HMS Venturer (P68)

HMS Venturer (P68)
Overview
Type	Submarine
Keel laying	August 25, 1942
Launch	May 3, 1943
1. Period of service
period of service	August 19, 1943-1946
Whereabouts	Sold to Norway in 1946, scrapped in 1964
Technical specifications
displacement	545  ts surfaced 740 ts submerged
length	62.33 meters
width	4.9 meters
Draft	4.65 meters
crew	37 sailors
drive	diesel-electric, 2 propellers, 2 diesel engines with 800 hp each
speed	Surfaced 11.25  knots 10 knots surfaced

The HMS Venturer (P68) was a submarine of the Royal Navy and was the lead ship of the V-Class, a further development of the U class . The submarine served in the Royal Navy from 1943 to 1946, then until 1964 as KNM Utstein in the Norwegian Navy . It is the only submarine so far that has sunk another submerged submarine ( U 864 ).

technology

The U- and V-class coastal submarines were built as an emergency program during World War II and were very simple in design. In contrast to its predecessors , the 62.33 meter long single-hull hull was welded , which enabled a greater diving depth. With a width of 4.9 meters and a draft of 4.65 meters, the boats displaced 545 ts , submerged the displacement was 740 ts. The drive was diesel-electric, two Paxman diesel generators generated the electricity for the two electric motors and made 800 HP over water and 825 HP when diving. The maximum speed on the surface was 11.25 knots , submerged the boats reached 10 knots. The armament consisted of four 21-inch torpedo tubes in the bow, a 3-inch gun and three light machine guns on deck.

history

Construction and commissioning

The construction contract was awarded to Vickers-Armstrong , the keel was laid on August 25, 1942 in Barrow-in-Furness, northwest England . The launch took place on May 3, 1943, after further equipment work, the boat was then put into service with the Royal Navy on August 19, 1943. The command of the boat was given to Lieutenant James H. Launders .

Emergency trips

During the first mission in the North Sea, the Venturer sank the German freighter Thor with 2526 GRT off the coast of Norway on March 2, 1944 . On April 15, the German freighter Friedrichshafen with 1923 GRT fell victim to the torpedoes of the submarine about 15 nautical miles south-east of Egersund . The second mission began in autumn 1944. On September 11, the Venturer attacked the Norwegian freighter Vang with torpedoes and sank the ship about four nautical miles off the coast of the Norwegian island of Lista. In an attack two days later on the freighter Force , all three fired torpedoes missed the target, the attempt to sink the freighter by shelling the deck gun was thwarted by German coastal batteries, which took the British submarine under fire.

On November 11, 1944, the Venturer torpedoed the German submarine U 771 , which sailed on the surface in the Andfjord , about seven nautical miles east of Andenes , and sank it.

Map of the place where the U 864 went down

After various German messages had been deciphered, the Venturer was ordered to the sea area off Fedje , where it was supposed to intercept the German submarine U 864 , which was on its way to Japan with 65 tons of mercury and parts for jet engines from Messerschmitt . On February 9, 1945, the loud engine noises of the German submarine due to an engine failure were noticed; a short time later, Commander Launders sighted the periscope of the U 864 when it was on the lookout for its escort. 45 minutes after the sighting, Launders ordered readiness for action with the aim of attacking the German submarine the next time it surfaced. However, the U 864 noticed its pursuers and began to perform zigzag maneuvers in order to avoid possible attacks. Three hours after the pursuit began, Launders decided to fire his four remaining torpedoes into the course he suspected of the German submarine. At 12 o'clock and 12 minutes, the commander had the torpedoes fired at 17-second intervals; the run time to the U 864 was around four minutes. At the same time, the Venturer went deep to avoid possible counter attacks. On board the German boat, the approach of the torpedoes was noticed and diving and evasive maneuvers began. The submarine successfully avoided the first three torpedoes, but ran exactly into the course of the fourth torpedo. When the weapon exploded, the U 864 was torn in half and sank with the entire crew to a depth of 150 meters. Commander Launders was awarded the Distinguished Service Order for the sinking of the U 864 , which so far was the only sinking of a submerged submarine by another submerged submarine .

The last victim of the Venturer was the German freighter Sirius , which was torpedoed off Namsos on March 19, 1945 . The submarine sank merchant ships with a total of 6125 GRT during the war.

fate

In 1946 the Venturer was decommissioned by the Royal Navy and sold to the Norwegian Navy, which used it as KNM Utstein . In 1964 the submarine was finally decommissioned and decommissioned, later it was scrapped in Sarpsborg .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Times Online , as of April 20, 2007
2. ↑ uboat.net , as of April 20, 2007