trials during peacetime – U26’s voyage to Spain; Historic Warships at Birkenhead; Man overboard; Books. [Publication Spring 2004]
ISBN 0-85420-950-6 Hardback edition £25.00
ISBN 0-85420-955-7 Softback edition £15.00
U-570 - H.M.S. GRAPH : THE TECHNICAL REPORT
H.M.S. GRAPH, ex “U-570” was the first enemy submarine to surrender intact to the Allies. There were only two such occurrences during World War II. The Americans captured U-505 in June 1944, off the west coast of Africa. She never went to sea again and found a last resting place in front of the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago. U-570 on the other hand did go to sea again-under the White Ensign. The U-boat was a priceless asset in the business of war. In August 1941 the British Admiralty could not believe their luck when a report from a lone Hudson Aircraft radioed in that she had captured a U-boat. This Technical Report was compiled for the Admiralty in January 1943 whilst H.M.S. GRAPH was in dry-dock undergoing a refit.
Included in this report are chapters on the early history and capture of U-570 and on the condition she was found in when abandoned. In addition to the Technical Report included is the report produced by the US Navy from their examination of the submarine during its visit to the US in 1943. A portfolio of Plans and drawings are included showing the Docking Plan, and Watertight Compartments, the diagrammatic drawings include Periscope Optical Arrangement and Outer Casing. Resilient mountings, & Zeiss Fixed Eyepiece Periscope etc.
210 x 295mm, 102 pages.
ISBN 0-85420-940-9 Hardback edition £27.00
ISBN 0-85420-945-X Softback edition £15.00
[ Publication May 2004. ]
OPERATION DEADLIGHT: BURY THE WOLVES DEEP
This was announced in our last catalogue for publication in the Spring of 2003. The author, Mr T Andrews has unearthed considerably more information and therefore it was decided to delay publication until this information could be included in the book.
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