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Subject Topic: Where is the U-47? (Topic Closed Topic Closed) Post ReplyPost New Topic
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CaptainNemo12
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Posted: 19 June 2005 at 01:34 | IP Logged  

I read in this site that the boat attacked convoy OB 293 on March 7th and was possibly sunk by the HMS Wolverine, but where did this attack take place?  I know that after March 7th, the boat failed to report to BdU and considered missing, perhaps by finding out the coordinates of that convoy, one can track the last battleground of the U-47?

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Dougie
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Posted: 23 June 2005 at 12:52 | IP Logged  

Early in the morning of the 7th March, at 0454, Prien radioed “am resuming pursuit” to BdU from grid quadrant AM 1249 (west of Ireland, in the region around Rockall Banks in the North Atlantic, approximate location 60°N/19°W). This was U 47’s last radio message.

For many years the Wolverine was credited with U 47's sinking. But post-war analysis revealed that the attack damaged the U A, which escaped to limp home. So the Wolverine didn't sink U 47.

The cause of U 47's loss is unknown. Quite possibly the boat was lost to an accident, either by crew error (there was a high turnover of crew before the last patrol) or structural failure. Since the exact location of U 47's loss is unknown, and the depth of this area, U 47 will likely never be found.

So all we can be sure of is that we'll never know the answer.

I like your homepage, and hope you add more U-boat info. There are two points, if I may. Scapa Flow was the main naval base of the British Royal Navy rather than the English Navy. This was located in the Orkney Islands just north of Scotland. If you traveled to the Orkneys and said to an Orcadian (a resident of the Orkney Islands) that Scapa was an English naval base they would throw you in the North Sea. It is a bit like calling Halifax an American rather than a Canadian port, but worse. Best to call it a British naval base. Also, U 47 didn’t sink the Pegasus, though this seaplane tender was in Scapa that night.

Looking forward to seeing your U 52 model on your site.

Cheers,

Dougie

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CaptainNemo12
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Posted: 23 June 2005 at 18:04 | IP Logged  

Thanks for the corrections Dougie , it's hard to think that such an icon was lost in a sudden, must have been hard for Donitz to accept the truth that one of his best aces is gone...

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Dougie
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Posted: 23 June 2005 at 18:36 | IP Logged  

That's right. March 1941 was a month Doenitz would have liked to have forgotten. On the 16th/17th March, Kretschmer (U 99) was captured and Schepke (U 100) was killed. Together with Prien, they were his three top aces. Kretschmer was the top ace, sinking 47 ships for 274,333 tons, while in one night Schepke managed to sink seven ships in under 3 hours. From the Allied point of view, the removal of these three aggressive and successful commanders from the Battle Of The Atlantic was a cause for great celebration. For Doenitz, it was a massive blow.

Best regards,

Dougie
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