| Notes |
- Sinking of SS Cortes
Name Cortes
Type: Steam merchant
Tonnage 1,374 tons
Completed 1919 - Caledon Shipbuilding & Engineering Co Ltd, Dundee
Owner MacAndrews & Co Ltd, London
Homeport London
Date of attack 26 Sep 1941 Nationality: British
Fate Sunk by U-124 (Johann Mohr)
Position 47.48N, 23.45W - Grid BE 4166
Complement 43 (43 dead - no survivors)
Convoy HG-73
Route Lisbon - Liverpool - London
Cargo General cargo, including potash and cork
History Laid down as War Waveney for The Shipping Controller, completed in August 1919 as Cortes for MacAndrews & Co Ltd, London.
Notes on loss
At 02.32 hours on 26 Sep, 1941, the Cortes (Master Donald Ray McRae) in station #12 of convoy HG-73 was hit aft by one torpedo from U-124 and sank immediately by the stern north-northeast of the Azores.
After both ships ahead of her were torpedoed, the Lapwing in station #13 stopped and launched a lifeboat for rescue work. Among the survivors picked up were three men from Cortes, but they had to abandon ship again when she was sunk by U-203 (Mützelburg) at 06.34 hours. The lifeboat of Lapwing made landfall in Ireland two weeks later, but two Arab firemen from Cortes had died of exhaustion in the boat and the last survivor, bosun Alfonso Pimentil, died later in a hospital in Clifden. The master, 30 crew members, six gunners and six passengers were lost.
Convoy HG-73
Reassessment of U-boat attacks during the nights of 25/26 and 26/27 September 1941
by Rainer Kolbicz (Uboat.net)
The assessment of convoy attacks, particularly at night, always proved difficult and the first assessments made after the war were often based only on the basic information available back then. In the case of convoy HG-73 the lack of suitable information at the time led to preliminary conclusions by Dr. Jürgen Rohwer, the leading authority on U-boat successes that will be reassessed in this article.
Usually the primary sources used for the assessment of U-boat attacks are the war diaries (KTB) and the torpedo firing reports of the attacking U-boats for the German viewpoint of the events and the report of the convoy commodore and the senior officer of the escort (SOE) for the Allied side. The Allied reports for convoy HG-73 are sketchy because the convoy commodore’s ship was one of the first ships hit in the U-boat attacks and due to the confusion resulting from the attacks occurring at night.
Successful attacks on the night of 25/26 September 1941
Two U-boats reported successful attacks on convoy HG-73 during the night of 25/26 September 1941. The first was made by U-203 (Mützelburg) at 00.31 hours. The U-boat fired a spread of four torpedoes at two of the biggest ships in the convoy but could not observe the results because they had to crash-dive after the attack. They did however hear four detonations. U-203 avoided a depth charge attack, reloaded the torpedo tubes and resurfaced after three hours. They then saw an escort lying close to a stopped tanker, apparently to rescue survivors from the torpedoed ship as Mützelburg thought. At 04.01 hours and 04.04 hours, the U-boat attacked the destroyer with one and two torpedoes respectively, but missed and left at full speed to reload the torpedo tubes again. Returning to the area they found the stopped tanker again and hit it amidships with one torpedo at 06.34 hours, observing the ship sink within 3 minutes.
The second attack was made by U-124 (Mohr) who approached the convoy at 02.10 hours. At 02.32 hours, one torpedo was fired at a steamer which was observed to sink immediately by the stern after being hit aft. At 02.34 hours, another torpedo was fired at a second steamer which was observed to sink by the bow after being hit amidships.
The incomplete Allied reports mention the Varangberg and Avoceta (the convoy commodore’s ship) being hit in the first attack and the Cortes, Petrel and Lapwing in the second, but U-124 could not have hit more than two ships in her attack as she only fired two torpedoes. Earlier assessments credited U-203 with damaging Cortes and assumed that she was the ship finished off at 06.34 hours.
The following assessments were made in “Axis Submarine Successesâ€:
26/0031 U-203 BE 4156 -D 8000+ T HG-73 25/2233 nw -D Varangberg 2842+
26/0031 U-203 BE 4156 -D 12000+ T HG-73 25/2233 br -D Avoceta 3442+
26/0031 U-203 BE 4156 -T + T HG-73 25/0036 br -D Cortes 1374+
26/0232 U-124 BE 4165 -D 6000+ T HG-73 25/0036 br -D Petrel 1354+
26/0232 U-124 BE 4165 -D 5000+ T HG-73 25/0036 br -D Lapwing 1348+
But according to the survivor’s report, the Lapwing had not been hit at the same time. Being in station #13 they observed how the Cortes in station #12 and then Petrel in station #11 were hit and sunk and stopped to pick up survivors. Just before the rescue work was finished, Lapwing was herself torpedoed about 4 hours after the other ships had been hit. The conclusion from this and the survivor’s reports of the other ships is that the first attack of U-203 hit two ships: Varangberg (2 hits) and Avoceta (1 hit). The attack by U-124 sank Cortes and Petrel, while Lapwing stopped to rescue survivors and was located in this vulnerable situation by U-203. Mützelburg mistook the small coaster with its engine aft as tanker and wrongly assumed that the ship had stopped because it has been torpedoed in an earlier attack.
Our reassessment for “Axis Submarine Successesâ€:
26/0031 U-203 BE 4156 -D 8000+ T HG-73 25/2233 nw -D Varangberg 2842+
26/0031 U-203 BE 4156 -D 12000+ T HG-73 25/2233 br -D Avoceta 3442+
26/0232 U-124 BE 4165 -D 6000+ T HG-73 25/0036 br -D Cortes 1374+
26/0234 U-124 BE 4165 -D 5000+ T HG-73 25/0036 br -D Petrel 1354+
26/0634 U-203 BE 4132 -T + Tf HG-73 25/0430 br -D Lapwing 1348+
Successful attacks on the night of 26/27 September 1941
During the next night of 26/27 September 1941, again two U-boats reported successful attacks on convoy HG-73. This time the first attack was made by U-124 (Mohr) at 23.35 hours. The U-boat fired one torpedo at a steamer which sank fast after being hit aft.
At 02.08 hours, U-201 (Schnee) fired a spread of two torpedoes at a steamer of 5000 tons and a corvette, observed a bright flash close to the escort and a steamer sinking immediately. Turning around the U-boat then fired the stern torpedo at steamer of 3000 tons but missed. At 02.11 hours, they attacked the missed steamer with a spread of two torpedoes and observed two hits.
The following assessments were made in “Axis Submarine Successesâ€:
26/2335 U-124 BE 2711 -D 3000+ T HG-73 26/ br D Cervantes 1810+
27/0208 U-201 BE 1939 -D 5000+ T HG-73 27/ br AC Springbank 5155+
27/0208 U-201 BE 1939 PE + T HG-73
27/0211 U-201 BE 1939 -D 3000+ T HG-73 27/ nw D Siremalm 2468+
The Allied reports are incomplete for this night, but the report of the commander of the fighter catapult ship HMS Springbank provides some new information that makes a reassessment necessary. According to his report the first ship hit was on the port side of the convoy and to avoid an attack moved his ship between column 4 and 6 on the starboard side. At 00.13 GMT, the Leadgate in station #41 ahead of his ship was torpedoed, then a torpedo passed between the ships and shortly afterwards HMS Springbank was hit by two torpedoes.
The Admiralty convoy report states that Siremalm was torpedoed at 21.35 GMT, so she was the ship hit first. This is also confirmed by her position in the convoy, the station #23 being on the port side as observed by the commander of HMS Springbank. Contrary to the above mentioned report the British steam merchant Leadgate was in fact not torpedoed, but it is quite possible that the bright flash observed by U-201 was a premature torpedo detonation close to Leadgate. The stern torpedo and the second spread of two torpedoes were then aimed at HMS Springbank. This only leaves the question: when was Cervantes torpedoed? Judging from her position in the convoy Cervantes in station #53 was apparently the ship observed to sink after U-201 had fired the first spread of two torpedoes.
Our reassessment for “Axis Submarine Successesâ€:
26/2335 U-124 BE 2711 -D 3000+ T HG-73 26/2135 nw D Siremalm 2468+
27/0208 U-201 BE 1939 -D 5000+ T HG-73 27/0013 br D Cervantes 1810+
27/0208 U-201 BE 1939 PE + T HG-73 27/0013 br D Leadgate -
27/0211 U-201 BE 1939 -D 3000+ T HG-73 27/0013 br AC Springbank 5155+
Note: This analysis was sent to Dr. Jürgen Rohwer for review and he confirmed our findings. (Uboat.net)
Johann Mohr
Korvettenkapitän (Crew 34)
Successes
27 ships sunk, total tonnage 129,976 GRT
2 warships sunk, total tonnage 5,775 tons
3 ships damaged, total tonnage 26,167 GRT
Born 12 Jun 1916 Hannover
Died 2 Apr 1943 (26) Middle Atlantic
Ranks
8 Apr 1934 Offiziersanwärter
26 Sep 1934 Seekadett
1 Jul 1935 Fähnrich zur See
1 Jan 1937 Oberfähnrich zur See
1 Apr 1937 Leutnant zur See
1 Apr 1939 Oberleutnant zur See
1 Sep 1941 Kapitänleutnant
1 Apr 1943 Korvettenkapitän
Decorations
29 Nov 1939 Iron Cross 2nd Class
4 May 1941 Iron Cross 1st Class
4 May 1941 U-boat War Badge 1939
27 Mar 1942 Knights Cross
13 Jan 1943 Knights Cross with Oak Leaves
U-boat Commands
U-boat From To
U-124 8 Sep 1941 2 Apr 1943 (+) 6 patrols (268 days)
'Jochen' Mohr was one of a handful of U-boat officers who spent their entire U-boat careers on a single boat. He completed his first three patrols under the command of Kapitänleutnant Georg-Wilhelm Schulz.
Mohr achieved great success against enemy warships. On his first patrol as commander, in November 1941, he sank the British light cruiser HMS Dunedin and in 1942 he sank the French corvette Mimosa. Especially remarkable was the night of 12 May, 1942, when U-124 sank four ships for a total of 21,784 tons from convoy ONS-92.
A doggerel composed by Mohr on his way back from the US East Coast:
The moon night is as black as ink
Off Hatteras the tankers sink
While sadly Roosevelt counts the score
some fifty thousand tons. Mohr
Mohr was killed when his boat was sunk with all hands on 2 April, 1943 west of Oporto, Portugal, by the British corvette HMS Stonecrop and the sloop HMS Black Swan (Niestlé, 1998).
Sources
Busch, R. and Röll, H-J. (1999). German U-boat commanders of World War II.
Busch, R. and Röll, H-J. (1997). Der U-Bootkrieg 1939-1945 (Band 2).
Niestlé, A. (1998). German U-boat losses during World War II.
Rohwer, J. (1998). Axis Submarine Successes of World War Two.
Patrol info for Johann Mohr
U-boat Departure Arrival
1. U-124 16 Sep 1941 Lorient 1 Oct 1941 Lorient Patrol 1, 16 days
2. U-124 30 Oct 1941 Lorient 29 Dec 1941 Lorient Patrol 2, 61 days
3. U-124 21 Feb 1942 Lorient 10 Apr 1942 Lorient Patrol 3, 49 days
4. U-124 4 May 1942 Lorient 26 Jun 1942 Lorient Patrol 4, 54 days
5. U-124 25 Nov 1942 Lorient 13 Feb 1943 Lorient Patrol 5, 81 days
6. U-124 27 Mar 1943 Lorient 2 Apr 1943 Sunk Patrol 6, 7 days
6 patrols, 268 days at sea
Ships hit by Johann Mohr
Date U-boat Commander Name of ship Tons Nat. Convoy
20 Sep 1941 U-124 Johann Mohr Baltallinn 1,303 br OG-74
20 Sep 1941 U-124 Johann Mohr Empire Moat 2,922 br OG-74
25 Sep 1941 U-124 Johann Mohr Empire Stream 2,922 br HG-73
26 Sep 1941 U-124 Johann Mohr Cortes 1,374 br HG-73
26 Sep 1941 U-124 Johann Mohr Petrel 1,354 br HG-73
26 Sep 1941 U-124 Johann Mohr Siremalm 2,468 nw HG-73
24 Nov 1941 U-124 Johann Mohr HMS Dunedin (D 93)4,850 br
3 Dec 1941 U-124 Johann Mohr Sagadahoc 6,275 am
14 Mar 1942 U-124 Johann Mohr British Resource 7,209 br
17 Mar 1942 U-124 Johann Mohr Ceiba 1,698 ho
17 Mar 1942 U-124 Johann Mohr Acme (d.) 6,878 am
18 Mar 1942 U-124 Johann Mohr Kassandra Louloudis5,106 gr
18 Mar 1942 U-124 Johann Mohr E.M. Clark 9,647 am
19 Mar 1942 U-124 Johann Mohr Papoose 5,939 am
19 Mar 1942 U-124 Johann Mohr W.E. Hutton 7,076 am
21 Mar 1942 U-124 Johann Mohr Esso Nashville (d.) 7,934 am
21 Mar 1942 U-124 Johann Mohr Atlantic Sun (d.) 11,355 am
23 Mar 1942 U-124 Johann Mohr Naeco 5,373 am
12 May 1942 U-124 Johann Mohr Empire Dell 7,065 br ONS-92
12 May 1942 U-124 Johann Mohr Llanover 4,959 br ONS-92
12 May 1942 U-124 Johann Mohr Mount Parnes 4,371 gr ONS-92
12 May 1942 U-124 Johann Mohr Cristales 5,389 br ONS-92
9 Jun 1942 U-124 Johann Mohr FFL Mimosa (K 11) 925 fr ONS-100
12 Jun 1942 U-124 Johann Mohr Dartford 4,093 br ONS-100
18 Jun 1942 U-124 Johann Mohr Seattle Spirit 5,627 am ONS-102
28 Dec 1942 U-124 Johann Mohr Treworlas 4,692 br
9 Jan 1943 U-124 Johann Mohr Broad Arrow 7,718 am TB-1
9 Jan 1943 U-124 Johann Mohr Birmingham City 6,194 am TB-1
9 Jan 1943 U-124 Johann Mohr Collingsworth 5,101 am TB-1
9 Jan 1943 U-124 Johann Mohr Minotaur 4,554 am TB-1
2 Apr 1943 U-124 Johann Mohr Gogra 5,190 br OS-45
2 Apr 1943 U-124 Johann Mohr Katha 4,357 br OS-45
161,918
29 ships sunk (135,751 tons) and 3 ships damaged (26,167 tons).
U-124
Type IXB
Ordered 15 Dec 1937
Laid down 11 Aug 1939 AG Weser, Bremen (werk 956)
Launched 9 Mar 1940
Commissioned 11 Jun 1940 Kptlt. Georg-Wilhelm Schulz (Knights Cross)
Commanders 11 Jun 1940 - 7 Sep 1941 Kptlt. Georg-Wilhelm Schulz (Knights Cross)
8 Sep 1941 - 2 Apr 1943 KrvKpt. Johann Mohr (Knights Cross)
Career
11 patrols 11 Jun 1940 - 1 Aug 1940 2. Flottille (training)
1 Aug 1940 - 2 Apr 1943 2. Flottille (front boat)
Successes
46 ships sunk, total tonnage 219,862 GRT
2 warships sunk, total tonnage 5,775 tons
4 ships damaged, total tonnage 30,067 GRT
Fate
Sunk 2 April, 1943 west of Oporto, in position 41.02N, 15.39W, by depth charges from the British corvette HMS Stonecrop and the British sloop HMS Black Swan. 53 dead (all hands lost).
Wolfpack operations
U-124 operated with the following Wolfpacks during its career:
Süd (22 Jul 1941 - 5 Aug 1941)
Hecht (8 May 1942 - 18 Jun 1942)
Attacks on this boat
25 Aug 1940
In the late evening, the boat successfully attacked convoy HX-65A and then dived to evade HMS Godetia, which dropped 12 depth charges and then lost contact to U-124 because she lied stopped on the bottom for one hour after hitting a rock formation at a depth of 90 meters. The U-boat was not damaged by the attack itself, but the collision had damaged three of the four bow torpedo tubes so the boat was ordered to assume weather reporting duties for the rest of her patrol.
17 Oct 1940
At 08.55 hours, the boat encountered HMS Clyde while acting as weather boat in the North Atlantic. Assuming the vessel to be a destroyer U-124 immediately dived and did not realize that the submarine fired three torpedoes at her at 09.06 hours. (Sources: KTB U-124/Patrol report HMS Clyde)
9 Dec 1941
The boat was attacked by coastal artillery from Fort Thornton off the harbour of Georgetown on Ascension island, but suffered no damage.
1 Jan 1943
At 15.23 hours, the boat crash-dived when attacked by an American Catalina flying boat (VP-53 USN/P-1) east of Trinidad. The aircraft dropped two depth charges that caused no damage. (Sources: Rohwer/Ritschel)
4 recorded attacks on this boat.
General notes on this boat
The emblem of U-124, the Edelweiss, was inspired by the loss of U-64 in April, 1940 as the boats were largely manned by the same crew, including the commander and saved from the Norwegian waters by members of the German mountain troops using that same emblem.
Men lost from U-boats
Unlike many other U-boats, which during their service lost men due to accidents and various other causes, U-124 did not suffer any casualties (we know of) until the time of her loss.
Convoy HG-73
Homeward from Gibraltar (North Atlantic)
19 Sep 1941 - 28 Sep 1941
The Convoy 25 ships
First sighting On 19 Sep 1941 by U-371
Escorts
When leaving Gibraltar on 17 September:
British destroyer HMS Vimy (D 33) (LtCdr H.G.D. de Chair, RN) until 22 September
British escort destroyers HMS Duncan (D 99) (LtCdr A.N. Rowell, RN) and HMS Farndale (L 70) (Cdr S.H. Carlill, RN) until 20 September
British sloop HMS Fowey (L 15) (LtCdr L.C.A. Leefe, RN)
British corvettes HMS Begonia (K 66) (T/Lt T.A.R. Muir, RNR), HMS Gentian (K 90) (Cdr R.O. Yeomans, RD, RNR), HMS Hibiscus (K 24) (LtCdr C.G. Cuthbertson, RNR), HMS Jasmine (K 23) (LtCdr C.D.B. Coventry, RNR (retired)), HMS Larkspur (K 82) (Lt S.C.B. Hickman, RNR), HMS Myosotis (K 65) (Lt G.P.S. Lowe, RNVR), HMS Periwinkle (K 55) (LtCdr P.G. MacIver, RNR) and HMS Stonecrop (K 142) (Lt J.V. Brock, RCNVR)
British fighter catapult ship HMS Springbank (Capt C.H. Godwin, DSO, RN (retired)) until lost on 27 September.
Joined on 20 September: British destroyer HMS Wild Swan (D 62) (LtCdr C.E.L. Sclater, RN) until 22 September
Joined on 22 September: British destroyer HMS Highlander (H 44) (Cdr S. Boucher, RN) until 26 September
Joined on 28 September: British destroyer HMS Wolverine (D 78) (LtCdr J.M. Rowland, RN)
U-boats
U-124 * Kaptlt. Johann Mohr, U-201 * Oblt. Adalbert Schnee, U-203 * Kaptlt. Rolf Mützelburg, U-205 Kaptlt. Franz-Georg Reschke, U-371 Kaptlt. Heinrich Driver
* U-boats that fired torpedo or used the deck gun
The battle
One day after the convoy HG-73 had left Gibraltar, a German Fw200 Condor aircraft (KG 40) located the ships off Cape St. Vincent but was chased away by the Fulmar fighter from HMS Springbank. Four Italian submarines on patrol west of Gibraltar were ordered to search for it: Leonardo Da Vinci (CC Ferdinando Calda), Alessandro Malaspina (TV Giuliano Prini) *, Morosini (CC Athos Fraternale) and Luigi Torelli (CC Antonio De Giacomo).
On 19 September, the Morosini made the first contact with the convoy but one of the electrical engines broke down and the submarine returned to base. The same day, U-371 sighted the convoy as well but the U-boat was en route to the Mediterranean and ordered to continue its mission. In the evening on 20 September, Torelli found the convoy and was badly damaged by depth charges from HMS Vimy when she tried to attack the convoy during the night of 21/22 September, forcing the submarine to abort its patrol. On 23 September, Da Vinci sighted the convoy again and kept contact for U-124 and U-201 which were directed to it by the BdU, coming from the battle against convoy OG-74. The next day, a Fw200 aircraft located the convoy and sent homing signals.
During the following night, only U-124 reached the convoy and reported unsuccessful attacks on a cruiser sailing ahead of the convoy HG-73, possibly misidentifying the fighter catapult ship HMS Springbank and a destroyer, before sinking the first ship. The U-boat was joined by U-203 the next night and together they sank five ships, while U-201 also reached the convoy but was chased away by the escorts. In the night of 26/27 September, all three U-boats attacked again sinking two more ships and HMS Springbank, while the outbound U-205 made contact but lost the convoy in bad visibility.
On 27 September, Allied flying boats arrived to screen the convoy HG-73 and they kept the most U-boats at distance, only U-201 managed to attack the following night, sinking another steamer. Three of the four participating U-boats were now out of torpedoes and the BdU ordered U-124 and U-201 to return to base, while U-203 shadowed the convoy for U-205, but this U-boat had been bombed and damaged in the evening on 28 September and the operation was broken off at dawn on 29 September.
The three attacking U-boats claimed the sinking of 10 ships with 62.000 tons, one corvette possibly sunk and another ship damaged. This reflects the reappearing problem of overestimating the targets in the Gibraltar convoys, the commanders mistaking coasters with the engine aft as tankers and claiming normal ship sizes for North Atlantic convoys, while the average size of the ships in the convoy HG-73 was about 2200 GRT for example.
On this occasion the cooperation between the U-boats and air reconnaissance of the Luftwaffe worked as intended, the Fw200 aircraft of KG 40 being in contact with the convoy after it left Gibraltar, on 24 and 26 to 28 September, sending homing signals and helping the U-boats to get into a favorable position for the night attacks. Moreover, the Italian submarines were complimented by the BdU for their shadowing work in the early phase of this battle. None of the submarines reported a successful attack on the convoy, but a Fw200 reported two ships in sinking condition and one burning ship behind the convoy on 24 September, so they were wrongly credited to Malaspina * which did not return from her patrol. Allied sources mention no ships being lost or damaged in this area on that day.
* Unknown at this time was that Malaspina had already been lost on 10 September, bombed and sunk with all hands by the Australian Sunderland aircraft W3986 (10 Sqdn RAAF/U, pilot F/L A.G.H. Wearne, RAAF) while outbound in the Bay of Biscay in position 46°23N/11°22W. The submarine was reported missing after leaving Bordeaux on 7 September and for some time it was thought that she had been sunk by the British destroyer HMS Vimy during the night of 21/22 September in the vicinity of convoy HG-73, but this attack was in fact directed against Torelli. Her fate was revised in March 2004 by Dr. Axel Niestlè and Eric Zimmerman.
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1909 - 1941 (32 years)
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