u 515 Type IX C Built by Deutsche Werft, Hamburg Keel laid 7.5.41 Launched 2.12.41 Commissioned 21.2.42 Feldpost Nr M 27 988

Sunk 9.4.44 SE of the Azores (34°351

N 19°191

W)

Served with 4 U-Flottille, Stettin February-August 1942 (ab) 10 U-Flottille, Lorient September 1942 - 9.4.44 (fb)

Commanded by KL Werner Henke February 1942 - 9.4.44

Patrols: 6 Ships sunk: 24 (144,864 grt) 1 sloop (1350 dt) 1 depot ship (10,850 dt)

1. 12.8.42 Left Kiel and arrived Kristiansand 13.8.42

2. 15.8.42 Left to operate in the western Atlantic. U 515 patrolled initially E of Trinidad and on 12.9.42 she

torpedoed two tankers, sinking the MV Stanvac Melbourne (pa 10013t) and damaging the MV Woensdrecht (nl 4668t). This vessel was taken into port but was declared a total loss.

Four more ships were sunk in the same area, on the 13th the SS Ocean Vanguard (br 7174t) and the SS Nimba (pa 1854t), on the 14th the SS Harborough (br 5415t) by torpedo and gunfire and on the 15th the MV Sorholt (nw 4801t). On this day one of the boat's crewmen was killed when a machine-gun misfired.

U 515 sank the SS Mae (am 5607t) on the 16th by torpedo and gunfrre N of Georgetown and on the 20th the SS Reedpool (br 4838t) was sunk NNW of Georgetown. The boat picked up oil-covered survivors from theReedpool. They were cleaned, fed and re-clothed.

On the 23rd U 515 torpedoed two ships SE of Trinidad, sinking the SS Lindvangen (nw 2412t) and damaging the SS Antinous (am 6034t). This vessel was hit with U 515's last torpedo and the abandoned wreck was sunk next day by U 512.

U 515 put in to her new base at Lorient 14.10.42

3. 7.11.42 Left for operations in the Central Atlantic. On the 11th U 515 was attacked and damaged by aircraft S of

Cape St Vincent. In the evening of the 11th she sighted a British cruiser force 150 miles S of the Cape. The boat proceeded at high speed for some hours to get ahead of warships for a good attacking position but she was located by the destroyer escorts and driven off.

In the face of heavy apposition from Che escort, Henke persisted in his attacks and in the early hours of the 12th he sank the depOt ship HMS Hecla and two hours later torpedoed and damaged the destroyer HMS Mame. U 515 was spotted by HMS Venomous and attacked with gunfire and depth-charges. The boat dived and escaped but when she resurfaced to finish off the Mame, she was again attacked by Venomous. U 515 evaded further searches by aircraft and warships and left the area.

She joined Westwall group, which was carrying out east-west patrols in the area W of Gibraltar, bounded by Cape St Vincent in the north and Casablanca in the south. On the 26th it was decided that the Westwall boats should be moved to an area W of the Azores, to meet eastbound UGS convoys beyond the range of land-based aircraft. They formed a north-south patrol line on the 27th, then began a westward movement to take the boats north of the Azores.

By 6.12.42 the 40° W meridian had been reached. Four ships were sunk during the darkness hours of the 6/7th, one of them the troopship SS Ceramic (br 18713t), sunk soon after midnight by U 515. The vessel was carrying 656 passengers and crew including 400 troops and government servants. There was only one survivor, Sapper Eric Munday, picked up by U 515.

No convoys were seen by the Westwall boats and it was believed that they were passing further to the south, too far south for boats with limited fuel. So, on the 12th the Westwall line began moving eastwards. On the 16th the group was dissolved N of the Azores and the boats took up positions W of Portugal from the 19th. The search for convoys over the next few days found nothing and on the 23rd the boats began their return to base.

U 515 reached Lorient 6.1.43

4. 21.2.43 Left for operations in the Central Atlantic. U 515 went to an assembly area W of the Azores. En route, she

torpedoed and sank the MV California Star (br 8300t) WNW of the Azores on 4.3.43 and picked up her 2nd Officer as a prisoner.

On or about the 12th U 515 and five other boats in the assembly area were to form a patrol line, Unverzagt, to operate against approaching eastbound UGS 6, heading for Gibraltar. The convoy which had left New York on the 5th, was sighted by U 130 in the evening of the 12th, before the line could be formed. She began to shadow but was located and sunk during the night and contact was not regained until the 14th. ·

Unverzagt and Wohlgemut groups formed a patrol line W of the Azores, through which the convoy passed on the 14th. Tummler group, then off the Canaries, was ordered to make the 1500 mile journey to intercept before the convoy was too close to Gibraltat: Although there were generally six boats in contact and in spite of there being no aircraft and conditions good, the operation was a failure, with only four ships sunk. The remote screen kept the boatS well away from UGS 6, carrying out depth-charge attacks more than ten miles from the convoy. The operation ended on the 19th W of Spain, in the face of increasing air support from Gibraltar. U 515 had no success against the convoy.

After she received fuel from the returning U 106 on the 24tb, U 515 went south with other boats from the UGS 6 operation and they joined a new patrol line, Seeri:iuber, formed S of the Canaries to meet southbound convoy RS 3, expected on the 26th. It was sighted on the 28th and in a two-day operation three ships wete sunk, none by U 515 which frred no torpedoes, being repeatedly driven down by aircraft and escorts.

After obtaining more fuel from the returning U 67 the bQa proceeded south and early on 9.4.43 U 515 sank the MV Bamako (fr 2357t) off Dakar. She moved down to the Freetown area, where, on the 29th, she was attacked by a Catalina of ~70 Squadron. Six depth-charges were dropped but the boat dived and escaped. The aircraft was damaged by flak in the action. On the 30th U 515 sighted northbound convoy TS 37 90 miles S of Freetown. Late on this day four ships were torpedoed and sunk, the MV Corabella (br 5682t), the SS Bandar Shahpur (br 5236t), the MV Kota

Tjandi (nl 7295t) and in a second attack the SS Nagina (br 655lt). U 515 attacked the convoy again in the early morning of 1.5.43, torpedoing three more ships, sinking the SS Clan MacPherson (br 6940t) and the SS City of Singapore (br 6555t) and damaging the MV Mokambo (be 4996t). This last vessel was towed to Freetown roads but sank on May 2nd.

On the 9th U 515 sank the MV Comeville (nw 4544t) off Accra. She was refuelled by U 460 on the 22nd W of Freetown. The boat continued to operate W and. SW of Freetown and although two convoys were sighted, U 515 had no further success.

She returned to Lorient 24.6.43

5. 21.8.43 Left Lorient and returned 22.8.43

6. 29.8.43 Left for operations in the North Atlantic. On September 5th U 515 sighted OS 54/KMS 25 W of Spain.

Near midnight she approached the convoy but was located, attacked and damaged by the frigate HMS Tavy. The boat dived deep and escaped.

She returned to Lorient 12.9.43

7. 1.11.43 Left to pick up new radar equipment and torpedoes at St Nazaire, arriving there 3.11.43

8. 9.11.43 Left St Nazaire for Atlantic operations. U 515 joined Schill I group, which by the 18th was drawn up in

a patrol line W of Lisbon in the expected path of MKS 30/SL 139, sighted by aircraft on the 15th W of Gibraltar. In the morning of the 18th the convoy was reported to be southeast of the line, which was ordered northeastwards to intercept. The convoy in fact passed through the patrol line during the early afternoon of the 18th but U 515's sighting report was not received by the other boats until late evening. She had been overrun by the convoy and was then located and attacked by the sloops HMS Chanticleer and Crane before she could report.

U 515 torpedoed and damaged Chanticleer, which was towed in to Horta, Azores, where she later became the depot ship, Lusitania II. The boat was tracked by Crane for ten hours before slipping away, damaged. The Schill 1 boats pursued the convoy during the night of the 18/19th but were constantly harassed by aircraft. Only U 262 made contact just before dawn on the 19th, but she was located and driven off. With no chance of the other boats catching up, the pusuit was abandoned and on the 22nd Schill 1 group was dissolved.

Between the 22nd and 24th U 515 carried out repairs, firstly off La Palma and then Hierro, the westernmost islands of the Canaries. On completion, U 515 requested and received permission to proceed southwards and from early December she was operating S of Freetown. She sank three ships in the Gulf of Guinea; on the 17th the SS Kingswood (br 5080t), on the 19th the SS Phemius (br 7406t), both off the coast E of Accra, and on the 24th the MV Dumana (br 8427t) off Cape Palmas, Ivory Coast. U 515 took one man from a Phemius lifeboat as a PoW, to obtain information.

The repairs effected four weeks earlier had begun to deteriorate. U 515 headed north and further repairs were carried out off Santiago, in the Cape Verde Islands. The homeward journey was continued but the batteries, which had also been damaged, now began to give trouble. Off Spain on 11.1.44, they failed.

Unable to dive, U 515 made her way along the coast of France until two German minesweepers arrived to escort her to Lorient. An attack by two aircraft was beaten off and the boat berthed in the evening of 14.1.44

9. 30.3.44 Left for operations off West Africa. Late in the evening of 8.4.44 U 515 was located SE of the Azores

by an Avenger from the escort-carrier USS Guadalcanal. Two other Avengers were dispatched from the carrier one hour later to make a

search. ~oon atter mtdrught a boat, u ) 15, was spotted on the surf ace. Two depth-charges were dropped and after firing at the aircraft, the boat dived. Meanwhile, the Guadalcanal was heading for the scene.

During the night contact with U 515 was lost. Later in the morning she surfaced ' and after an hour the carrier force was sighted. Almost immediately an aircraft appeared, dropped two depth-charges, which fell short, and U 515 dived. Other aircraft and the escorts USS Flaherty and Pillsbury were ordered to close. Pillsbury (Lt-Cdr G W Casselman) made a contact and carried out two Hedgehog attacks.

The boat dived deep and after two hours it was thought that the two destroyers had gone. In fact they were searching to the west and had been joined by USS Chatelain. The fourth destroyer from Guadalcanal's escort, USS Pope, moved ahead of the carrier to protect her from a possible attack.

Pope (Lt-Cdr EH Headland) established contact about noon on the 9th and made two Hedgehog attacks, followed by three depth­charge attacks, which seriously damaged U 515. Temporary repairs were effected, leaks were plugged but three further depth-charge attacks re-opened them and U 515 began to flood. She began to rise despite all efforts to keep her down. In mid-afternoon the boat broke surface, very near Chatelain. The destroyer opened fire at very short range, as U 515's crew emerged from the conning tower, only to be cut down. Aircraft also attacked with rockets and machine-guns. The boat sank within minutes, still being fired at by Chatelain (Lt-Cdr J L Foley).

Of U 515's crew, 44 men, including the commander, were picked up. 16 others were killed in the action, some in the water by strafing aircraft.

Werner Henke and his men were landed in the USA, where they underwent interrogation. On June 15 1944, at Fort Hunt, Virginia, Henke was killed whilst apparently attempting to escape.