u 333 Type VII C Built by Nordseewerke, Emden Keel laid Launched Commissioned Feldpost Nr M

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1 u 333 Type VII C I Built by Nordseewerke, Emden Keel laid Launched Commissioned Feldpost Nr M Sunk WSW of Bishop Rock (49 39'N 07 28'W) Served with 5 U-Flottille, Ki91 August - December 1941 (ab) 3 U-Flottille, La Pall ice December (fb) Commanded-by KL Peier Erich Cremer August October 1942 and June June 1944 OL Werner Schwaff November May 1943 KL Hans Fiedler June Patrols: 11 Ships sunk: 8 (41,051 grt) + 2 damaged Left Kiel for the North Atlantic. U 333 passed between the Faroes and the Shetlands on the 31st. After dark on the tanker SS Algonquin (am 10800t) was sighted. She avoided the four torpedoes fired at her by

2 After a long p.eriod of repairs, U 333 left for operations in the Central Atlantic. U 333. After sighting an aircraft that had responded to a call from the tanker, the boat dived and moved off. ~ She continued westwards in very bad weather and eventually reached her allotted attack area. In the early afternoon of the 18th U 333 sighted and sank the SS Caledonian Monarch (br 5851t) from the scattered convoy SC 63, in a two-torpedo attack in the central North Atlantic, W ofrockall. Four days later U 333 sighted a straggler from westbound ON 53 S of Cape Race, the SS Vassilios A Polemis (gr 3429t), and sank her with one torpedo. Cremer passed over medical supplies, biscuits and cigarettes to survivors in the lifeboats and pointed them towards Halifax. On the 24th U 333 sank the MV Ringstad (nw 4765t) from convoy ONS 55, SE of Cape Race and on the 31st she sank a ship which turned out to be the German blockade-runner Spreewald. At the outbreak of war this vessel was off the US Pacific coast. Posing as a Dutch ship, she made for Yokohama and after arriving there she went on to Darien, in Manchuria. After two years idleness Spreewald sailed for Europe in late 1941 with a cargo of strategic materials, rubber, wolfram and quinine. At a rendezvous at sea with the supply ship Kulmerland she embarked 300 British civilians, crews of ships sunk by the German raider Kormoran. Sailing as the Norwegian ship Elg, the Spreewald was to make for a certain position, where she would be met by U 575 and escorted to a Biscay port. On U 57 5 waited but the Spreewald was in the wrong position and had not sent the pre-arranged radio signal. In complete ignorance of her identity, Cremer sank Spreewald NNE of the Azores on the 31st. On that day U 105 picked up 24 German seamen and 58 British prisoners. Most of the others on board Spreewald were saved, the result of a massive search by 9 boats, including U 333, which went on until Donitz ordered that no survivor must know that Spreewald had been sunk by a U-boat. U 333 returned to La Pallice Cremer was court-martialled, charged with disobedience in action, damage to military property and manslaughter. He was acquitted because, against orders, Spreewald was in the wrong position T.Jeft La Pallice for operations in US waters. In the late evening of U 333 was surprised on the surface by an aircraft, which dropped two depth-charges after the boat dived, causing considerable damage. On the 22nd the boat was refuelled by U miles NE of Bermuda. A ship was sighted on the 30th, the tanker MV British Prestige (br 7106t). U 333 shadowed her until dusk before attacking. Two torpedoes missed and as Cremer prepared the third, the ship, which had begun to zig-zag, turned towards the boat and rammed and ran over her. Severe damage was done to U 333's bow, conning tower, bridge and casing. Temporary repairs were carried out in the morning of and U 333 carried on towards Florida, arriving in her attack area on the 4th. In the morning of the 6th the boat torpedoed three ships off Port Salemo, sinking the SS Amazone (nl 1294t) and the tanker SS Halsey (am 7088t) and damaging the tanker SS Java Arrow (am 8327t), which sank to the bottom but was later salvaged. Later on the 6th U 333 was subjected to depth-charge attacks by the two USN patrol craft PC 450 and PC 451 and the destroyer USS Vigilant. The attacks went on for fifteen hours before the three vessels left to carry out convoy duty. The boat surfaced, only to find the destroyer USS Dallas nearby. She obtained a contact and began depth-charge attacks but inflicted no further damage on the boat. Soon afterwards Dallas left the scene to report for escort duty at Charleston. In the morning of the 10th U 333 torpedoed and sank the SS Clan Skene (br 5214t) E of Savannah. The boat then turned for home and reached La Pallice

3 She joined Blucher group, which assembled SE of the Azores from the 13th. Next day, before the seven boats of the group had all arrived, northbound SL 118 was reported to be approaching. Contact was made with the convoy on the 17th and U 566 sank a ship in the early evening. During the action on the 18th U 333 was sighted by a Liberator, forcing her to dive. Two of the SL 118 escorts arrived and the boat came under depth-charge attacks, which went on over a two-day period and caused damage to the boat's propeller shaft. Whilst the two escorts were busy U 214 sank two ships and damaged another during the evening of the 18th. In her damaged state, U 333 was unable to catch up with the convoy and she returned to base, reaching La Pallice Left for operations in the Central Atlantic. U 333 joined Iltis group, with U 87, U 107, U 214, U 406 and U 590. They assembled W of Lisbon from the 4th. Five days later the boats began to move south in line abreast towards the Cape Verde Islands. Between the 12th and 24th they patrolled an area SW of the Canaries but saw no ships. From the 25th the Iltis boats were refuelled by U 460 off the Cape Verde Islands, after which U 214 and U 406 returned north and the other four boats continued south to the Freetown area. U 333 reached her operational area on In the evening of that day the corvette HMS Crocus left Freetown to search for U-boats. In the early hours of the 7th she made a radar contact and sighted U 333 soon afterwards. The corvette opened fire and before U 333 could retaliate she was rammed twice. The boat was under continuous fire from the corvette's guns. She submerged and went to the bottom as Crocus continued to drop depth-charges. When U 333 surfaced after dark she was able to move away, unobserved by Crocus. U 333 had three men killed, another missing and Cremer and two officers were wounded. Cremer's injuries were severe and in a makeshift operation the Chief Engineer removed a shell splinter from Cremer's chest. The dead men were buried at sea. On the 7th U 333 rendezvoused with U 107. There was a 'captain under instruction' aboard, KL Lorenz Kasch, and he went on to U 333 to take command for the journey home. On or around the 10th U 333 met U 459 for refuelling. A doctor went aboard and Cremer was properly treated. U 333 now headed for base. The boat came under attack in the Bay of Biscay on the 21st by the submarine HMS Graph (formerly U 570) but all four torpedoes fired were avoided. U 333 returned to La Pallice S U 333, with OL Schwaff in command, left for the North Atlantic. She joined Falke group 500 miles W of Ireland, where it was awaiting an ON convoy. The group was sent against ONS 158 and ON 159 but both were re-routed and avoided the boats. Between January 7th and 15th 1943 Falke group swept westwards, searching for convoys. On the 16th it turned north but saw nothing. Three days later Falke and Habicht groups were formed into two new patrol lines, Haudegen and Landsknecht, the latter made up of those boats with less fuel, which included U 333. Landsknecht, augmented by newly-arrived boats, waited W of Ireland but expected convoys were not found. At the end of January some boats began to return to base. U 333 reached La Pallice S Left for the North Atlantic. The outward-bound U 333 was attacked in the late evening of the 4th in the Bay of Biscay by a Leigh Light Wellington of 172 Squadron (F/O GD Lundon). The aircraft was shot down and there were no survivors from the crew. During the attack four depthcharges were dropped, two of which hit the boat. One exploded, causing some damage, and the other failed to explode. Lundon had sunk U 268 only two weeks before.

4 On the 11th U 333 was one of several boats directed to westbound convoy HX 228, sighted by U 336 on the loth.u 333 had no success against the convoy but others did and before the operation ended on the 13th four ships and a destroyer had been sunk and t\'10 ships damaged. From the 15th the boats from the HX 228 action formed Driinger group W of Ireland, to operate against HX 229. In the morning of the 16th the homeward-bound U 653 sighted a convoy, which was thought to be SC 122. Driinger, Starmer and Raubgraf groups were ordered to attack and it was Raubgrafwhich made contact later the same morning. During the day a second convoy appeared, sailing on a parallel course and faster. It was only then realised that the convoy already under attack was not SC 122 but HX 229. The full force of the three groups was deployed against the two convoys. In the evening of the 19th U 333 torpedoed and sank the SS Carras (gr 5234t) W of Ireland. She was a straggler from SC 122, having been torpedoed and dar11aged by U 666 in the morning of that day. The SC 122/HX 229 operation was the largest convoy action of the war, with forty boats taking part and twenty-one Allied ships sunk. The operation was terminated in the early hours of the 20th, with one boat lost. Some of the Driinger and Sturmer boats went off to be refuelled by U 463 whilst the remainder, including U 333, moved westwards to form Seewolf group from the 25th SSE of Cape Farewell, in the central North Atlantic, south of the Seeteufel line, to operate against reported eastbound convoy SC 123. This convoy was sighted in the afternoon of the 26th by U 564 and reported, wrongly, to be westbound. Some Seeteufel boats were directed to it but only two made brief contact. On the 26th the Seewolf line moved north and linked up with Seeteufel to form a line running 800 miles southwards from Cape Farewell. At the northern end of the Seewolf line, U 305 sighted eastbound HX 230 on the 27th. Twenty-two boats from the two groups were ordered to close the convoy. However, in the face of a heavy storm, which developed into a hurricane on the 28th, and kept away by a strong air escort from the 29th the boats involved sank only one ship, that by U 610. Contact was lost on the 30th and the operation ended. Most of the Seewolf boats were by then low on fuel and from the 31st they were replenished by U 463 in the central North Atlantic. U 333 was refuelled on or about She returned to La Pallice With Cremer back in command, U 333 left for the Central Atlantic. From May 24th all boats had been withdrawn from the North Atlantic and those with sufficient fuel went to an area SW of the Azores, from where they could intercept US-Gibraltar convoys. U 333 went to join them there. In mid-june U 333 was refuelled by another boat for further operations and she moved southwards. No convoys were seen until the 29th, when an eastbound one was sighted. U 333 began to shadow but was located on the surf ace as darkness fell. Caught in a searchlight, the boat was attacked but dived and escaped. On U 333 was sighted on the surface off the coast of West Africa by a Hudson, squadron unknown. The aircraft made no attack but circled, calling for assistance. Another Hudson arrived and made a low approach, flying through the flak put up by U 333. Four depth-charges were dropped but were off the target. As the aircraft flew across the boat's rounds -were seen to be striking the Hudson. After circling and sending signals the aircraft flew away, driven off by U 333's 88 mm gun. The boat's air-compressor had been giving trouble. She received spare parts some time in mid-july from U 600 and U 618, which gave only temporary relief. On U 571 met U 333 and delivered a replacement compressor, which fully restored the boat's operational capability.

5 U 333 (continued) One week later U 333 was seriously short of food and fuel and moved to a rendezvous point for replenishment S of the Azores. When auxiliary tanker U 129 appeared on or about the 18th there were seven boats awaiting her. U 333 returned to La Pallice Left La Pallice for operations. U 333 was one of eight boats making up a mobile force, Schill group. The plan was to make a one-night attack on an MKS or KMS convoy off the northwest coast of Spain. Among Sc hill's boats were three flak-boats, U 211, U 441 and U 953. The Schill patrol line was formed on the 27th 400 miles W of Cape Orte gal, to await northbound convoy MKS 28/SL 138. Luftwaffe aircraft sighted it on the 27th and 28th but on the 29th, the day of the planned attack, it was not seen, having steered slightly to the west. On the 30th aircraft found the convoy again, to the northwest of the Schill line. The boats were ordered to pursue on the surf ace in daylight and contact was made on the 31st. In a morning attack, U 333 was unsuccessful against a destroyer of the escort, the torpedo detonating near its target. A strong air escort caused the operation to be called off soon afterwards. _ The Schill boats were ordered to form a new patrol line and began to move southwards on , searching for a KMS convoy. During the night of the 3/4th U 333 sighted a convoy in the fog. She was spotted by a destroyer which turned towards her. Cremer fired a torpedo at her and waited for the explosion but none came. He had missed. The boat's dive was followed quickly by depthcharges. U 333 eventually crept away, with minor damag~. On the 5th the Luftwaffe began a search for MKS 29 and it was sighted on the 7th. The Schill line was reformed in the expectation that the convoy would pass through it during the evening of the 8th. Again, air reconnaissance failed to sight the convoy on the vital day, when mechanical defects forced aircraft to return to base. At the expected interception time the Schill boats moved southwestwards at high speed but when only destroyers were seen it was realised that the convoy had passed through the line. It was found again by aircraft on the morning of the 9th but although two Schill boats searched for 24 hours they found nothing and the operation was called off. On the 15th aircraft sighted a northbound convoy W of Gibraltar, the combined MKS 30 and SL 139. Schill group, now with seven boats and designated Schill 1, waite.d in a line W of Lisbon, through which the convoy was expected to pass on the 18th. In the morning of the 18th Cremer sighted the convoy through the periscope. U 333 was quickly located and the frigate HMS Exe moved in to attack. As Cremer prepared to fire into the ships of the convoy the boat was suddenly enveloped in a pattern of exploding depth-charges. Immediately afterwards she shot upwards and struck the bottom of the Exe, snapping off the periscope. The boat dropped again, as the convoy passed overhead. Depthcharge and Hedgehog attacks continued for nine hours and U 333 was very seriously damaged. Somehow, temporary repairs were carried out and Cremer resurfaced. The boat managed to struggle slowly back to La Pallice, reaching there Left La Pallice and returned Left La Pallice for the North Atlantic. U 333 joined Preussen group W of Ireland and remained with it, uneventfully, for two weeks until the order came during the night of March 6/7th that boats were to operate independently between the British Isles and 40 W. U 333 moved north and patrolled W of the North Channel. She was near the entrance of the Channel in the morning of the 21st when she was located by an aircraft, which reported her to the 2nd SG. A few hours later the attacks came, with depth-charges being dropped as a line of SG ships moved across U 333's position.

6 The boat laid silently on the bottom for many hours until lack of air made resurfacing a dire necessity. However, U 333 was firmly embedded and only reluctantly moved after ten men had run back and forth from stem to stern several times, to induce a rocking motion. After a few attempts the boat rose quickly and fresh air rushed in as the hatch was thrown open. The 2nd SG had gone and U 333 moved away westwards and later turned south, hoping to intercept US-Gibraltar convoys. There was much Allied anti-submarine activity but no convoys were seen. U 333 carried out radio-deception duties before being recalled to base in early April. The boat returned to La Pallice U 333 sailed, as one of nineteen non-schnorkel boats of Landwirt group. They were to lay on the bottom at 200 metres depth between Brest and Bordeaux, keeping out of port in case an Allied invasion force arrived and trapped them there. The boats later moved in to 100 metres depth for a more rapid response to any invasion. The waiting boats were under constant attack from the air when they surfaced at night. On the 10th U 333 was attacked by a Sunderland of 10 (RAAP) Squadron (F/Lt H A McGregor). The boat was undamaged after depth-charge and machine-gun attacks. In the early hours of the 12th U 333 was attacked by a Sunderland of 228 Squadron (F/Lt M E Slaughter). The aircraft was hit by flak from the boat, one engine caught fire and the aircraft crashed into the sea, its depth-charges exploding on impact. None of the crew survived. The Landwirt boats were recalled to port on the 12th and placed on six hours notice. U 333 put in to Lorient Left Lorient, with a new commander, KL Fiedler. U 333 was one of a number of schnorkel boats which were to operate in the English Channel. In the afternoon of the 31st the boat was located by the frigate HMS Loch Killin WSW of Bishop Rock. She was joined by the sloop HMS Starling and the search for the boat began. Loch Killin (Lt-Cdr S Darling) made two Squid attacks and oil was seen on the surface. Starling (Cdr D E G Wemyss) dropped a pattern of depth-charges soon afterwards. A silence was followed by a big underwater explosion, sending up more oil. The two vessels continued their attacks until the fate of U 333 was no longer in doubt. She was the first victim of Squid, a new type of forwardfiring depth-charge. There were no survivors, 46 dead.