U-84 under Horst Uphoff, Bermuda patrol April 1942

U-84  Uphoff         25-Apr-1942       

Oberleutnant zur See (later Kapitänleutnant) Horst Uphoff brought his command U-84 into the area north of Bermuda from northwest to northeast between the 25th and the 29th of April, 1942. He was only on the fringe of the region for five days before heading northeast back to Europe. The boat sailed for the 1st U-boat Flotilla in Brest on the 16th of March for US waters as part of Operation Drumbeat. On the 2ndof April U-84 had a rendezvous with the milk cow U-A east of Newfoundland, Canada.

Proceeding to the waters east of New York U-86 managed to sink the Yugoslavian steam ship Nemanza of 5,226 tons, then went further south to Hatteras. On May 21st U-84 sank the Panamanian steamer Chenango of 3,014 tons before moving east to an area off Bermuda. The submarine arrived back in Brest on the 14th of May 1942.

Horst Uphoff was born in 1916 and a member of the Crew of 1935. Early in his naval career he was watch officer of the u-boat depot ship Donau up to 1939, when he enrolled in u-boat courses. Uphoff served as a watch officer of U-46 under Sohler and Endrass. Commissioning U-84 in April 1941, he led that sub until both were destroyed south of Bermuda on 7 August 1943, by aircraft from Bermuda. He was 26 at the time (see later patrol info for details).

Over nine patrols Uphoff accrued 461 days and sank or damaged seven ships of 37,081 tons. he was awarded the German Cross in Gold posthumously in 1944, having received the Iron Cross First Class while alive.

SOURCES: Gudmundur Helgason, Rainer Kolbicz, www.uboat.net, 2013, Kenneth Wynn, U-boat Operations of the Second World War, Volume 1 and Volume 2, 1997, R. Busch, and H.-J. Röll, German U-boat Commanders of World War II, 1988, Franz Kurowski, Knights Cross Holders of the U-boat Service