Action of 23 April 1945

The Action of 23 April 1945 was a submarine engagement of World War II that occurred in the Java Sea between Nazi Germany and the United States. It resulted in the last sinking of a German U-boat in Asian waters during the Pacific War and was one of only a few actions of the theater involving German forces.

Action
United States Navy personnel on USS Besugo (SS-321), under the command of Lieutenant Commander Herman Edward Miller, made radar contact with GS U-183 at about 01:00 off the southern coast of Borneo while patrolling the area. Underwater, the Americans fired a spread of torpedoes and one struck the U-boat which had a Japanese flag painted on the side, it sank quickly at position 04° 50′S, 112° 52′E with 54 men still aboard, including Kapitänleutnant (Lieutenant Commander) Fritz Schneewind. Afterward, the Americans surfaced and rescued one wounded German warrant officer and took him prisoner.