Stafford vs. Manchen
29-30 APRIL 1945
STAFFORD vs. MANCHEN
Convoy KN-382 coursed its way slowly north from Key West to New York, this night reaching a position 98 miles east of Cape Henry. The long war looked to be winding down, at least in Europe, where Allied troops were fighting in the streets of Berlin. The danger of German U-boats was still great however, and four warships of Task Group 02.10 escorted this convoy. One of them, the patrol frigate NATCHEZ (PF-2), picked up a sonar contact off her starboard bow. At nearly the same moment lookouts spotted a periscope wake. Of grave concern was that a schnorkel was also sighted behind the periscope!
A schnorkel was an engineering innovation that allowed the sub to draw air through a snorkel tube, and thus operate her diesel engines while still submerged. Slow submerged speed was the U-boat’s greatest vulnerability, and this innovation frightened American anti-submarine planners!
LT John H. Stafford, USNR, turned NATCHEZ directly for the sub, hoping to drop depth charges or at least to ram. COFFMAN (DE-191), BOSTWICK (DE-103), and THOMAS (DE-102) were vectored to the scene as well. But the sub disappeared before NATCHEZ reached the spot. Stafford launched a pattern of depth charges and turned back to search again. Sonar contact was reestablished and the frigate surged forward. But an emergency turn by the convoy nearly caused a collision, and NATCHEZ had to veer off course. The frigate again acquired the target, slowed to 10 knots, and launched hedgehogs (programmed to detonate only if they contact an object). No explosions were heard. Persisting with the contact now at 1400 yards, Stafford dropped magnetic depth charges that detonate only near a metal object. Two explosions emanated from great depth, but at 2250 another escort, COFFMAN, acquired the same contact.
Kapitänleutnant Erwin Manchen dove, circled, backed down, changed speeds, fishtailed, and released pillenwerfer, bubble-generating devices to confuse sonar. But the escorts boxed the contact, and more depth charges blasted the deep. At 0207 a barrage from NATCHEZ brought oil to the surface. Attacks continued for two more hours until a deep blast was heard at 0447. No subsequent contacts were made. Nothing further was heard from U-879 or her 52 crewmen, even after Germany’s surrender on 7 May.
U-879 had been hunting off our eastern seaboard since mid-April; she had sunk SS Belgian Airman on the 14th, and damaged the tanker SS Swiftscout on the 23rd. She has been confused in both German and American records with U-548, the latter being the probable victim of REUBEN JAMES (DE-153) and BUCKLEY (DE-51) off Sable Island on April 19th.
Watch for more “Today in Naval History” 6-7 MAY 24
CAPT James Bloom, Ret.
Department of the Navy, Naval History Division. Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, Vol 1 “A-B”. (letter “B” and appendices), Washington, DC: GPO, 1959, p. 170.
Department of the Navy, Naval History Division. Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, Vol 5 “N-Q”. Washington, DC: GPO, 1979, p. 20.
Morison, Samuel Eliot. History of United States Naval Operations in World War II, Vol X The Atlantic Battle Won. Boston, MA: Little, Brown and Co., 1956, p. 344.
Roscoe, Theodore. United States Destroyer Operations in World War II. Annapolis, MD: USNI Press, 1953, p. 513.
Wynn, Kenneth. U-Boat Operations of the Second World War Vol 2: Career Histories, U511-UIT25. Annapolis, MD: USNI Press, 1998, pp. 26, 182.
