ISSUE 107 : Jul/Aug - 1994 - Australian Defence Force Journal

AN AUSTRALIAN PAUKENSCHLAG? 59a large undefended group of ships moving at highspeed. It was this detection that inspired Timm to penhis comments about an Australian Paukenschlag.Only one ship was actually sighted, but it was too faraway for U 862 to reach a firing position. With noother U-boats in the area to assist the opportunity theattack was lost.The U-boat continued moving up the coast and onChristmas Eve caught up with the American Libertyship Robert J Walker off Moruya. The attack began at0255 on Christmas Day and continued for more thanthree hours. The Libertv ships were well sub-dividedand five torpedoes were eventually needed to ensurethe ship was finished. At least two of the torpedoesran slow, one so slow that it was destroyed by gunfirefrom the freighter before it could hit.The first RAAF aircraft arrived in the area ten minutesafter the last torpedo exploded, beginning a massivesearch that would last for over two weeks. Alsoincluded were several RAN and USN warships fromSydney and the Royal Navy"s 4th Destroyer Flotilla,that put to sea immediately from Melbourne. It was tobe the largest and longest submarine hunt ever conductedoff Australia. The searches were all negativeand though some attacks were made on suspiciousobjects. U 862 managed to keep well clear. HMASQuickmatch recovered the 68 survivors of Robert JWalker on 26 December, two men having been lostduring the attack.Deciding that, for the moment, he had causedenough commotion off New South Wales. Timmheaded off undetected towards New Zealand. On theway, another freighter was sighted. A good attackposition was reached, but again Timm was let downby a faulty torpedo. Attempting to conserve his stocks.only one was fired and this detonated prematurely300 m from the U-boat. The freighter escaped undamaged.Crossing the Tasman Sea. U 862 then sailedaround North Cape and down the east coast of NewZealand. At times Timm brought the U-boat veryclose to the coast, close enough to Gisborne andNapier to see cars on the streets and to hear musicfrom the cafes. The shipping though, was disappointing,several coastal vessels were seen but not theexpected concentration of larger ships. Only one submergedattack on a small freighter was made. Despitethe ship showing full peacetime lighting. Timm missedthe shot. New Zealand was left undisturbed, withthe population completely unaware of U 862's visit.U862 departing Norway on the Voyage to Penang.Photo courtesy of U-Boat Archiv