Qualla: Sinking of U-864 https://qualla.com/sinking-of-u-864 en-us © 2026 Bendyline Mon, 20 Jul 2026 10:21:35 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_m/u/4/g/3/sinking-of-u-864-wp/hero-small.webp Qualla: Sinking of U-864 https://qualla.com/sinking-of-u-864 Sinking of U-864: Introduction https://qualla.com/sinking-of-u-864/ Photo credit Royal Navy official photographer. Post-Work: User:Gunfighter-6, Public domain. It had never been done before and has never been done since. On February 9, 1945, HMS Venturer sank the German U-boat U-864 in the waters off Fedje Island, Norway, while both submarines were fully submerged. Standard naval doctrine held that the calculations required to hit a submerged, moving, zigzagging target from another submerged vessel were simply too complex to perform in combat. Lieutenant Jimmy Launders performed them anyway, firing four torpedoes at staggered depths with 17.5-second delays between each pair. The first three missed. The fourth did not.

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Image: Royal Navy official photographer. Post-Work: User:Gunfighter-6 | Public domain

]]> Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/u/4/g/3/sinking-of-u-864-wp/u4g3-sinking-of-u-864-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full Sinking of U-864: Operation Caesar https://qualla.com/sinking-of-u-864/ Photo credit Royal Navy official photographer. Post-Work: User:Gunfighter-6, Public domain. U-864 was no ordinary submarine on a routine patrol. The Type IX U-boat, commanded by Korvettenkapitan Ralf-Reimar Wolfram, was on a clandestine mission called Operation Caesar, carrying secret cargo to the Empire of Japan. The British were reading German Enigma cyphers and knew ...

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Image: Royal Navy official photographer. Post-Work: User:Gunfighter-6 | Public domain

]]> Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/u/4/g/3/sinking-of-u-864-wp/u4g3-sinking-of-u-864-operation-caesar.mp3 0:06 2 full Sinking of U-864: Hunting by Sound Alone https://qualla.com/sinking-of-u-864/ Photo credit Royal Navy official photographer. Post-Work: User:Gunfighter-6, Public domain. Venturer was already patrolling near Fedje when the Admiralty, armed with Enigma decrypts, ordered her to intercept and destroy U-864. The ASDIC operator aboard Venturer detected a faint hydrophone effect -- the sound signature of another vessel -- which faded and returned forty ...

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Image: Royal Navy official photographer. Post-Work: User:Gunfighter-6 | Public domain

]]> Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/u/4/g/3/sinking-of-u-864-wp/u4g3-sinking-of-u-864-hunting-by-sound-alone.mp3 0:06 3 full Sinking of U-864: The Impossible Shot https://qualla.com/sinking-of-u-864/ Photo credit Royal Navy official photographer. Post-Work: User:Gunfighter-6, Public domain. Launders faced a decision with no good options. His batteries were draining -- he could not track the target indefinitely. In a conventional torpedo attack, the target was visible through the periscope, its angle and bearing observed, its range measured by a built-in rangefinder,...

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Image: Royal Navy official photographer. Post-Work: User:Gunfighter-6 | Public domain

]]> Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/u/4/g/3/sinking-of-u-864-wp/u4g3-sinking-of-u-864-the-impossible-shot.mp3 0:06 4 full Sinking of U-864: Into the Path of the Fourth https://qualla.com/sinking-of-u-864/ Photo credit Royal Navy official photographer. Post-Work: User:Gunfighter-6, Public domain. U-864 heard the incoming torpedoes and attempted to evade. But the submarine lacked quick manoeuvrability -- retracting the snorkel, disengaging the diesel engine, and starting the electric motors all took precious time. The crew avoided the first torpedo. Then the second. Then t...

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Image: Royal Navy official photographer. Post-Work: User:Gunfighter-6 | Public domain

]]> Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/u/4/g/3/sinking-of-u-864-wp/u4g3-sinking-of-u-864-into-the-path-of-the-fourth.mp3 0:06 5 full Sinking of U-864: The Only Time https://qualla.com/sinking-of-u-864/ Photo credit Royal Navy official photographer. Post-Work: User:Gunfighter-6, Public domain. Launders was awarded a bar to his Distinguished Service Order, and several crew members received honors. The sinking of U-864 remains the sole instance in the entire history of naval warfare of one submarine destroying another while both were submerged. The feat required not just...

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Image: Royal Navy official photographer. Post-Work: User:Gunfighter-6 | Public domain

]]> Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/u/4/g/3/sinking-of-u-864-wp/u4g3-sinking-of-u-864-the-only-time.mp3 0:06 6 full