when an armed coastal freighter followed rheir rrack wirh loaded guns, irs escort joining rhe hunt. Before rhe freighter could fire, U-995 gor off a torpedo which splir the ship in rwo. In February 1945, Hess led a daring attack in rhe Finnish harbor of Kirkeness, occupied by Russia. During the night, he entered the fjord with flooded tanks and only the conning tower breaking the surface. Silently, he held station, resting on the sea floor, beside the shipping lane. In an attempt to gain the harbor during daylight, U-995 touched bottom in shoal waters . Wirhour identifiable damage, but listing hard to one side, rhe sub stayed aground close to shore, delica rely balanced on rocks wirh a steep dropoff. In serious dangerofslidingdown and damaging screws as well as rhe hydroplanes, Hess could free rhe boar easily if he Coast Guardsmen on the deck ofthe USCG Cutter Spencer watch surfaced. Bur directly exposed to harbor in the explosion ofa depth charge in the hunt for U-boats in 1943. gli rrering sunshine, depth charges until morning and remained rhis acrion would have been suicide. He nearby for days. Meanwhile, the convoy U- waited until dark. The boar rhen carefully emerged underecred and torpedoed rhe 995 was seeking escaped. Their next tour offered the chance to only ship ar rhe pier, visible ar a distance of attack a small combat convoy. In sighr of rwo thousand meters. Afterward, rhey land, U-995 sank one freighter and dam- slipped away to rhe open sea and relative aged rwo others. At Christmas, it rescued safety. Only a few days larer, Hess was rwo Russian mariners from the icy waters awarded rhe Knights Cross and learned of after their vessels were destroyed. The crew rhis decoration by radio communication. Hess spied his next victim ar the enand survivors developed a mutual affection, and many on board felt uneasy about trance to Murmansk-an escort vessel of a putting them ashore as prisoners of war to squadron of ships on patrol. This hit was followed by a long depth-charge pursuit, face an uncertain future. The submarine crew nearly brought on especially dangerous in shallow coastal watheir own demise during this same cruise. ters. The German submarine maintained An acoustic torpedo's steering mechanism an advantage because of the inherent inacfailed as rhe U-boat arracked an escort east curacies of ASDIC (Anti-Submarine Deof Murmansk. Instead of heading for the tection Investigation Committee) . Allied enemy, it turned, setting a course for rheir es co rt vessels relied on AS DI Cs, also known own vessel. The crew watched its path in as sonar, during the war for underwater horror under stopped engines until, after detection . On 14 March 1945, U-995 set out for several stressful minutes, the torpedo traveled in big circles and exploded at the end its last patrol, with orders to strike a convoy of its run , a safe distance away. U-995's approaching from the west. Hess posisailors narrowly escaped another close call tioned U-995 in range of the ships' course their plan backfired as flares now exposed rheir own positions. The first torpedo left U-995's Tube 5 ar midnight; immediately afterward, a second shot. Alarm! Dive! The hard crash of a powerful detonation boomed throughout the submarine -a torpedo hir! The hydrophone room reported screw noises of just three destroyers. Two more explosions followed. They could assume that the other rin fish reached its rarger. After a short pause to ger rheir bearings, rhe rest of rhe destroyers dropped
SEA HISTORY 105, AUTUMN 2003
ro rhe east and engaged just east of Murmansk, close to shore. The German torpedoes struck rwo Liberty ships, destroying one. Following this tour, the boat pur in to shipyard at Trondheim to be equipped with a snorkel (an air funnel which allowed the use of diesel engines while submerged). Thus, when Germany surrendered, U-995 was not ready to set course for England with the remaining Uboat arm in "Operation Deadlighr." After 113 days in command and 5 patrols, Hess finally surrendered his vessel to Norway in May 1945. He and his crew were interned until their return to Germany. Captain Hess spent a year in Norwegian captivity. Today, U-995 rests on shore, open to the public, in Laboe, Germany, as a memorial to all those who shipped out and did nor return. .:t
U-995 's final berth in Laboe, Germany
COURTESY HISTORIC NAVAL SI lll'S ASSOCIATION
Captain Hess is a member ofShark hunters, the world's only multinational submarine history organization. Harry Cooper is Executive Director. Along with dozens ofother Uboat veterans, US Navy submarine vets and veterans ofother submarines share their memories in the monthly KTB Magazine published by Sharkhunters. For information about this group, send a self-addressed envelope to Sharkhunters, PO Box 1539-A C20, Hernando FL 34442; e-mail them at: sharkhunters@earthLink.net or visit the web site www.sharkhunters.com.
Captain Hess visits his former command
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