German submarine U-862

German Type IXD2 submarines were considerably larger than the original Type IXs. U-862 had a displacement of {{convert|1610|t|LT}} when at the surface and {{convert|1799|t|LT}} while submerged.{{sfn|Gröner|1991|pp=74–75}} The U-boat had a total length of {{convert|87.58|m|ftin|abbr=on}}, a pressure hull length of {{convert|68.50|m|ftin|abbr=on}}, a beam of {{convert|7.50|m|ftin|abbr=on}}, a height of {{convert|10.20|m|ftin|abbr=on}}, and a draught of {{convert|5.35|m|ftin|abbr=on}}. The submarine was powered by two MAN M 9 V 40/46 supercharged four-stroke, nine-cylinder diesel engines plus two MWM RS34.5S six-cylinder four-stroke diesel engines for cruising, producing a total of {{convert|9000|PS|kW shp|-1}} for use while surfaced, two Siemens-Schuckert 2 GU 345/34 double-acting electric motors producing a total of {{convert|1000|shp|PS kW|-1}} for use while submerged. She had two shafts and two {{convert|1.85|m|ft|abbr=on|0}} propellers. The boat was capable of operating at depths of up to {{convert|200|m}}.{{sfn|Gröner|1991|pp=74–75}}

The submarine had a maximum surface speed of {{convert|20.8|kn}} and a maximum submerged speed of {{convert|6.9|kn}}.{{sfn|Gröner|1991|pp=74–75}} When submerged, the boat could operate for {{convert|121|nmi}} at {{convert|2|kn}}; when surfaced, she could travel {{convert|12750|nmi}} at {{convert|10|kn}}. U-862 was fitted with six {{convert|53.3|cm|in|0|abbr=on}} torpedo tubes (four fitted at the bow and two at the stern), 24 torpedoes, one 10.5 cm SK C/32 naval gun, 150 rounds, and a 3.7 cm Flak 18/36/37/43 with 2575 rounds as well as two 2 cm FlaK 30 anti-aircraft guns with 8100 rounds. The boat had a complement of fifty-five.{{sfn|Gröner|1991|pp=74–75}}

U-862 was one of the most travelled of all U-boats. She sailed from Germany in May 1944 and eventually reached Penang, in Japanese-controlled Malaya, in September 1944. Penang was the base for the 33rd U-boat Flotilla, code-named Monsun Gruppe ("Monsoon Group").

On the way there, she launched a T5/G7es Zaunkönig I acoustic homing torpedo at a tanker. The Zaunkönig came around full circle to home in on U-862. Only an emergency crash dive and staying silent saved the U-boat from her own torpedo. She also shot down an Allied Consolidated PBY Catalina aircraft H of No. 265 Squadron RAF on 20 August 1944 and then escaped an intense search for her. She sank several merchant ships in the Mozambique Channel between Africa and Madagascar.

{{See also|Axis naval activity in Australian waters|Axis naval activity in New Zealand waters}}

U-862 departed for her second war patrol from Batavia in the Japanese-occupied Netherlands East Indies in December 1944. She sailed down the west coast of Australia, across the Great Australian Bight, around the southern coast of Tasmania and then north towards Sydney where she sank the U.S.-registered Liberty ship {{SS|Robert J. Walker||2}} on 25 December 1944. She then travelled around New Zealand and entered the port of Napier at night undetected.According to U-Boat Far from Home, U-862 entered Gisborne Port – not Napier This has given birth to an urban legend in New Zealand, where it is said that the captain of U-862 sent sailors ashore at night to steal fresh milk from a farm. This may arise from a joke made by Captain Timm to Air Vice Marshal Sir Rochford Hughes in the late 1950s.{{cite book|last=Stevens|first=David|title=U-Boat Far from Home|year=1997|publisher=Allen & Unwin|isbn=1-86448-267-2}} U-862's voyage to New Zealand was portrayed in a stage comedy U Boat Down Under which was written and directed by Peter Tait and performed at Downstage Theatre, Wellington from 27 July to 5 August 2006.{{cite web|url=http://www.theatreview.org.nz/reviews/review.php?id=293|title=New Zealand Theatre: theatre reviews, performance reviews – Theatreview}}

U-862 then returned to the Indian Ocean. On 6 February 1945, about 1,520 km (820 nm) south-west of Fremantle, U-862 sank the U.S.-registered Liberty ship, {{SS|Peter Silvester||2}}, which was loaded with mules bound for Burma.

U-862 was also a trial boat for the FuMo 65 Hohentwiel radar system. This was cranked out of a casing on the port side of the conning tower and rose on a mast. The aerial was hand trained onto targets whilst the U-boat was on the surface. The radar had a range up to {{convert|7|nmi|abbr=on}} and was very effective where there was little risk from air attack on the U-boat.

When Germany surrendered in May 1945, she put into Singapore and was taken over by the Imperial Japanese Navy.Giese, O., 1994, Shooting the War, Annapolis: United States Naval Institute, {{ISBN|1557503079}}{{rp|235}} On 15 July 1945 she became the IJN submarine I-502. The I-502 surrendered at Singapore in August 1945 and was scuttled in the Strait of Malacca at {{coord|03|05|N|100|38|E|dim:400000|display=inline,title}} on 15 February 1946.

The German crew of U-862 suffered no casualties, and some returned to Germany several years after the war. Others who were interned at Kinmel Camp, Bodelwyddan, North Wales, remained in Wales and settled in the neighbouring communities of Rhyl, Rhuddlan and Prestatyn, due to the risks of returning to the Soviet occupied areas of Germany after the war. Two of the crew are buried at the new cemetery at Rhuddlan, North Wales, on nearby plots.

File:Myoko after surrender (3).jpg or U-862) moored next to the Japanese cruiser Myōkō]]

• Axis naval activity in Australian waters
• Axis naval activity in New Zealand waters

{{Reflist}}

{{Refbegin}}

• {{cite book | last1 = Busch | first1 = Rainer | last2 = Röll | first2 = Hans-Joachim | translator-last = Brooks | translator-first = Geoffrey | title = German U-boat commanders of World War II : a biographical dictionary | publisher = Greenhill Books, Naval Institute Press | location = London, Annapolis, Md | year = 1999 | isbn = 1-55750-186-6 }}
• {{cite book |last1=Busch |first1=Rainer |last2=Röll |first2=Hans-Joachim |title=Der U-Boot-Krieg, 1939-1945: Deutsche U-Boot-Verluste von September 1939 bis Mai 1945|trans-title=German U-boat losses from September 1939 to May 1945 |date=1999|volume=IV |publisher=Mittler|location=Hamburg, Berlin, Bonn |isbn=3-8132-0514-2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vXKwAAAAIAAJ |language=de}}
• {{cite book |last1=Gröner |first1=Eric |last2=Jung |first2=Dieter |last3=Maass |first3=Martin |translator-last1=Thomas|translator-first1=Keith|translator-last2=Magowan|translator-first2=Rachel |title=German Warships 1815-1945: U-boats and Mine Warfare Vessels |date=1991 |publisher=Conway Maritime Press |location=London |volume=2 |isbn=0-85177-593-4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Udg-0AEACAAJ|ref=CITEREFGröner1991}}
• {{cite book|last=Shone|first=Gerald|year=2016|title=U-boat in New Zealand Waters|publisher=Pahiatua Publications|location=Auckland|isbn=978-0-473-35128-1}}

{{Refend}}

• {{Cite web

|url= http://uboat.net/boats/u862.htm

|title= The Type IXD2 boat U-862

|last=Helgason

|first=Guðmundur

|website=German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net

|access-date= 7 December 2014

}}

{{German Type IXD submarines}}

{{German Type IX submarines}}

{{1946 shipwrecks}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:U0862}}

Category:German Type IX submarines

Category:World War II submarines of Germany

Category:Indian Ocean U-Boats

Category:Military attacks against Australia

Category:1943 ships

Category:U-boats commissioned in 1943

Category:Ships built in Bremen (state)

Category:Captured U-boats

Category:World War II submarines of Japan

Category:Foreign submarines of the Imperial Japanese Navy

Category:U-boats scuttled in 1946

Category:Maritime incidents in 1946

Category:Shipwrecks in the Strait of Malacca