I recently read Coastal Ace: The Biography of Sqiuadron Leader Terence Malcolm Bulloch DSO* DFC*, and one fo the four confirmed U-boats that he destroyed was U-132. Pages 146-147 give an account of the attack, and the evidence of debris and an undersea explosion that could not be due to a DC, on the 5th Nov 1942. By all evidence the u-boat was destroyed, and destroyed by him. However, it is now claimed that U-132 was destroyed when the Hatimura, a ship it had earlier damaged, was torpedoed by U-442 and the debris from the ensuing explosion hit and damaged U-132. No mention of CC attack, or Bulloch's claim. uboat.net - Boats - U-132 uboat.net - Allied Ships hit by U-boats - Hatimura (Steam merchant) And the two claims are almost 200km apart! So, the question arises of what really happened to U-132? If it wasn't sunk by Bulloch, then could it have gotten to/from the location of the Hatimura to the location where Bulloch attacked in one night? If it wasn't U-132, then which U-boat was it?
Post war analysis indicates that the submarine attacked by Bulloch in 58.20N 32.30W on 5 November 1942 flying Liberator I AM929 H/120 was U 89, a type VIIC submarine commanded by Kapitanleutnant Dietrich Lohmann, the U-boat was severely damaged during this attack and had to return to port. Also, post war analysis indicates that U 132 is missing in 55.38N 39.52W due to the SS Hatimura exploding in its vicinity. 47 crew killed.
Norman Franks, in 'Search, Find and Kill', suggests that Bulloch sank U89 on 5 Nov 42. U89 was attacking convoy SC107: this convoy included the ships sunk by U132; Hobbema, Empire Lynx and Hatimora. Hatimora was carrying several tons of explosives; the explosion of the Hatimora is thought to have killed U132. Roxy
Thank you guys. It seems that S/L Bulloch's tally of four confirmed kills needs to be revised to three - still an outstanding achievement, and not in anyway detrimental to his reputation as an excellent pilot, and a dedicated serviceman. CXX, may I ask what your source is as there appears to be a discrepancy that must have occurred because of research carried out in the last 10 to 15 years. Bulloch' biography was published in 1986, and I don't know how much original, official source material was used. Franks' book was published in 1990, with a new edition in 1995 (Roxy, which edition do you have?), and I would expect someone like Franks to have consulted many many original documents, and the latest research up to that time. The U-boat site I linked to above confirms that U-89 was damaged in the encounter with a 120 Squadron aircraft but at 58.08N, 33.13W. This implies that the source they are using is different from yours CXX. And presumably their source and your source are based on research carried out very recently.
Work has been ongoing into U-boat losses for many years by NHB. Post war analysis of attacks in some cases has had successful attacks / kills reclassified. Some are given some are taken away. As for Bullochs attack on 5 November 1942, he sighted three and attacked two U-boats on that day in support of convoy SC107. The first sighting was made in 58.30N 32.42W but the U-boat was not attacked as it had submerged over 30 seconds before the aircraft arrived over the position. At 1223 hrs on that day Bulloch sighted and attacked a U-boat in 58.08N 33.13W the submarine being entirely enveloped by D/C swirl. Later, at 1456 hrs a third U-boat was sighted and attacked in 58.05N 32.57W with two D/Cs 10 seconds after the U-boat had submerged but nothing was seen. The MkI Liberator, AM929 H/120 Squadron had been on patrol for almost 17 hours. Bulloch 'killed' two U-boats while he was with 120 Squadron. 12 October 1942....U 597 8 December 1942...U 611 And with 224 Squadron 8 July 1943.....U 514. Sources. 120 Squadron ORB. 120 squadron 1918 - 1998. White / Rennison. German U-boat Losses During WWII. - Axel Niestle. Search Find and Kill. - Franks. Coastal Ace - Spooner. The U-boat War in the Atlantic - MOD (Navy) Papers obtained via Naval Historical Branch. ps. apologises for the incorect position given in my previous post, re U 89 CXX
Cheers CXX, it seems that his tally is now three confirmed, with the last 'kill' whilst he was with 244 Squadron. Still makes the highest anti-eboat scorer. Thanks for digging out all that info.
Kyt, I have the second edition of Norman Franks' book. I will try to speak to CXX today (the Sqn not the man!) to find out how many they think that Bulloch sunk! They are in the process of repainting the Sqn building for their forthcoming reunion - I suspect that someone will have details. Roxy
