U-859 – The Story of a German Submarine Wreck near Penang

Part 1: Tragic End to a Nearly Completed Mission

On September 23, 1944, a torpedo hits the German submarine U-859. The British submarine HMS Trenchant sinks the U-859 just 20 kilometres away from its destination, Penang. Along with the majority of the crew, many tons of mercury sink into the depths of the Straits of Malacca.

The Mission

The U-859 was a member of the Monsoon Group which operated in the Far East alongside the Imperial Japanese Navy. By April 1944, four of the initial ten boats had already sunk to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. Regardless, Admiral Dönitz, Head of the Marine, sent an additional four boats to Asia. The U-859 left from Kiel to Penang with the mission to deliver mercury to the ruling Japanese, and in return bring back natural rubber to Germany. Under the command of Johann Jebsen, the submarine started its long and dangerous journey to Penang on April 4, 1944. On the way, she sank three hostile ships, amongst them the American SS John Barry in August 1944, a ship transporting three million silver coins to Saudi Arabia. On several occasions the U-859 was attacked, yet managed to escape in one piece. In spite of many successful attacks and defences, one crew member died and three others were injured during an air strike by an American catalina seaplane later on the journey.

After a 209-day jouney, only 159 seamiles away from Penang, lieutenant commander Jebsen radio broadcasted the harbour to announce their arrival. The area was full of hostile submarines, airplanes and destroyers, as a result of which Jebsen opted to remain fully submerged during the day and surface only for three to four hours after dark. Due to the surrounding enemies, the U-859 was to be accompanied through the Straits of Malacca by the German U-861 and a Japanese convoy ship. What the Germans were unaware of was the fact that the British had deciphered the radio broadcast code and knew the exact locations of all submarines.

The only surviving commanding officer Horst Klatt later claimed that neither the U-861 nor the convoy ship met the U-859 at the specified assembly point. Eventually, the U-859 was ordered to approach Penang alone. Rolf von Bargen, the first commanding officer of the U-861 denied the accusation that his boat was not at the meeting point at the designated time. He stated that the crew was waiting together with the convoy ship and eventually gave up, thinking that the U-859 had missed the meeting spot. Von Bargen only heard about the tragic fate of the U-859 upon his return to the port of Penang.

The Last Minutes On Board of The U-859

Horst Klatt remembers: Upon receiving orders to head to Penang unaccompanied, lieutenant commander Jebsen calls all commanding officers to a meeting. In the meantime, five hundred metres away, the British submarine Trenchant locates its target and aims its torpedoes. The six German crewmembers on the observation post are unable to see the Trenchant’s periscope and can only trigger an alarm as they see the froth caused by the fast approaching torpedo. Bulls Eye – one of the three torpedoes hits the centre of the submarine, where the commanding officers are in the midst of their discussion. The submarine breaks into two parts.

Just minutes before, commanding officer Horst Klatt excuses himself from the meeting and is in the bathroom at the time of the hit. He feels the boat shaking and sinking. The bathroom door is stuck, the small cubicle fills with water and the pressure in his ears increases. He finally manages to open the door and runs through the sinking boat to the bow where eleven other crew members are located. The air smells of chlorine gas, caused by a damaged battery. Toxic yellow clouds are forming and spreading throughout the submarine. The twelve men manage to open a hatch and leave the wreck. Only seven of them have escape sets, which are emergency breathing apparatus’ that provide air for a short period, yet do not necessarily guarantee a safe ascend. From this group of men, only Horst Klatt and four others reach the surface alive. The remaining crew members ascend to quickly – the pressure difference is too large and their lungs rapture.

The Rescue

Several other men also manage to escape from the wreck. Amongst them is the twenty two year-old electrician Arthur Baudzus, who reaches the surface without an escape set. Eleven survivors are taken on Board of the Brisitsh HMS Trenchant, and then the submarine quickly descends, in an effort to avoid aerial attacks from the Japanese. The remaining eight survivors fear shark attacks in the unknown waters, although they are uncommon for the area. With four small dinghies, that rose to the surface with the escape sets, the men try to reach the mainland, yet the current drifts them towards Sumatra instead. Only several kilometres away, the Japanese military band and numerous curious citizens are waiting in vain for the arrival of the German U-859.

Twenty four hours after the tragedy, the last eight survivors are spotted and rescued by a Japanese fishing boat and brought to Penang. Out of the original crew of 67 men, only 19 survived.

More than 60 years later, there are still many unanswered questions about the U-859 and its wreck. There are newspaper articles documenting various successful and aborted salvation efforts. It is still unclear how much mercury was salvaged at what time and under whose direction the salvation was conducted. How much mercury was on the U-859 in the first place? Was it in fact 60 tons as claimed by some sources? What has been established however, is that water conditions make it hard for scuba divers to explore the wreck, as the author discovered for herself. More on that in the second part of the article.

Isabel Trumm

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