The Sinking of U-boat 864

During World War II, German U-boats wrought havoc upon Allied supply lines and commercial shipping inflicting heavy losses on merchant convoys. Lurking stealthy beneath the waves, these deadly submarines operated with great secrecy and surprise, attacking merchant vessels and warships using torpedoes and, at times, surface guns, resulting in considerable economic and military losses for the Allies. By the end of the war, German U-boats had sunk almost 3,000 Allied ships. In response, Allied submarines and warships managed to sink approximately 785 of these U-boats. Remarkably, only one of these kills were made when both submarines were submerged. HMS Venturer. The only submarine in history to have sunk another while both were submerged. On 5 December 1944, the German submarine U-864 left Kiel on the Baltic sea with 67 short tons of metallic mercury destined for Japan to be used in military industry. U-864 also carried parts and engineering drawings for German jet fighter aircraft and other military supplies for Japan. While en route to Bergen, U-864 ran aground and had to stop in Farsund for repairs, arriving in Bergen on 5 January 1945. While docked in the U-boat pens, U-864 received minor damage when the harbor was attacked by the Royal Air Force on 12 January. After repairs were completed U-864 resumed her voyage and on 6 February, she passed the Fedje area without being detected. Unfortunately, one of her engines began to misfire and the noise produced by the faulty diesel engine was picked up by a British submarine HMS Venturer on 9 February. The 25-year-old captain of the Venturer , Jimmy Launders, decided not to use sonar since it would betray his position. Instead, he started tracking the U-boat using hydrophone alone. About forty minutes later, Captain Launders spotted the U-boat's periscope as it carelessly scanned the horizon.