U486 - Seeking Oblt. zur See Clemens SCHAMONG former Command

[Arthur W Arculus]

Greetings,

On behalf of the nephew of F/O. Lloyd Allan TRIGG. VC, DFC I am attempting to trace the whereabouts of the former Oblt.zur See Clemens SCHAMONG the commander of U468 who commended F/O. Trigg for bravery on 11 August 1943 when both the U Boat and aircraft were lost.

He was ,I believe , living in Munich at one time.

Any information would be appreciated as we have a young 8 year old boy, the son of Mr. Tony Biddle, the nephew, who is asking a lot of questions on the encounter. It would be pleasing to know if Herr Schamong is still alive and how he has been keeping over the years.
'building bridges' as it were.

Thanking you in anticipation,

Arthur Arculus.

A Translation if necessary!
Grüße,

Zu Gunsten des Neffen von F/O. Lloyd Allan TRIGG. VC, DFC, den ich versuche, dem Aufenthaltsort dem ehemaligen Oblt verfzuolgen. zur Sieht Clemens SCHAMONG den Kommandanten von U468, der F/O empfohlen hat. Trigg für Tapferkeit am 11 August 1943, als sowohl das U Boot als Flugzeug verloren wurden.

Er war, glaube ich, lebend in München gleichzeitig.

Irgendeine Informationen würden geschätzt werden, während wir eine Junge 8 Jahre alten Jungen, der Sohn von Herrn Tony Biddle, dem Neffen, haben, der viele Fragen auf der Begegnung stellt. Es würde erfreuen zu wissen, wenn Herr Schamong noch lebend ist, und wie er im Verlauf der Jahre behalten hat. 'Bauenbrücken, als es war.

Danken Ihnen in Vorahnung,

Arthur Arculus.

[Doktor Krollspell]

Hello Arthur!

I've been trying to find out about the eventual whereabouts of Klemens Schamong but came up with nothing. He was born on April 15, 1917 in Köln (Cologne) and became a POW in 1943 so he might be still alive.

I found a Kapitän zur See John Schamong of the modern German Bundesmarine. John Schamong was born on February 7, 1951 in Köln (Cologne). He might be a son to Klemens Schamong or at least a close relative so it might be worth it to contact him!?

An amazing story, the Liberator attack by Trigg and subsequently the only Victoria Cross based solely on reports from the enemy (Schamong)!


Good luck with your search,

Krollspell

[Doktor Krollspell]

Here's a link for a short description of Trigg's heroic attack on Schamong's U-468:

http://www.victoriacross.org.uk/bbtrigg.htm


Regards,

Krollspell

[FAlmeida]

This is the information about

Schamong, Klemens
-Date and Place of birth (Geburtsdatum u. Geburtsort)
15-04-1917; Köln, Stadtkreis Köln, Rheinprovinz
-Branch and Class Year (Zweig u. Crew Jahrgang)
Linien Seeoffizier; Crew 1937 a
-Ranks (Beförderungen)
03-04-1937 Offiziersanwärter; 01-04-1938 Fähnrich zur See; 01-07-1939 Oberfähnrich zur See; 01-08-1939 Leutnant zur See ; 01-09-1941 Oberleutnant zur See; 01-06-1944 Kapitänleutnant
-Medals and Decorations (Orden und Ehrenzeichen)
02-1942 Eisernes Kreuz II Klasse (when serving as I WO in U 333 08/41-06/42)
27-05-1942 U-Boots Kriegsabzeichen 1939 (when serving as I WO in U 333 08/41-06/42)
03-1943 Eisernes Kreuz I Klasse (when serving as Komdt. in U 468 08/42-08/43)
-U-Bootwaffe Career
03/1941-08/1941 “zur Verfügung” At disposal of U-Boat service in “BdU Befehlshaber der U-Boote Org., U-Bootsausbildung” U-Boat Training
“U.T.O-Lehrgang” Torpedos Training in Torpedoschule, Flensburg-Mürwik
“U.W.O-Lehrgang” Training of Communications in Marinenachrichtenschule, Flensburg-Mürwik
25/08/1941-05/1942 “I WO” First Watch Officer in “U 333 (Cremer) / 5.U-Flottille, Kiel u. 3.U-Flottille, La Pallice (completed two war patrols 101 days)
01/06/1942-19/07/1942 Kommandantenschießlehrgang U-Boat Commander Training and Commander Torpedo Shooting Course in 24.U-Flottille, Memel
07/1942-11/08/1942 Baubelehrung" Instruction in the final stage of construction of "U 468" in shipyard "Deutsche Werke, Kiel-Gaarden" under supervision of "1.KLA, Kiel"
12/08/1942-11/08/1943 "Komdt." Commander of "U 468 / 5.U-Flottille, Kiel u. 3.U-Flottille, La Pallice" (made one transit sailing 2 days, completed two war patrols 94 days, made one war patrol without return 35 days, sank 1 tanker 6.357 ton.)
-Place and cause of capture or internment (Ort und Ursache der Sicherung oder der Internierung)
11-08-1943 Captured with 6 survivors of U 468 sank with the loss of 42 hands in the Atlantic, South-West of Dakar, 12°20´ N x 20°07´ W by depth charges from a British Liberator aircraft of 200 Sqn RAF, the aircraft was shot down.

Cheers, Fernando

[Arthur W Arculus]

Greetings,

Thank you all for your most informative replies, much appreciated.

Arthur Arculus

[Arthur W Arculus]

Greetings,

Two additional questions please:-

1. Has anyone a copy of Oblt zur See Clemens Schamong's report that led to P/O. Trigg's award of the Victoria Cross?

2, Should Kapitän John Schamong of the present Bundersmarine be a relative of Clemens Schamong and is informed of this request, I would be pleased if he could find the time to contact me at [email protected]

I do have the photograph's of the Liberator crew if Doktor Krollspell and Fernando Almeida would like them. Please contact me at my e mail address . Thanks.

Cheers,
Arthur

[Doktor Krollspell]

Hello again Arthur!

I've been trying to find both the report of Schamong about Trigg's attack and a photo of Klemens Schamong but so far I've came up with nothing...
I know that there are Forum members who are experts when it comes to the U-boats (I'm not one of them) so hopefully you'll recieve a positive reply.

When it comes to John Schamong of today's Bundesmarine, I suggest that you try to contact him. I've would go through the German Bundesmarine for forwarding a question to him. See the following link and try "Kontakt": http://www.marine.de

Yes, I'm interested in the photo of Trigg (see PM) and his crew but it would also be nice if you could post it in this thread and then, if any Forum member could find and post a photo of Schamong, it would make a nice addition to this thread.


With best regards,

Krollspell

[Mikeo066]

Staying with me for a few days in the UK is a former navigator of the RCAF, Patrick Eugene Dempsey. He was the navigator of the RAF Sunderland (H-“How”) of 204 Squadron that first spotted the German survivors of the U-468 in a dinghy (of the crashed Liberator) off the coast of West Africa.

The Sunderland came down to some 100 feet above the dinghy; the crew saw the survivors waving, overjoyed that they had been seen. Supplies and some cigarettes in a bottle were dropped. The Sunderland was ordered not to put down, but a signal was sent giving the position. Subsequently, HMS Clakia, was diverted to pick up the survivors. The flying boat returned to Gambia after a flight of some 13 hours.

He would be most interested to know whether any members of the rescued German crew survive to this day.

Patrick is visiting England to attend the launch on 7 November of, “Canucks by the Sea - The Canadian Army in Eastbourne during the Second World War”, which is being published by Eastbourne Local History Society.

Comments appreciated …

Mike

[Arthur W Arculus]

Mike,
Thanks, will be getting in touch with you via e mail.
Arthur