Action of 23 April 1945

Action of 23 April 1945
Part of World War II, Pacific War

The wreck of U-138.
Date23 April 1945
Locationoff Borneo, Java Sea, Southeast Asia
04.50S, 112.52E
Result United States victory
Belligerents
 United States  Nazi Germany
Commanders and leaders
Herman Edward Miller Nazi Germany Fritz Schneewind
Strength
1 submarine 1 submarine
Casualties and losses
none 54 killed,
1 wounded prisoner,
1 submarine sunk

The Action of 23 April 1945 was a submarine engagement of World War II that occurred in the Java Sea between Nazi Germany and the United States. It resulted in the last sinking of a German U-boat in Asian waters during the Pacific War and was one of only a few actions of the theater involving German forces.

Action

USS Besugo, under the command of Lieutenant Commander Herman Edward Miller, made radar contact with U-183 at about 01:00 off the southern coast of Borneo while patrolling the area. Underwater, the Americans fired a spread of torpedoes and one struck the U-boat which had a Japanese flag painted on the side. The German submarine sank quickly at position 04°50′S 112°52′E / 4.833°S 112.867°E / -4.833; 112.867 with 54 men still aboard, including Kapitänleutnant (Lieutenant Commander) Fritz Schneewind. Afterward, the Americans surfaced and rescued one wounded German warrant officer and took him prisoner.[1]

See also

References

  1. ↑ MY ODYSSEY - U-BOOT IN INDIAN OCEAN - 1943 Archived July 14, 2011, at the Wayback Machine.
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