German submarine U - 333 German submarine " U - 333 " was a Type VIIC U - boat of the Nazi German " Kriegsmarine " during World War II . The submarine was laid down on 11 March 1940 at the Nordseewerke yard at Emden , launched on 14 June 1941 , and commissioned on 25 August 1941 under the command of " Kapitänleutnant " Peter - Erich Cremer . After training with the 5th U - boat flotilla at Kiel , on 1 January 1942 " U - 333 " was transferred to the 3rd U - boat Flotilla based at La Pallice for front - line service . The U - boat made 12 combat patrols in the next three years , and sank seven merchant ships totalling , damaged another of , and also engaged and damaged the Flower class corvette . " U - 333 " was sunk in the English Channel by British warships using a Squid on 31 July 1944 . " U - 333 " bore the " three little fishes " emblem on its conning tower . Service history . 1st patrol . " U - 333 " sailed from Kiel on 27 December 1941 , through the North Sea , and into the Atlantic . On 1 January 1942 the U - boat was attacked by an unidentified enemy aircraft , but was not damaged . " U - 333 " then joined the wolfpack ' Ziethen ' on 17 January 1942 , and at 20 : 45 on 22 January , attacked the 3 , 429 - ton Greek merchant ship " Vassilios A . Polemis " , a straggler from Convoy ON 53 . The ship , hit amidships by a single torpedo , broke in two and sank within ten minutes . The U - boat questioned the 12 survivors from the crew of 33 , and gave them bread and cigarettes . At 15 : 25 on 24 January , about southeast of Cape Race , " U - 333 " attacked the 4 , 765 - ton Norwegian merchant ship " Ringstad " , which had lost contact with Convoy ON 55 after several days of storms . The ship was hit on the starboard side by a single torpedo , and the crew of 43 abandoned ship in three lifeboats . After 20 minutes the ship sank , the U - boat surfaced to question the crew , offered water and food , and gave them a heading to the nearest land before wishing them good luck and leaving . However , in heavy weather two lifeboats containing 30 men were lost , while the third lifeboat was eventually spotted , covered in ice , five days later by an aircraft that brought to their rescue . The sinking of the " Spreewald ' . At 16 : 50 hours on 31 January 1942 , north of the Azores " U - 333 " attacked an unescorted and zigzagging 5 , 083 - ton merchant ship with a single torpedo , which promptly sent out a distress signal " en clair " under the name " " . Cremer examined the ship from a distance of before " U - 333 " torpedoed the ship again at 18 : 33 , and sank her . Unfortunately , she was in fact the German blockade runner " Spreewald " , en route from Dairen in Manchuria to Bordeaux with a cargo of 3 , 365 tons of rubber , 230 tons of tin , 20 tons of tungsten , and quinine , as well as 86 prisoners from ships that had been sunk by the auxiliary cruiser " Kormoran " . Cremer failed to identify her , as she was camouflaged as the Norwegian ship " Elg " and was ahead of schedule . A search for survivors was promptly launched . " U - 333 " and , which was waiting to escort the ship into port and , which was waiting to transfer an injured crewman to the ship , were soon joined by and , which were returning from their patrols , and and , which had just begun theirs . Five Fw 200 " Condor " long - range patrol aircraft from France also searched the area , but most of the U - boats were low on fuel and soon had to abort their search . Late on 2 February , " U - 105 " picked up 25 crewmen and 55 prisoners in three lifeboats and three rafts . Another lifeboat , containing 11 crewmen and 13 prisoners was missing and " U - 105 " searched for a further three days before giving up and setting a course to Lorient . To compound the disaster , when a Dornier Do 24 flying boat was sent out to pick up a severely injured sailor , it crashed in rough seas . " U - 105 " rescued the seven - man crew and sank the aircraft with gunfire . Of the 152 aboard the " Spreewald " , 72 were killed . After returning from his patrol on 9 February 1942 , Cremer was court - martial led , but was found not guilty . 2nd patrol . " U - 333 " left her new home port of La Pallice on 30 March 1942 , and headed across the Atlantic to the coast of Florida . There , on 6 May , she attacked three ships , sinking two . The first was the unescorted 8 , 327 - ton American tanker " Java Arrow " , hit by two torpedoes eight miles ( 13 km ) off Vero Beach at 05 : 43 . The attack killed two officers on watch below , the 45 survivors abandoned ship in two lifeboats . They were later picked up by the submarine chaser and a Coast Guard vessel . A Coast Guard officer boarded the ship to inspect the damage and ascertained that she could be saved , so the Master and four men returned to the ship and dropped the anchor to prevent the ship from going aground . The Master then went to Fort Pierce and returned later with 14 of his crew and the salvage tugs " Ontario " and " Bafshe " which towed the tanker to Port Everglades . The ship was repaired and returned to service in 1943 . Meanwhile , at 09 : 35 , off Fort Pierce , " U - 333 " hit the unescorted 1 , 294 - ton Dutch merchant ship " Amazone " with a single torpedo on the port side . The ship , en route to New York from Curaçao with a cargo of 926 tons of coffee and oil , sank within two minutes . Fourteen crewmen were lost , while the 11 survivors were picked up by the submarine chaser . Finally , at 23 . 25 hours , the unescorted and unarmed 7 , 088 - ton American tanker " Halsey " was hit by two torpedoes off St Lucie Inlet , ripping a hole in the side long . The ship , en route from Corpus Christi , Texas to New York , was laden with of naphtha and of heating oil . The crew of 32 abandoned ship in two lifeboats , almost being asphyxia ted by naphtha fumes . An hour later the " Halsey " exploded , broke in two , and burst into flames . The lifeboats were soon found by USS " PC - 451 " , and towed to land by two fishing vessels . The next day , 7 May , " U - 333 " was hunted by a convoy escort ship , and badly damaged by depth charge s , forcing the U - boat to return to France . However , at 09 : 05 on 10 May , she attacked the unescorted 5 , 214 - ton British Clan Line merchant ship " Clan Skene " about south - east of Cape Hatteras . The ship , carrying 2 , 006 tons of chrome ore from Beira in Portuguese East Africa to New York , was hit by two torpedoes and sank . Nine crewmen were killed , while 73 survivors were later picked up by the destroyer . Cremer noted in his " Kriegstagebücher " ( " War diary " ) that the sinking of this ship was like " . . a balm after these terrible depth charges " . " U - 333 " finally arrived back at La Pallice on 26 May . 3rd patrol . " U - 333 " s next patrol was uneventful . Departing La Pallice on 11 August 1942 , she joined wolf pack ' Blücher ' north - east of the Azores from 14 – 18 August , but had no successes , and returned to port on 24 August after only 14 days at sea . 4th patrol . " U - 333 " sailed from La Pallice once more on 1 September 1942 , and headed south to the coast of West Africa , joining wolf pack ' Iltis ' between 6 – 23 September . On 6 October the U - boat engaged the British Flower class corvette about south - west of Freetown , Sierra Leone . " Crocus " detected " U - 333 " by radar , and closed at high speed . The U - boat was rammed twice , and exchanged gunfire at close range before submerging , while the corvette dropped depth charges . The " U - 333 " lay low , later surfacing and making her escape under cover of darkness . Both vessels suffered damage and sustained casualties . On the U - boat three men were killed ; " Bootsmaat " Heinz Kurze , " Maschinenobergefreiter " Erwin Levermann , and the First Watch Officer ( second - in - command ) " Oberleutnant zur See " Bernhard Hermann , while several men were wounded , including the commander Peter - Erich Cremer . Command of " U - 333 " was taken by the Second Watch Officer ( third - in - command ) " Leutnant zur See " Helmut Kandzior , who took the U - boat to a rendezvous with three days later , where " Kapitänleutnant " Lorenz Kasch , a Captain under instruction , assumed temporary command . " U - 333 " also received medical assistance from a doctor on the " Milchkuh " . On 21 October the inbound " U - 333 " was attacked by the British submarine about north - north - east of Cape Ortegal , Spain . The British submarine was formerly the German " U - 570 " , captured on 27 August 1941 , extensively studied , and commissioned into the Royal Navy . " Graph " , on her first patrol , fired a spread of four torpedoes at the surfaced U - boat , but lookouts spotted the tracks and " U - 333 " managed to evade them . " U - 333 " arrived back at La Pallice two days later , on 23 October 1942 , and Cremer then spent three months in hospital . 5th patrol . " Oberleutnant zur See " Werner Schwaff was appointed temporary commander of " U - 333 " on 22 November 1942 , and set sail from La Pallice on his first patrol on 20 December 1942 . The U - boat sailed out to patrol the Atlantic south - west of Iceland , joining wolf packs ' Falke ' from 28 December 1942 to 19 January 1943 , and ' Landsknecht ' from 19 to 28 January 1943 . However she had no successes , and eventually returned to base on 5 February 1943 after a patrol lasting 48 days . 6th patrol . Two days after departing from La Pallice on 2 March 1943 , " U - 333 " was attacked in the Bay of Biscay by a British Wellington Mk . VIII bomber from No . 172 Squadron RAF equipped with a Leigh light . When the aircraft illuminated the U - boat , it was met with a barrage of AA fire . The bomber passed over " U - 333 " , and dropped four depth charges before crashing into the sea , killing the crew of six . Two depth charges actually hit " U - 333 " , but one broke up without detonating and the other bounced off and caused only light damage . " U - 333 " continued her patrol , returning to the seas south - west of Iceland , and joining wolf pack ' Dränger ' on 14 March . There , on 19 March at 21 : 28 , she torpedoed and sank the 5 , 234 - ton Greek merchant ship " Carras " , a straggler from Convoy SC 122 , which had been hit by a torpedo from earlier . All the crew of 34 survived and were picked up by the British rescue ship " Zamalek " . " U - 333 " joined wolf pack ' Seewolf ' from 21 to 30 March , but had no more successes before returning to La Pallice on 13 April . The " Carras " would be the last ship sunk by " U - 333 " , as the balance of power in the Battle of the Atlantic now swung in favour of the Allies , culminating in Black May ( 1943 ) . 7th patrol . On 18 May 1943 Peter - Erich Cremer , now recovered from his injuries and promoted to the rank of " Korvettenkapitän " , reassumed command of " U - 333 " . On 2 June the U - boat sailed from La Pallice and headed south to the coast of West Africa . However , she had no success , and returned to base on 31 August after 91 days . 8th patrol . " U - 333 " s next patrol began on 21 October 1943 , heading out into the Atlantic north - east of the Azores , where she joined wolf pack ' Schill ' on the 25th . On 4 November , while shadowing a KMS convoy , bound for Gibraltar from Liverpool , " U - 333 " surfaced in heavy fog , but was forced to dive by a destroyer and heavily depth charged , but managed to escape unharmed . " U - 333 " joined wolf pack ' Schill 1 ' on 16 November . On the 18th , while attacking the combined convoys SL 139 and MKS 30 , the U - boat was rammed by the frigate , losing her periscope . " U - 333 " was then subjected to an attack from warships and an aircraft that lasted for eight hours , before making her escape . The U - boat returned to La Pallice on 1 December 1943 having had no success . 9th and 10th patrol . " U - 333 " sailed out on a patrol on 10 February 1944 , but returned after only two days on the 12th . The U - boat left again on 14 February and headed into the waters west of Ireland . There , on 21 March , the U - boat was spotted by Allied aircraft which in turn brought in the Royal Navy ' s renowned U - boat hunters , the 2nd Support Group , under the command of Captain F . J . Walker . Pursued relentlessly , Cremer eventually took " U - 333 " to the bottom and sat on the sea floor at a depth of for 10 hours . Although releasing the U - boat from the grip of the mud was a problem , she eventually freed herself , and once again " U - 333 " escaped . The U - boat returned to base on 20 April 1944 , again having had no success . 11th patrol . Departing from La Pallice on 6 June 1944 , " U - 333 " fell victim to the increased anti - submarine activity by the Allies after the Normandy landings . On 10 June , while still in the Bay of Biscay , " U - 333 " was attacked by an Australian Sunderland flying boat patrol bomber of No . 10 Squadron RAAF , and suffered some damage , although she managed to repel the aircraft with her flak . The next day " U - 333 " was attacked , again by another Sunderland , this time from No . 228 Squadron RAF . " U - 333 " managed to shoot the aircraft down , but suffered further damage , forcing her to abort her patrol and return to base on 13 June . 12th patrol . On 19 July 1944 Cremer left " U - 333 " in order to commission the new Type XXI " Elektroboote " , and " Kapitänleutnant " Hans Fiedler was appointed as commander on the 20th . His first , and " U - 333 " s final patrol began on 23 July , as she headed into the Western Approaches . Sinking . " U - 333 " was sunk on 31 July 1944 , west of the Scilly Isles , in position , by the first use of the Squid anti - submarine mortar from the British Royal Navy sloop and frigate of the 2nd Support Group . All 45 hands were lost . Raiding career . Between August 1941 and July 1944 " U - 333 " sailed on 12 combat patrols , and sank seven merchant ships totalling , damaged another of , and also engaged and damaged the Flower class corvette . She also shot down two aircraft .