SM UB-73 Vs HMS D 6

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LioG
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Joined: 11 Nov 2016, 06:30
Location: Europe

SM UB-73 Vs HMS D 6

#1

Post by LioG » 13 Nov 2016, 18:29

Hello,

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On the evening of June 24th 1918 HMS D 6 was patrolling off the west coast of Ireland. By this stage of the war D 6 was commanded by Lieutenant Samuel Brooks with Lieutenant Frederick Secker Bell as the second-in-command. D 6 was following a six to eight point irregular zig-zag on the surface approximately 12 miles north of Inistrahull. At 5:55pm Brooks relieved Bell on the bridge. The starboard engine was out of action due to a leaky exhaust pipe and D 6 was procceding at a dead slow spead using her engine to save battery power.

Brooks had been on the bridge for twenty minutes and had sighted nothing when a torpedo exploded on the starboard side abreast of the fore hatch at 6:15pm. No visible external damage could be seen and all hands were called to deck. Brooks then sighted a periscope breaking the surface around 30 yeards away before it turned around and disappeard again beneath the sea. The eye at the other end of that periscope belonged to, Kapitänleutnant Karl Neureuther, the commanding officer of the Imperial German Navy Type UB III submarine, UB-73.

About thirty seconds after the explosion HMS D 6 sank very quickly, going down by the bow. By this time nine other crew members, including Bell, Had reached the bridge. Brooks was taken under the water by the sinking vessel, and when he reached the surface again he could see some of the other men in the water. Brooks removed some of his clothing and swam towards Bell, but by the time he reached him he could no longer see the others in the water. After half an hour SM UB-73 surfaced and picked up the only two survivors, Brooks and Bell.

SM UB-73 had been on the surface when they first sighted HMS D 6, then dived and prepared its attack on D 6 for two hours before finally launching a torpedo from 250 yards away. On June 30th 1918 SM UB-73 left her patrol area and Kapitänleutnant Karl Neureuther sends an "open" W/T-message to the British W/T-station Malin Head, on request of her prisoners
"pass to HMS Platypus Lieutenants Brooks and Bell are saved prisoners in German submarine".
After being taken ashore, Brooks and Bell were transferred to a prisoner-of-war camp.

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Kapitänleutnant Karl Neureuther with his "guests" at the deck of UB-73

SM UB-73 was a Type UB III submarine commissioned on October 2nd 1917 and served until it was surrendered at the end of the War.
Its first commander was Kapitänleutnant Woldemar Adam, who was in charge of the boat until February 28th 1918. On March 1st Kapitänleutnant Karl Neureuther took over as commander. Kapitänleutnant Max Bräutigam was the last commander of UB-73. He was appointed on July 8th 1918 and served until the boat was surrendered at the end of the war on November 11th 1918.
Between 1917 and 1918, UB-73 was assigned to the 5th U-Flotilla and 1st U-Flotilla. Altogether the boat conducted six patrols. It sank a total of 8 merchant ships (18,806 tons), HMS D 6 excluded.

Lieutenant Frederick Secker Bell was the Captain of the heavy cruiser HMS Exeter in 1939 when she was involved in the Battle of the River Plate. It was Exeter's guns that did much of the damage to the German pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee.

I would appreciate any information or photos you can provide about UB-73.
Especially to 'fill in the gaps'.

----Departure---------------------- Arrival ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
#1-02.12.1917____________ 25.12.1917____________ an die englische Ostküste
#2-30.01.1918____________ 01.02.1918____________ von Helgoland zur Irischen See *
#3-05.04.1918____________ 29.04.1918 Bremerhaven von Helgoland zur Irischen See
#4-16.06.1918 Bremerhaven 07.07.1918 Brunsbüttel__ von Helgoland zum Nord-Kanal
#5-12.08.1918 Brunsbüttel__ 03.09.1918____________ von Helgoland in das Gebiet vor dem Nord-Kanal
#6-16.10.1918____________ 26.10.1918 Brunsbüttel__ von Brunsbüttel zum Nord-Kanal

I want to thank andrus for his help

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Kapitänleutnant Karl Neureuther

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