Wreck of U-881

 Second World War 1939-1945, ship wreck, submarine

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Unterseeboot 881 was a Type IXC/40 U-boat laid down in August 1943 at the AG Weser Yard in Bremen and commissioned into Kreigsmarine Service in May 1944. Spending much of her first year in service attached to the 4th Unterseebootflottille as a training submarine, the U-881 received orders to report to the Horten, Norway U-boat base for her first war patrol in March 1945.

Standing out of Horten on March 30th for her maiden war patrol, the U-881 and her crew formed part of a desperate attempt by the collapsing Nazi Government to attack Allied shipping of the coast of North America, hoping to bring better settlement terms for the looming armistice. Arriving in the sea lanes off Halifax several days later, the U-881 and her crew began hunting Allied merchant and naval shipping as part of the wolfpack 'Seewulf' with six other U-boats. Unbeknownst to the crews of the U-boats, allied codebreakers were well aware of the wolfpacks mission and mustering locations, and were particularly concerned with rumors swirling that several of the U-boats were fitted with the dreaded V-2 rockets and were going to use them against American and Canadian cities. Several dedicated Allied hunter-killer groups were formed to destroy the wolfpack before it could reach North American shores and formed several picket lines across the North Atlantic.

On her 30th day of her maiden patrol, the U-881 and her crew were attempting to break through the Allied defensive pickets they were encountering, utilizing the submarines snorkel to remain submerged as she made her way for St. Johns. Her sonar operator kept a close watch on the American and Canadian ships in her vicinity as dawn broke on May 6th, but failed to report a fast moving Destroyer Escort which suddenly emerged from the U-boats baffles as she churned Westward.

Sonar operators aboard the New York-bound USS Farquhar (DE-139) were preparing to end their watch period when a submerged contact appeared nearly beneath their ship, sending the ship to battle stations. Positively identifying the contact as a likely submarine, the Farquhar's well trained Veteran crew required only five minutes to begin their attack, laying a string of 13 depth charges set for shallow detonation over the position of their quarry. All 13 charges detonated as planned and when the ship circled back to perform a sonar sweep of the area, the submerged contact was nowhere to be found.

U-881 and all 53 of her crew had been damaged, flooded and sunk at this location shortly before dawn on May 6th, 1945. Her loss proved to be the final surface action of the Battle of the Atlantic, and she was the final German U-boat sunk in North American waters by US Naval craft. Within 24 hours of her sinking, Nazi Germany surrendered unconditionally to Allied forces, ending the Second World War in Europe.


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