Monsun Gruppe

"Monsun Gruppe " or Monsoon Group was a force of German U-boats (submarines) that operated in the Pacific and Indian Oceans during World War II.

The Indian Ocean was considered strategically important, the region not only contained India, Britain ’s most prized possession, but also the shipping routes and raw materials that the British vitally needed for its war effort. In the early years of the war German raiders and capital ships, operating in the Indian Ocean, had sunk a number of merchant ships, however as the war progressed it become more difficult for them to operate in the area and by 1942 most were either sunk or dispersed. From 1941, U-boats were also considered for deployment to this area but due to the successful periods known as the First and Second Happy Times, it was decided that sending U-boats to the Indian Ocean would be an unnecessary diversion. There were also no foreign bases in which units could operate from and be resupplied, hence they would be operating at the limits of their range. As a result the Germans concentrated their U-boat campaign in the North Atlantic.

Japan’s entrance into the war in 1941/42 led to the capture of European South-east Asian colonies such as British Malaya and the Dutch East Indies. In May-June, 1942, Japanese submarines began operating in the Indian Ocean and had engaged British forces in Madagascar. The British had invaded the Vichy controlled island in order to prevent it from falling into Japanese hands.

Joint Operations in the Indian Ocean

In 1943, the Germans agreed to send a number of U-boats to the Far East that would operate from Japanese occupied ports in the region against the then lucrative, relatively unprotected shipping in the area. The "U-178" was the first, arriving at the former British seaplane base in Penang in August 1943. The idea of stationing U-boats in Malaya and the East Indies for operations in the Indian Ocean was first proposed by the Japanese in December 1942. As no supplies were available at either location the idea was turned down although a number of U-boats from the first wave operated around the Cape of Good Hope at the time. [ [http://uboat.net/ops/monsun2.htm Pre-Monsun Boats ] ] Penang, situated on the west coast of Malayan Peninsula was selected as the main U-boat base. A second base was established at Kobe, Japan, and small repair bases were located at Singapore, Jakarta and Surabaya. Eventually more than half a dozen U-boats operated from these bases. These U-boats were known as the "Monsun Gruppe" and were commanded by Captain Wilhelm Dommes [ [http://uboat.net/ops/monsun3.htm Monsun boats ] ] . Altogether 41 U-boats of all types including transports would be sent, a large number of these however, were lost and only a small fraction returned to Europe. [ [http://www.uboataces.com/articles-fareast-boats6.shtml Fate of the Far Eastern Boats ] ] [ [http://uboat.net/ops/monsun4.htm Monsun boats Evacuation ] ]

Italian submarines

The Italian Royal Navy ("Regia Marina") converted four submaries into "transport submarines" in order to exchange rare or irreplaceable trade goods with Japan. They converted the "Barbarigo ", the "Cappellini ", the "Giuliani", and the "Torelli ". After Italy quit the war in 1943, the "Cappellini" was taken over by the German Navy ("Kriegsmarine") and re-named the "UIT-24". When Germany surrendered in 1945, the "UIT-24" was taken over bt the Imperial Japanese Navy and re-named the "I 503". The "Torelli" shared a similar story.

The Japanese already started operating in the Arabian Sea by August 1943 and certain arrangements were made to avoid incidents between U-boats and Japanese submarines – attacks on other submarines were strictly forbidden. The Indian Ocean was the only place where German and Japanese forces fought in the same theatre. [Paterson Lawrence(2006), "Hitler's Grey Wolves: U-boats in the Indian Ocean ]

Monsun Gruppe U-boats

First wave

*Unterseeboot 200
*Unterseeboot 188
*Unterseeboot 168
*Unterseeboot 509
*Unterseeboot 514
*Unterseeboot 532
*Unterseeboot 183
*Unterseeboot 506
*Unterseeboot 533
*Unterseeboot 516
*Unterseeboot 847

econd wave

*Unterseeboot 219
*Unterseeboot 510
*Unterseeboot 848
*Unterseeboot 849
*Unterseeboot 850