U-boat Gold Shipment

As World War II groaned painfully to an end, there remained one aspect of the German armoured services that was still virtually intact. This was its submarine service, the dreaded U-Boats. At the command of Grand Admiral Doenitz, all U-Boats were ordered to surrender; many did. Some 156 sailed into allied ports, but a large percentage of the overall U-Boat command, 221 boats, chose another way out of the war. They blew themselves up. Throughout the Baltic Sea and across the North Atlantic, huge explosions ripped the steel hulls, sending the last of the "Wolfpacks" to their watery grave. But there were two, however, that did not meet their end in the frigid waters of the North Sea, for as the explosions shuddered through the deep, U-Boats U530 and U977 slipped away, heading south, acquiring the name that haunts war historians to this day, “The Ghost Convoys”.

The last days of Germany's Third Reich was a chaotic time. The Russians, pouring in from the east, swept into Berlin, defended now by mostly young lads and very old men. As their big guns pounded the once proud city, and as lines of communication and command faltered and finally collapsed, the men and women who had run this formidable war machine fled for safety. Many were mindful of their parts in the atrocities of this terrible war. Many were aware of what their fate would be if they were to fall into the hands of the Soviet Army.

Some escaped through sewers, others slipped through the fog, smoke and rain-soaked clouds in small planes, taking off from the cities exploding streets, others attempted it dressed as civilians, as women, as refugees or in the uniforms of men they had killed. Some headed west towards the British and American lines in the certain knowledge of a more humane reception on being caught. Others waited deep in the cellars of the city for the storm of war to pass, in the hope of living to fight another day.

There were others, who for various reasons had knowledge of where great treasures were hidden in this vast flaming rubble that once was one of Europe's great cities. Great caches of gold ingots, literally bags of precious stones, diamonds, rubies. The trick would be to get it and get through the lines of the  artillery and tens of thousand of soldiers.

It is written that U530 under the command of Otto Wehrmuth and U977 under Heinz Schaffer did not obey the surrender order neither did they explode  their boats. They decided instead to leave their Norwegian and North Atlantic ports and make their way to Argentina. Sailing separately, travelling at full speed, they undertook a tremendous undersea journey that took them down and across almost the entire length of the Atlantic Ocean. Lt. Commander Gaylord Kelshall in his authoritative "U-Boat war in the Caribbean" writes:

“It was a world record for submarines although it has never been recognized ...

Wehrmuth arrived in Mar del Plata in July 1945 while U977 arrived in August after a harrowing three month journey.”

The U-Boats were welcomed and crews accommodated by the Argentine Navy. It must be remembered that pro-German sentiment was very strong in the South Americas during this war, and that there was sympathy for the Fascists' form of government as existed in both Franco’s Spain and Hitler’s Germany. In addition, many Germans lived in Argentina and had done so for generations.

In any event the United Sates was all-powerful, and both the U-Boats and their crews were handed over to the U.S. Navy. Lt. Com. Kelshall relates:

“An Argentine daily ran a story to the effect that U530 and U977 had been part of a 'ghost convoy' which had brought Hitler, Eva Braun and Martin Bohrmann, plus Nazi treasure to Patagonia and put them ashore before surrendering the boats. The Russians were keeping very quiet about what they found in Berlin, with the result that the British and American intelligence took the story seriously.”

Both U-Boat captains were taken into custody. A few weeks later, they arrived in Trinidad under very heavy guard at Wallerfield. From there they were flown to the United States to be interrogated.

It is ironical: just a year before, both these men were cruising the coastline of this island in search of prey for their torpedoes. The story does not end there and then, however.

As it was at the beginning, so it was at the end. Trinidad's wartime adventure really commenced with the sinking of merchant vessels by a U-Boat right there, in Port of Spain harbour in the first years of World War II. Our wartime experience came to an end with the surrender of the last German U-Boats, again in the vicinity of our capital city. Lt. Com. Kelshall relates it thus:

“In the crisp morning of Tuesday, October 2nd, 1945, there was a considerable gathering of military personnel on the piers of the U.S. Naval Station in Chaguaramas. They represented air, land and sea elements and came from every command in the Caribbean theatre. Along with American, British and local military men, there were Brazilians, speaking Portuguese, Venezuelans and some from Central America, speaking Spanish, Free French representatives from the French territories, and Dutch personnel who fought in the Caribbean.

Near the end of the pier, a small group of important military people were gathered around their host, Commodore Courtlant Baughmann, commander of the U.S. Naval Station in Chaguaramas. This group clustered near the commodore came from three navies, and for the moment they were the centre of attention.

"Captain W. Christiansen was the official representative of the United States Navy. Standing near him were the Royal Navy team, made up of Captain J.H. Breal, with Chief Petty Officer L. King and Mr. C. Penwell from the Admiralty Board of Naval Constructors.

"English, French Portuguese, Spanish and Dutch were the normal languages of the Caribbean Theatre, but on this morning there was an addition. Standing in the group and occasionally exchanging comments in their native tongue were Captain Kadov and Captain Favarov of the Russian Navy. This multinational group were known as the Allied Tripartite Committee and they represented the tail end of wartime co-operation, which would soon degenerate into twentieth century Cold War. However, on this particular morning, they were together on the pier awaiting the arrival of the US Navy Task Group 21.4.

"The conflicts in both the Atlantic and the Pacific were over and the world was winding down from the high tension of a World War, but for the Caribbean this was a very special morning.

"Several Mariner flying boats from VP-213 were airborne, escorting Task Group 21.4 to Trinidad, while the remainder of the pilots from the squadron were on the pier. To the officers and men of the Caribbean Command, the arrival of the Task Group would be the culmination of their war and not many of them would have missed it.

"Precisely at five minutes to seven, the bows of the flagship of Task 21.4 appeared, thrusting through the Third Boca. She was the twelve hundred ton ocean going tug, USS Cheroke. She was especially equipped with salvage equipment and carried a crew of experienced technicians. The two hundred and ten foot long tug cleared the Boca and turned to starboard to allow her charges to take centre stage and a suppressed ripple of excitement greeted the bows of the second vessel of the Task Group 21.4, as it slid through the dark water. U530 had returned to the Caribbean, - for her third visit.

"The long gray forward casing crept into view, glistening with spray in the early morning sunshine. Overhead, the engines of the Mariner thundered, as its arch enemy became the second U Boat to enter the Gulf of Paria. Then the conning tower was visible, followed by the after casing, with white foaming at its stern. Her new American passage crew were on deck, as she turned towards the piers and the waiting crowd.

"But she had hardly cleared the Boca, before the bows of a second U Boat appeared. Following closely behind the Caribbean veteran U530 came the type VIIC U977. As this U Boat entered the gulf, a second Mariner flying boat swept over the ships of Task 21.4 and turned south. The Mariners had escorted the Task Group along Trinidad’s north coast and now their job was Complete.

The U Boats had come from Buenos Aires, where they had been handed over to the American crews by the Argentine Navy. The U Boats’ original crews were far away in a prison camp and the two former commanders, Otto Wehrmuth and Heinz Schaffer were still undergoing special interrogation with their allege involvement with the ghost convoy.”

Torpedo Junction

Today, the very idea that we were heavily and intricately involved in a world war appears unbelievable. But just 60 years ago, this was indeed the case. Out of a relatively small population - less than a  million in those years - there were several hundred men and women serving in the war effort at home and overseas. The Gulf of Paria had become a focal point for shipping and the oil refineries of Trinidad’s southland were viewed as vital to the war.

The threat of a German invasion was very real. Great Britain had withstood the onslaught of the bombers that had devastated her cities. British armies, together with their allies, were fighting in the north of Africa and in the Far East. It was, however, the war at sea that was the crucial element, for it was the link that kept ‘Fortress Britain’ equipped with men and material.

The president of the U.S.A., Franklyn  Roosevelt, had kept his country out of the war which had started in 1939, but by May of 1940 the losses in the Atlantic took such a terrible turn that Winston Churchill, Britain’s prime minister, appealed for help from their American ‘cousins’ on the other side of the ocean. He was desperately in need of destroyer escorts to safeguard the convoys on the North Atlantic run.

With much diplomacy, the deal was struck. Great Britain would receive the 50 destroyers so badly needed in exchange for making available lands on the Caribbean islands in her possession for the U.S. to establish bases. This arrangement between the two great wartime leaders, Churchill and Roosevelt, was to turn the tide of the war. It is commemorated to this day in Trinidad in the Highway that was built in those dark years to link Port-of-Spain to the great military complex known as Fort Reid, which contained the major airfield called Wallerfield.

Army and navy installations were built at Great Exuma Island on the Bahamas, as well as in Jamaica, Antigua, St. Lucia, British Guiana and Trinidad. The establishment of these bases was not without contention, however. Principally, the length of the lease was 99 years. This seemed an unreasonable length of time to dislocate so many people from their ancestral property, as in the case of Chaguaramas. But the world at war dictated this, and Trinidad had a  strategic position. The Gulf of Paria, where 140 years previously Admiral Nelson had turned an entire battle fleet with ease, its entry points, the Dragon’s and Serpent’s mouths, made it easy to hold its refineries, which were the biggest in the British empire. Trinidad was also relatively close to the vital Panama Canal, which was central to the coming new stage of the war, the battle for the Atlantic.

The hundreds of merchant ships that converged on Trinidad in this period is to this day hard to imagine. The impact of the hundreds of thousands of American, British and other servicemen is now hardly remembered. However, some events are recalled at their start with the calypso ‘Rum and Coca Cola’, and the end of the American occupation with another, ‘Jean and Dinah’.

The action that took place in the waters just off the coast of our islands was ferocious, desperate and cost the lives of hundreds. It mostly involved persistent and well-planned submarine attacks on merchant ships making for and sailing from the Gulf of Paria. Squadrons of German U-boats shipped out of the Bay of Biscay off the coast of Spain, crossed the Atlantic and entered the Caribbean Sea. They were known as ‘wolf packs’. The average age of their commanders was about 25.

The number of merchant ships sunk in the Trinidad sector between 1942 and 1943 was more than 160. In the area known as the ‘Galleon’s Passage’ between Trinidad and Tobago about 12. This was re-christened ‘Torpedo Junction’. In July of 1943, there were about 7 U-boats operating in Trinidad waters.

This is the story of U-boat U615 under the command of Kapitänleutnant Kapitsky. Despite Trinidad possessing the most powerful anti-submarine base in this part of the war, the ongoing attacks by the U-boats, their deadly fire on the surface, had forced the allies to lose many of the aircraft flown out from Piarco and from the naval base at Chaguaramas. Towards the end of July and the beginning of August, the wolf pack was beginning to withdraw from the area. They had lost five U-boats in the hard fighting.

U615 was in trouble. The craft had been sighted from the air. On realising this, Kapitsky had taken her under and kept her there, but as time moved on he brought her to the surface to air the boat and change his ... He was sighted by a huge seaplane called ‘Mariner’ and attacked. The depth charges fell from the sky and bracketed him with such force that the boat plunged under water, washing men overboard and shaking the giant seaplane. The gunners on the deck of U615 opened fire, raking the aircraft and causing a fire to blaze dangerously. Trailing smoke, the pilot took the plane over once more. The plane’s gunners opened fire on the fighting U-boat.

Inside the cockpit of the flying boat, blood was spattered everywhere. The instruments were shattered and the pilot lay dying amongst his wounded crew. On the gundeck of U615, the German gunners trained their weapons on the planes coming in low over the water and opened fire, ignoring the American fire hitting them, splattering upon the steel decking, sending fragments of shrapnel flying into the faces of the young seamen.

Over the next several hours and through the night, aircraft from several airfields in Trinidad ... the crippled U-boat, bombed and depth charged her. And still, the anti-aircraft guns blasted away at the planes overhead. Her commander Kapitsky was now slowly bleeding to death. The boat, battered, was listing dangerously. It was obvious that it was going to sink. Kapitsky, as the dull morning spread across the weary sky, bade his crew good-bye and died propped against U615’s conning tower. The crew abandoned the ship.

As Lt. Commander Gaylord Kelshall writes in his excellent book ‘U-boat war in the Caribbean’:

“When the Hamburg-built boat finally slipped below the waves, she carried the body of her gallant commander with her... She sank beneath us. 44 of her crew slid into the water in their lifejackets. They had fought the enemy, they had fought to keep their U-boat afloat. Now they had to fight the sea to stay alive.”