1942: U-boat Menace Off North Carolina-- Part 2

Anytime a U-boat attacked, it had to clear out of the area as quickly as it could because retribution would come in quickly by patrol craft and planes.

Nine crew members on the Clan Skene were killed.  Its captain and 72 others were picked up by the USS McKean (APD-5) and taken to San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Georg Lassen, who received the Knight's Cross-Oak Leaves, of the U-160 sank the City of New York off Cape Hatteras at 7:36 a.m. March 29, 1942, attacking in twenty-foot seas.  He recalled, "I could not believe how many ships were around.  We never had enough torpedoes."

Reinhard Hardegan commanded the U-123 and sank 22 ships, receiving his Knight's Cross-Oak Leaves.  Once he entered New York Harbor to gather intelligence and operated off Cape Hatteras.

He had this to say about these waters: "The waters and currents at Hatteras were so strong we needed the planesmen always on the bow and stern.  You could not leave them unattended.... The Gulf Stream was the reason.  The waters were so shallow, we often attacked on surface to escape faster.  There was little room for diving and maneuvering."

--GreGen