U 85 ble lagt ned ved Flender Werke i Lübeck i 1939, og satt i tjeneste under Oberleutnant Eberhard Greger i oktober 1941 i 3. Unterseeboot Flotille. U 85 var en av ubåtene som ble beordret til operasjon Pauchenslag, angrep på handelsskip på den amerikanske østkyst. U 85 fikk den tvilsomme æren av å bli den første ubåten som ble senket i dette området da hun kom under ild fra den amerikanske jageren USS Roper 14. april 1942. USS Roper angrep U 85 i overflaten som ble sterkt skadet før Eberhard Greger beordret mannskapet å forlate skipet. Mens ubåten begynte å synke, klarte halve mannskapet å forlate skipet, men USS Roper fortsatt allikevel å fyre av dypvannsbomber på ubåten. Hele mannskapet på U 85 omkom under denne kampen. Idag hviler vraket av U 85 på tjuefem til tretti meters dyp med tårnet som grunneste punkt. Posisjonen er ca 8 kilometer utenfor kysten, nordøst for Cape Hatteras. Vraket er temmelig rast sammen, men mange detaljer på ubåten kan fortsatt ses...

U 85 was laid down at Flender Werke in Lübeck i 1939, and pt in service under Oberleutnant Eberhard Greger in october 1941 in 3. Unterseeboot Flotille. U 85 was one of the uboat's ordered to participate in operation Pauchenslag, assault on merchant shipping on the american east coast. U 85 got the doubtful honor of being the first uboat sunk in this area when she came under fire from the destroyer USS Roper 14. april 1942. USS Roper attacked U 85 in the surface which was heavily damaged before Eberhard Greger ordered the crew to abandon the ship, but still USS Riper continued to fire depth charges against the submarine. The whole crew on U 85 perished in this battle. Today the wreck of U 85 rest on a depth of twenty five to thirty meters with the conning tower as the shallowest part. Position is approximate 8 kilometers outside the coast, north east of Cape Hatteras. The wreck is pretty much collapsed, but still many details can be seen on the submarine...

 

Name:
Former names:
 Material:
Dimensions:
U 85
  
Steel
66,5x 6,2x 4,74 m.
       
Tons: Built: Homeport: Cargo:
753 disp. ( Surfaced ) Lübeck ( D ) 1939   ( D )  

 

Picture of USS Roper: © www.navsource.org
Picture of U48, type VII B: © www.uboat.net
Picture of Ebhard Greger † © www.taucher.net

 

Interested in uboats and their commanders? Visit this great site...
Uboat Net

 

Historical notes:
( Information from www.eclipse.net/~dhamer/u-85.htm )
In August of 1997 two oak boxes were brought to the surface by diver Roy E. Parker. Their contents included: Wheels II, III, VI and VII from Enigma M2946 and Wheels I, III, IV, VI and VIII from Enigma M3131. On 3 July 2001 M2946 and part of M3131 - both Enigma M4's - were recovered by another team of divers exploring U-85. A typewriter - attached as a printing device to Enigma M2946 - was also recovered along with significant sections of a flag-signal codebook and several pads used for the preparation of radio messages. Just over a year later, on 22 August 2002, the rest of Enigma M3131 was recovered.

Information from www.uboat.net:
7 Jun, 1941 - 14 Apr, 1942 Oblt. Eberhard Greger
Career 4 patrols 7 Jun, 1941 - 31 Aug, 1941 3. Flottille (training)
1 Sep, 1941 - 14 Apr, 1942 3. Flottille (front boat)
Successes 3 ships sunk for a total of 15.060 GRT
Fate Sunk 14 Apr, 1942 near Cape Hatteras, USA, in position 35.55N, 75.13W,
by gunfire from the US destroyer USS Roper. 46 dead (all hands lost).

Convoy battles: SC-42, where U 85 participated
( Information from www.uboat.net )

9 Sep, 1941 - 14 Sep, 1941
The Convoy, 64 ships. First sighting On 9 Sep, 1941 by U-85.
Escorts The Canadian escort group EG.24 (LtCdr Hibbard) consisting of the destroyer HMCS Skeena and the three corvettes HMCS Kenogami, HMCS Alberni and HMCS Orillia.
The Gruppe Markgraf of 14 boats U-38 (Korvkpt. Schuch), U-43 (Kptlt. Lüth), U-81 (Kptlt. Guggenberger), U-82 (Kptlt. Rollmann), U-84 (Kptlt. Uphoff), U-85 (Oblt. Greger), U-105 (Kptlt. Schewe), U-202 (Kptlt. Lindner), U-207 (Oblt. Meyer) *, U-432 (Kptlt. Schultze), U-433 (Oblt. Ey), U-501 (Korvkpt. Förster) *, U-569 (Kptlt. Hinsch), U-652 (Oblt. Fraatz) Newly arrived boats joining the operation later:
U-372 (Kptlt. Neumann), U-373 (Kptlt. Loeser), U-552 (Kptlt. Topp), U-572 (Kptlt. Hirsacker), U-575 (Kptlt. Heydemann)

From 28 August on, the gruppe Markgraf is deployed SW of Iceland on the North Atlantic convoy route. The deployment is known to the Allied by Ultra and the following convoys are re-routed around the U-boat concentration : ON-10, ON-11, SC-41, HX-146 and HX-147. While the patrol line does not seem to find any convoy, the BdU decides to disperse the patrol line over a larger area. This order is decoded by Ultra, but the exact positions of the U-boats are not known. The convoys ON-12, HX-148 and SC-43 can make a much wider detour but SC-42 is trapped by a storm and the ice barrier and can not avoid being detected by U-85. U-85 attacks at once but has no success. Other boats come up and attack at night. U-81, U-82 and U-432 sink one ship each, U-652 damages two ships, one of which is finished off by U-372 and the other is towed back by the Orillia. U-82 misses the Skeena. During the 10th, U-432 is the contact keeper. U-85 attacks twice by day, sinking one ship, but is herself also damaged by the Skeena and Alberni. U-501 is pressed under water by a Catalina and is then sunk by the corvettes Moosejaw and Chambly, sent as a reinforcement. In the night, the U-boats press home their attacks : U-202 has no success but U-82 sinks three ships and damages one, U-432 and U-433 sink one each, U-207 sinks two and finally U-202 finishes off the ship damaged by U-82. On the 11th further reinforcements arrive : from HX-147 the 3 corvettes Wetaskiwin, Mimose and Gladiolus plus the trawler Buttermere arrive and from ON-13 the British escort group EG.2 with the 5 destroyers Douglas, Veteran, Leamington, Saladin and Skate. Also air escort is provided during daylight. U-207 is sunk by the Veteran and Leamington, U-652 makes an unsuccessful attack and U-105 sinks an independent. U-432 is the contact-keeper. In the night, the escorts keep the boats at bay. Only U-43 and U-84 fire but both miss. The following days some boats remain in contact but the strong air and sea escort, heavy seas and bad visibility make it impossible to attack. On the 14th the newly arrived U-552 is the last to have contact before the operation is broken off...

 


Edited 29.06.2007