U 134
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U 134 ( previous / next - all submarines ) |
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| Type : | VII C |
| Field Post Number : | M 45 658 |
| Shipyard: | Vegesacker shipyard , Bremen |
| Construction contract: | August 7, 1939 |
| Build number: | 013 |
| Keel laying: | September 6, 1940 |
| Launch: | May 17, 1941 |
| Commissioning: | July 26, 1941 |
| Commanders: |
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| Calls: | 8 activities |
| Sinkings: |
3 ships (12,147 GRT) |
| Whereabouts: | Sunk in the Bay of Biscay on August 24, 1943 |
U 134 was a German submarine from the Type VII C , which in World War II by the German navy was used.
history
The order for the boat was awarded to the Bremer Vulkan shipyard in Bremen on August 7, 1939 . The keel was laid on September 6, 1940, the launch on May 17, 1941. The commissioning under Lieutenant Rudolf Schendel finally took place on July 26, 1941.
After its commissioning on July 26, 1941, the boat belonged to the 5th U-Flotilla in Kiel as a training boat until October 31, 1941 . After training, U 134 belonged to the 3rd U-Flotilla in La Pallice as a front boat from November 1, 1941 until its sinking on August 24, 1943 .
U 134 completed eight operations during its service, on which three ships with 12,147 GRT were sunk and one airship was shot down.
Use statistics
First venture
The boat was on December 1, 1941 at 6:00 from Kiel, and ran on 2 December 1941 at 14:45 to Kristiansand one. It ran on 3 December in 1941 from there, and expired on December 12, 1941 at 14:00 in Kirkenes one. On this twelve-day venture into the North Sea , a ship with 2,185 GRT was sunk.
- December 9, 1941: sinking of the German steamer Steinbek ( Lage ) with 2,185 GRT on the Tanafjord . The steamer was sunk by a torpedo . He drove in ballast and was on the way from Kirkenes to Tromsø . The ship belonged to a German convoy with four ships. After an investigation by the OKM , Kapitänleutnant Schendel was held responsible for the sinking of his own ship, but the BdU recorded that Schendel was not informed about the German convoy in this area.
U 134 entered the Neidenfjord on December 18, 1941 at 2:15 p.m. to pick up torpedoes.
Second venture
The boat left Neidenfjord on December 25, 1941 at 9 a.m. and entered Kirkenes on January 20, 1942 at 2 p.m. A ship with 5,135 GRT was sunk on this 26-day, 4,023 nm above and 79 nm underwater expedition in the North Sea, south of Bear Island .
- January 2, 1942: sinking of the British steamer Waziristan ( Lage ) with 5,135 GRT. The steamer was sunk by a torpedo. He had loaded military equipment and was on his way from New York to Murmansk . The ship belonged to the Northern Sea Convoy PQ-7A with two ships. It was a total loss with 47 dead.
Third company
The boat left Kirkenes on February 2, 1942 at 3 p.m., and returned there on February 22, 1942 at 10 a.m. No ships were sunk or damaged during this 21-day, 3,149 nm above and 110 nm underwater expedition into the North Sea, south of the island of Jan Mayen . U 134 belonged to the group with the code name "Umbau".
Relocation trip
The boat left Kirkenes on March 1, 1942 at 5:30 p.m. and entered Kiel on March 15, 1942 at 2:30 a.m. No ships were sunk or damaged on this 15-day long and 2,200 nm over and 134 nm underwater transfer trip from Norway to Germany.
Fourth venture
The boat left Kiel on May 18, 1942 at 8 p.m. and entered La Pallice on June 1, 1942 at 8 a.m. No ships were sunk or damaged on this 14-day and 2,458 nm above and 135 nm underwater journey into the North Atlantic for the transfer to France.
Fifth venture
The boat left La Pallice on June 11, 1942 at 4 p.m., and returned there on September 1, 1942 at 5:12 p.m. No ships were sunk or damaged on this 93-day, 12,009 nm above and 701 nm underwater undertaking west of Gibraltar , the Western Atlantic , Cuba , the Gulf of Mexico and the Greater Antilles . U 134 was supplied with 43 m³ of fuel by U 459 on June 26, 1942 and 11 m³ of fuel by U 463 on August 12, 1943 . It belonged to the group with the code name "Endrass".
Sixth venture
The boat left La Pallice on October 14, 1942 at 6:15 p.m., and returned there on January 19, 1943 at 5:55 a.m. A ship with 4,836 GRT was sunk on this 97-day, 15,641 nm above and 552 nm underwater expedition in the mid-Atlantic , west of Africa , off Freetown and the Cape Verde Islands . U 134 was supplied with 70 m³ of fuel by U 462 on November 13, 1942 and 30 m³ of fuel by U 461 on December 10, 1942 . It belonged to the group with the camouflage name Battleaxe .
- November 14, 1942: sinking of the Panamanian steamer Scapa Flow ( Lage ) with 4,836 GRT. The steamer was sunk by two torpedoes. He had loaded 4,500 tons of manganese ore , 1,500 tons of rubber and 500 bales of rubber and was on the way from Freetown to Baltimore . There were 33 dead and 27 survivors.
Seventh venture
The boat left La Pallice on March 6, 1943 at 4:45 p.m., and returned there on May 2, 1943 at 11:15 p.m. No ships were sunk or damaged during this 57-day, 8,792 nm above and 565 nm underwater expedition in the North Atlantic, south of Iceland and east of Newfoundland . U 134 was supplied by U 462 with 14.5 m³ of fuel on April 11, 1943 and with 28 m³ of fuel on April 12, 1943. It belonged to the groups with the cover names "Stürmer" and "Seeteufel".
Eighth venture
The boat left La Pallice on June 10, 1943 at 8:15 a.m. and was sunk on August 24, 1943. An airship was shot down on this 75-day venture into the western Atlantic and north of Cuba. U 134 was supplied with 42 m³ of fuel by U 170 on June 25, 1943 .
On July 8, a US Navy aircraft discovered U 134 , which was still on the march to the designated area of operations, southeast of Bermuda . The aircraft dropped six depth charges and machine-gun fire on the boat, but U 134 survived the attack unscathed and continued its approach. On July 18, U 134 was discovered again. The boat was near Havana on Florida Street at midnight when it was radarized by the US Navy airship K-74 . The airship patrolled near two large ships and was usually not authorized to take action against submarines alone, but the commander decided to attack. Commander Brosin managed to have the airship attacking with machine gun fire shot down with the flak. The airship, however, did not succeed in releasing its depth charges during the overflight. K-74 then went down on the water several times and sank later. With the exception of one man who was killed by a shark, the crew was rescued by US ships the next day. Ballast tank no. 5 and dive cell no. 4 were damaged on the submarine.
Subsequently, the U 134 was attacked two more times before it was ordered back to France.
Whereabouts
The boat was illuminated on August 24, 1943 in the Bay of Biscay by the Vickers Wellington J of British Squadron 179 with Leigh light searchlights and sunk with six depth charges. The position was 47 ° 7 ' N , 9 ° 30' W in marine grid reference BF 4519. It was a total loss with 48 dead.
literature
- Clay Blair : The Submarine War. Volume 1: The Hunters. 1939-1942. Heyne, Munich 1998, ISBN 3-453-12345-X .
- Clay Blair: The Submarine War. Volume 2: The Hunted, 1942–1945. Heyne, Munich 1998, ISBN 3-453-16059-2 .
- Rainer Busch, Hans-Joachim Röll: The submarine war 1939-1945. Volume 1: The German submarine commanders. ES Mittler and Son, Hamburg a. a. 1996, ISBN 3-8132-0490-1 .
- Rainer Busch, Hans-Joachim Röll: The submarine war 1939-1945. Volume 2: U-boat construction in German shipyards. ES Mittler and Son, Hamburg a. a. 1997, ISBN 3-8132-0512-6 .
- Rainer Busch, Hans-Joachim Röll: The submarine war 1939-1945. Volume 3: German submarine successes from September 1939 to May 1945. ES Mittler and Son, Hamburg a. a. 2001, ISBN 3-8132-0513-4 .
- Rainer Busch, Hans-Joachim Röll: The submarine war 1939-1945. Volume 4: German submarine losses from September 1939 to May 1945. ES Mittler and Son, Hamburg a. a. 1999, ISBN 3-8132-0514-2 .
- Rainer Busch, Hans-Joachim Röll: The submarine war 1939-1945. Volume 5: The knight's cross bearers of the submarine weapon from September 1939 to May 1945. ES Mittler and Son, Hamburg a. a. 2003, ISBN 3-8132-0515-0 .
See also
Individual evidence
- ↑ Blair: The Submarine War. Volume 1: The Hunters. 1939-1942. 1998, p. 521.
- ↑ Blair: The Submarine War. Volume 2: The Hunted, 1942–1945. 1998, p. 427.
- ↑ a b The Battle Between the Blimp and the Sub; By YNC Anthony Atwood; Naval Aviation News March – April 1997 pages 26–29; Online as PDF ; accessed on October 10, 2016 (English)
- ↑ The Sparrowhawk - from lighter-than-air to faster-than-sound; Moffett Field Historical Society newsletter; Vol VII No.4 Winter, 2000; Pages 4 and 5 (English)
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