Action of 10 November 1944

The Action of 10 November 1944 was a naval engagement of World War II involving an American submarine and a German U-boat. In a short action north of Lombok Strait, the Americans attacked the German vessel which exploded and sank with all hands.

Action


The Gato-class submarine USS Flounder (SS-251)—under Lieutenant Commander James E. Stevens—was operating around the Lesser Sunda Islands when he sighted a craft just north of Lombok Strait and east of Surabaya. Initially, the Americans assumed the vessel was a sailing boat, but upon closer examination, the sails were found to be a conning tower of GS U-537. After approaching and shadowing the enemy craft for several moments, Flounder fired four torpedoes at the submarine's side. Stevens then raised his vessel to periscope depth to observe the attack. Two of the torpedoes hit U-537 and after a massive explosion, the craft was underwater in pieces at position 07º13'S, 115º17'E.

Kapitänleutnant Peter Schrewe with 57 others were killed. Thirty minutes after the sinking, the Americans surfaced to search for survivors but no debris or bodies were found. U-537 was one of 10 German U-boats lost in Asian or East African waters during the war.