SECRET                                                                                                         May 8, 1943

PRELIMINARY REPORT

Number	U-203
Captain	Kapitänleutnant Hermann KOTTMANN
Type	500 tons (Class unknown, probably modified VII C - See Armaments)
Built	Germaniawerft, Kiel
Commissioned	10 January 1941
Armament	4 bow tubes - no stern tube *
	One 88 mm. gun forward - One 20 mm. AA on bridge.
Torpedoes	10 in boat, 1 in upper deck container.
	A number, probably 4, were new anti-convoy types, described as zig-zag torpedoes.
Diesels	G.W. (Germaniawerft)
Electric Motors	Siemens  Nalske
S.B.T.	Fitted
G.S.R.	Fitted
Conning Tower Device	(Coat of Arms of Essen - Olympic Rings below (Front of C.T.)        (Turtle, Red, on starboard side of conning tower.
Sinking:	At 1830 Z on 25th April in position 550-05 N - 420-25 W sunk by aircraft from H.M.S. BITTER and by H.M.S. PATHFINDER.
First Ten Cruises	U-203 was on her eleventh war cruise when she was sunk.  During the course of her life, she claimed to have accounted for over 200,000 tons of shipping.  On her first eight cruises, she was commanded by the famous Klt. Rolf Mützelburg, holder of the Oak Leaves to the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross.  His most successful war cruise was his seventh in July, 1942 when he sank five ships totaling 42,000 tons off Trinidad.
	In September, 1942, in mid Atlantic while swimming, Mützelburg struck his head against the pressure hull and died four hours later.

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  *  It has not been established whether stern tube was originally built in and, if so, why it was removed.  THis is the first instance of a 500-ton boat without a stern tube.

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PRELIMINARY REPORT U-203

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	Kottmann, a Graf Spee escapee, succeeded Mützelburg in command and was on his third cruise when his boat was sunk.  The first ten patrols of the U-boat will be discussed in full in the final report.
Last War Cruise	U-203 left Brest on April 3, 1943 at 1700* accompanied by a mine destructor vessel and two mine sweepers.  She made almost the entire passage through the Bay of Biscay submerged by day and surfaced by night.  At about 1900 on April 8 she sighted the Queen Elizabeth from a distance.  On April 11, in approximate position 540 N. - 530 W. she received a signal ordering her to attack a convoy which was sighted the following day at 0600.  Aircraft coverage caused her to dive and contact with the convoy was lost.  On April 16, she was in position 520 N. - 400 W. and on April 19, in 54 N. - 47 W. when she joined a patrol line (Verpostenstreifen) off Newfoundland.  At 0300 on April 23, U-203 fired two torpedoes at a corvette in 550 N. - 460 W.  Both missed and the corvette opened fire and subsequently dropped depth charges.  On April 24 the U-boat was in 530 45' N. - 440 33' W.
	She was sunk on the following day, April 25, after a number of depth charges had caused so much water to enter the boat that she was forced to surface.
	H.M.S. Pathfinder rescued six officers, including three midshipmen, and 33 ratings from the U-boat.  The engineer officer was lost with the boat.  These prisoners arrived in the United States for questioning on May 4.  This report is based on a brief preliminary interrogation of the prisoners.

  *  Unless otherwise indicated, all times are German Summer Time.

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