Patrol info for U-539
| Departure | Arrival / Fate | Duration | ||
| 14 Sep 1943 | Bergen | 23 Oct 1943 | Lorient | 40 days |
Commander | Officers * | |
Oblt. Hans-Jürgen Lauterbach-Emden |
1WO Hans Götze |
WO Johannes van Stipriaan |
Daily positions, sinkings and allied attacks during the patrol of U-539
Legend
indicates an Allied attack on the boat.
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We have daily positions for all 40 days on this patrol.
Departure from Bergen on 14 Sep 1943.
15 Sep 1943 - 16 Sep 1943 - 17 Sep 1943 - 18 Sep 1943 - 19 Sep 1943 - 20 Sep 1943 - 21 Sep 1943 - 22 Sep 1943 - 23 Sep 1943 - 24 Sep 1943 - 25 Sep 1943 - 26 Sep 1943 - 27 Sep 1943 - 28 Sep 1943 - 29 Sep 1943 - 30 Sep 1943 - 1 Oct 1943 - 2 Oct 1943 - 3 Oct 1943 - 4 Oct 1943 - 5 Oct 1943 - 6 Oct 1943 - 7 Oct 1943 - 8 Oct 1943 - 9 Oct 1943 - 10 Oct 1943 - 11 Oct 1943 - 12 Oct 1943 - 13 Oct 1943 - 14 Oct 1943 - 15 Oct 1943 - 16 Oct 1943 - 17 Oct 1943 - 18 Oct 1943 - 19 Oct 1943 - 20 Oct 1943 - 21 Oct 1943 - 22 Oct 1943 -
Arrival at Lorient on 23 Oct 1943.
Wolfpack operations during this patrol
U-539 operated with the following Wolfpacks during this patrol
Rossbach (24 Sep 1943 - 9 Oct 1943)
Ships hit by U-539 during this patrol
No entries found.
General Events during this patrol
We have no events listed for this patrol.
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Attacks on U-539 during this patrol
21 Sep 1943
The boat was attacked by the British Hudson aircraft V9161 (269 Sqdn RAF/G, pilot Sgt E.J.L. Brame) southeast of Iceland. During the first approach the aircraft was hit by AA fire in the port aileron, so the pilot decided to drop two 100lb A/S bombs from a higher altitude to force the boat to dive. The bombs fell close but U-539 stayed on the surface, evaded the 3 depth charges that were dropped in the following low level attack and then escaped by crash-diving. (Sources: Franks/Zimmerman)
4 Oct 1943
Aircraft attack, aircraft shot down:
British B-24 Liberator (120 Sqdn RAF/V, pilot W/C R.M. Longmore, OBE)
Around 11.38 hours, the boat was attacked by the Liberator which escorted the convoy ONS-19. AA fire hit the aircraft during the attack run, set both starboard engines on fire and caused it to crash, killing all 8 crewmen including the CO of the 120 Squadron RAF. The depth charges overshot and caused only minor damage to U-539 and a crewman was slightly wounded by strafing.
(Sources: Franks/Zimmerman)8 Oct 1943
An unknown B-24 Liberator dropped 2 depth charges on the boat causing serious damage. This was the third attack on the boat in less then 3 weeks. The boat reached port on Oct 20. (Sources: Blair, vol 2, page 430)
About this data
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* These are officers that later became commanders themselves.
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