U-701
Date of Action: U-boat sunk on 7 July 1942; survivors rescued on 9 July 1942
USCG Units Involved: Hall PH-2, V-167 piloted by LCDR Richard L. Burke, USCG; Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City
Sinking/Capture/Assist? No, rescue of survivors
Location: Waters off North Carolina
Credit by U.S. Navy? No
Enemy Warship's Commanding Officer: Kapitänleutnant Horst Degen
Enemy Casualties: 36 killed in action; 7 survivors rescued.
USCG Casualties: None
Details/Updates:
The U-701 was sunk on 7 July 1942 by an Army Air Force A-29 Hudson aircraft, piloted by Lieutenant Harry Kane, USAAF, of Bombing Squadron 396. A few of the U-boat's crew managed to escape the wreck as it lay on the ocean's floor. The survivors were first located two days later by the Navy blimp K-8. The blimp's crew dropped rescue supplies and rafts to the Germans and then directed a Coast Guard amphibian to the scene. Coast Guard PH-2 V167, piloted by noted Coast Guard aviator LCDR Richard L. Burke made a water landing and rescued seven survivors, including the U-boat's commanding officer.
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