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U-990 - 4th War Patrol

Translation by Harald Jazdziewski

Departed Date Fate Date Days at Sea

Bergen 22 May 1944 Lost 25 May 1944 4

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Ships Attacked
None

KRIEGSTAGEBUCH
===============

" U 990 "

=====
4th Patrol.

Transfer from Bergen to Narvik.

Kommandant: Kapitänleutnant Nordheimer

Beginning: 12. April 1944

Ending: 25. May 1944

Distribution::
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Oberkommando der Kriegsmarine Copy No. 1

Oberkommando der Kriegsmarine Copy No. 2
Oberkommando der Kriegsmarine 2. Skl. B.d.U. Op. Copy No. 3
Kommandier Admiral der Unterseeboote Copy No. 4
Führer der Unterseeboote Norwegian Copy No. 5
Führer der Unterseeboote Ausbildung Copy No. 6
Kommando der 27. Unterseebootsflottille Copy No. 7
Kommando der 11. Unterseebootsflottille Copy No. 8

Anlagen:

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Click the flag to view the above page from the

original German KTB
-3-

12.04.44
10.00 Bergen Moored at Bergen after 3rd patrol.
13.04.44 to 14.04.44
Boat cleared/vacated.
15.04.44 to 29.04.44
Boat in shipyard/battery capacity tested.
08.05.44 Boat undocked.
12.05.44 Sea trial.
13.05.44 Docked again to replace a propeller which generated
noise during sea trial.
14.05.44 Cast off. New sea trial. Anti-Aircraft training and AA
practice firing; a shell exploded in the barrel below the
muzzle of the 3.7 cm. Cause: defective AA ammunition;
the shell feeding mechanism often jams when firing AA
ammunition.
I do not recognize Anti-Aircraft training as sufficient. To test weapons and train the

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whole crew, all we have left are 4 days, 200 rounds and 3 balloons.
22.05.44
19.30 Left Bergen with U-921 (Leu) for the 4th war patrol.
(Transfer Bergen - Narvik). Escorted by "UNITAS" to
Hellisoe.
23.30 Hellisoe Released by "UNITAS". Left coast together with U-921
at high speed with irregular zigzags. General course
315°.
23.05.44
03.00 to Proceed submerged.
13.00
12.00 Day's run: 108 nm.
13.00 to Surfaced charging batteries with full anti-aircraft
readiness. Order for the duration of transit: Crew must
wear life vests. Test firing; feeding mechanism for the
3.7 cm again out of action. Automatic fire impossible.
Malfunction corrected shortly before dive.
15.00
15.00 to Proceed submerged.
21.00
21.00 to Surfaced charging batteries; the 3.7 cm malfunctions
again.
23.00

Sun and Moon Data 22.05.44

Sun and Moon Data 23.05.44
-4-

23.05.44 (Continued)
23.00 Submerged.
24.05.44
09.00 to Surfaced charging batteries. The 3.7 cm malfunctions
11.00 once again (feeding mechanism).
12.00 Radio message received: 1138/24/652.
KR KR Borger , Brammer, Leu, Nordheimer:
Operate at maximum speed on war emergency message.
Niethmann: Operational area AF 5573.
F.d.U
12.00 AF 8150 Proceeding at maximum speed towards U-476.
Day's run: 138 nm.
12.10 Radio message received: 1159/24/654.
Vp.-boat 5901: Sail immediately at maximum speed to

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grid AF 5573 for rescue of U-boat crew. Proceed via 64

28N 08 06E. Meet aircraft support ship there.
Adm. Nordküste.
12.13 Radio message received: 1213/24/653.
SSD Pietsch, Leu, Borger, Brammer und Nordheimer:
According to last war emergency message, Niethman
sunk at 12.00 hours. in AF 5573. Crew probably in
rubber life rafts. Search until orders revoked,
immediately report any finding. Sea rescue planes
dispatched. Beware of enemy planes.
F.d.U.
14.33 Radio message received: 1433/24/663:
1.) Brammer do not help Niethman, instead return to
former course according to orders No.13 and 14.
2.) After 22.00 hours.Vp.-boat 5901, M132 and 2 R-
boats will arrive at sinking location AF 5573.
F.d.U.
17.35 Radio message received: 1735/24/664:
KR KR: Aircraft will transmit bearing signals from
17.30 hours. on frequency Dora for boats that look for
Niethman. Rubber life rafts in AF 5571 firing flares.
F.d.U.
Expecting that life rafts will drift, I set course straight into the wind and sea.

Sun and Moon Data 24.05.44

-5-

18.00 Bearing signal 30º relative.

19.20 Aircraft to port. Change course to due east and speed to
HF, otherwise it is impossible to use 3.7 cm anti-aircraft
gun in these weather conditions. Recognized as Condor
at 2500 meters, no recognition signal fired.
Condor flies irregular circles in all directions until out of
sight. Circles partially obscured by gusts of rain. Does
not give any indication, either through course or signal
where the scene might be. Repeatedly firing white flares
in front of their cockpit to encourage them to use the
same to mark the spots where rafts are, but to no avail!
19.30 AF 5575 Radio message received: 1915/24/664:
KR KR: Aircraft sighted in AF 5571 one U-boat and life
rafts. Boat that found survivors immediately report with
a short signal "Yes".
F.d.U.

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From this I take that I must be close to the scene. Position according to navigational
fix: AF 5575.
Started a systematic search since Condors are more of an annoyance than a help.
Searching for 4 nm in either direction of the end points of a baseline against wind and
sea. Zags at end points deviate by 1.5 nm.

19.45 Second aircraft in sight. Estimated distance: 10,000

meters. Quickly pulls up into the clouds. Type not
identified.
19.50 Final departure of Condor.
20.00 Debris sighted, probably the tail section of an aircraft.
20.20 Empty one-man life raft sighted. Using position as
starting point for search. Firing flares every 20 minutes
to show my position to other boats and encourage rafts to
shoot signal stars.
22.15 Radio message sent: 2215/25/91:
To F.d.U.: Life raft in 5575 unoccupied. On the lookout
for flares.
Nordheimer

Sun and Moon Data 24.05.44

-6-

22.16 Noticed emergency signals bearing 30º and 280º relative

approximately 3.5 nm apart.
22.25 11 men rescued from life raft. Recovery difficult
because of sea state 5-6. Maneuvering difficult since E-
motor reverse has no power and boat turns immediately
stern into the wind.
22.22 Radio message sent: 2222/25/84:
SSD So far 11 men rescued. Looking for flares.
Observed several more emergency signal stars.
Nordheimer
22.50 U-476 in sight. Intend to take the boat in tow.
22.57 Radio telegram sent: 2257/24/85:
KR KR Niethmann afloat AF 5574. 10 men taken
aboard.
All engines out of commission. Rudder jammed at full
starboard. Lying alongside.
Nordheimer

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23.15 Commander U-476 report: Boat will stay afloat for 2

more hours. Compressed air and electricity depleted.
25.05.44
00.40 Commander, LI and 8 men taken from life raft U-476.
00.45 Enemy radar detection.
00.55 Enemy radar detection.
01.02 Boat sunk with torpedo because of strong radar
detection. Enemy planes are probably incoming.
01.05 Submerged.
01.55 Surfaced. Continue search.
01.55 Radio message sent:
KR KR Unable to save U-476. Sank with torpedo.
Rescued: Commander, Engineering Officer, First Watch
Officer, Ob. Strm., 2 Ob. Masch. and 15 men.
Nordheimer
White signal star, bearing 50º relative, distance 10 nm.
02.00
Heading towards it at maximum speed.
02.45 Vp.-boat 5901 in sight.

Abandoned search after 7 ½ hours, since in my opinion, shared by Commander U-476,

no one was found during the high speed search and, considering the relatively large
area, that after 17 ½ hours in no one will be still alive. Single person life rafts probably
capsized

Sun and Moon Data 25.05.44

-7-

25.05.44 (Continued)
due to wind and sea, occupants probably frozen stiff with
a water temperature of +3º C. The work boat (2
wounded and 3 men) that was put out, was certainly also
sunk since it was too stiff and no possibility for towing.
Intention to sail to Narvik abandoned. Current plan:
Combined Anti-Aircraft capabilities of Vp.-boat and
myself strong enough to repel enemy planes.
If I dive, the Vp.- boat will be destroyed. I will have to
return to the surface to rescue the survivors and then it
will be my turn to be attacked. Trailing Vp. 5901 at a
distance of 3-400 meters enroute Trondheim.
03.30 Radio message sent:
Met Vp.-boat. Sailing together to Trondheim since
transfer of survivors is impossible due to the sea state.
Nordheimer
06.40 Aircraft to port, Liberator. Maintains contact. Circles
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around us at a distance of 7000 meters.

06.55 Radio message sent: 0655/25/9.
Enemy scout plane made contact. Request immediate air
cover.
Nordheimer
07.28 Under air attack from starboard. At an estimated
distance of 6000 meters permission given to fire 3.7 cm.
It malfunctions after just 7 rounds fired. Single fire not
possible. Liberator fires with all he has. Drops 6 depth
charges, similar to German versions, but slightly thinner
and longer.
Last DC falls into the water around 3-5 meter away near
magazine and detonate under the boat.
Violent and strong concussion. Watch on the bridge and
M.G. crew thrown around. Some men were wounded by
M.G. fire from plane. Boat starts to sink over the bow.
Engaging E-Motors at 3/5 reverse. Engineering Officer
informs me that boat will only stay afloat for a short
while through continuous blow of ballast tanks 3 and 5
and watertight compartment.
07.32 Orders: All men out of the boat.
07.34 Heavy sea rolls over the boat. We call to Vp.-boat: Put
lines into the water. Water pours in through the bridge
hatch.

Sun and Moon Data 25.05.44

-8-

I manage to pull Oblt. z.S. Heidt out of the hatch. I got

Ob. Fähnrich z.S. Tils out up to the hips when the boat
sank into the depths with us. Both Watch Officers and
control room mate (Masch. Mt. Regber) had voluntarily
reentered the boat to recover more emergency dinghies
and floats.
Attempts to reach the Vp.-boat by swimming usually fail
since the boat drifts faster than men are able to swim in
the heavy sea.
Since there is total destruction in the stern section of the
boat, only 1 single person raft and 1 _ -person raft could
be taken out of the boat. A group of 8 to 10 men cling to
each raft. The Vp.-boat rescues the men that are
swimming alone in the water first. The men in the water
are calm, and comforting each other. Vp.-boat 5901
rescues 34 men in 75 to 90 minutes. Mtr. Hpt. Gfr.
Anger dies; 18 men are missing. Rescued: Kommandant,

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Engineering Officer, First Watch Officer, Second Watch

Officer, Ob. Strm., 8 Petty Officers and 20 men.
19.15 Moored in Trondheim.

Addendum:
The report from Engineering Officer Oblt. (Ing.)
Bröskamp gives the following picture of the destruction
that took place inside the boat:
Apparent crack in pressure hull near fuel oil bunker 2
inboard, since magazine and Kommandant's room full of
oil. Stern room takes on water through torpedo tubes and
torpedo loading hatch. The whole pressure hull is
warped and distorted such that bulkheads are not
closable anymore. All bilge pumps are out of action
thanks to fractured pipes and broken or bent pump rods.
Fu.M.G. fell into the control room;

Sun and Moon Data 25.05.44

-9-

fuse panels and transformer fell from overhead. The

Diesel air compressor was pushed amidships. Port
switch panel was also pushed amidships. Periscope
head broken off. Periscope pedestal broken. All lockers
fell into the passageways. Barely able to get through
bow room Chief Petty Officers, Officers and
Kommandant's rooms because of the lockers, radio
equipment and canned foodstuff.
The latter fell out of the food locker and blocked the
corridor. It was impossible to recover the emergency and
rescue equipment.
Men were slammed against the overhead by the
detonation. Boat stayed afloat due to continuing pressure
blow of ballast tanks 3 and 5 and watertight
compartment.
Stopped blow at 120 kg to observe boat which sank over
the bow immediately. Continued blow.
Order: All men out of the boat. When there was only 40
kg of compressed air left, the Enigineering Officer was
the last man to leave the interior.

All grid and time data reconstructed since all documents were lost with the boat.

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Kapitanleutnant and Kommandant.

Sun and Moon Data 25.05.44

Anlage 1 zu F.d.U. Norwegian Gkdos 3520

Comments of "F.d.U. Norwegian"

on the K.T.B. "U 990" for 12.04.44 to 25.05.44

1) Loss of the boat through air attack in unfavorable conditions after successfully
lending assistance to "U-476".

2) The assistance to "U-476" (Niethmann) on 24./25.05.: The measures taken for

the search for the stricken boat were thought-out and correct. The experienced
commander broke off the search after rescuing 21 men and sinking the stricken
U-boat, since it was improbable that the remaining life rafts were still afloat and
that after 17 hours in the cold water any swimming person would be frozen to
death or drowned. He deemed any further search as hopeless and that any further
search would be too great of a risk to the already rescued survivors and his own
boat due to enemy air operations in this area. I therefore approve of his decision,
even though under more favorable conditions a further search should have
yielded more certainty about the missing sailors.

3) The loss of his own boat: The Kommandant chose to sail surfaced for the
purpose of air-defense, since he felt secure in the proximity of the Vp.- boat,
without considering that an attack would be made against the target with the
highest value and that the heavy sea would restrict the air-defense capabilities of

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the U-boat. After the hit and the quick sinking of the boat only 2 life rafts from
the inside could be brought onto the deck. The commitment of both Watch
Officers and the Control Room Mate is acknowledged. It is due to the proper
operation of Vp. 5901 that, regardless of the difficult circumstances, a large
portion of the shipwrecked personal could be rescued. "Nordheimer" chose all the
correct options and probable solutions for the rescue of his boat.

i.V.

Fuhrer der Unterseeboote Norwegen

B.Nr. -Gkdos 3520- An Bord, den B. Juli
1944

In sextuplicate
Copy No. -1-

To:
Oberkommando der Kriegsmarine - 1.Skl.-,
Oberkommando der Kriegsmarine - 2.Skl.B.d.U.Op.,
Kommandierenden Admiral der Unterseeboots,
Fuhrer der Unterseebootsausbildung,
Kommando 27. Underseebootsflottille,
Kommando 11. Unterseebootesflottille.

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i.V.

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