U 135 (Navy)
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U 135 (Kriegsmarine) ( previous / next - all submarines ) |
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 Depth bombs force U 135 to surface |
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| Type : | VII C |
| Field Post Number : | M 00 150 |
| Shipyard: | Vegesacker shipyard , Bremen |
| Construction contract: | August 7, 1939 |
| Build number: | 014 |
| Keel laying: | September 16, 1940 |
| Launch: | June 12, 1941 |
| Commissioning: | August 16, 1941 |
| Commanders: |
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| Calls: | 7 activities |
| Sinkings: |
3 ships (21,302 GRT) |
| Whereabouts: | sunk in the mid-Atlantic on July 15, 1943 |
U 135 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 16, 1940, the launch on June 12, 1941. The commissioning under Oberleutnant zur See Friedrich-Hermann Praetorius finally took place on August 16, 1941.
After its commissioning on August 16, 1941 to December 1941, the boat belonged to the 5th U-Flotilla in Kiel as a training boat . After training, U 135 belonged to the 7th U-Flotilla in St. Nazaire as a front boat from November 1941 until its sinking on July 15, 1943 .
Use statistics
U 135 completed seven operations during its service, on which it sank three ships with 21,302 GRT and damaged one ship with 4,762 GRT.
First venture
The boat left Kiel on December 24, 1941 at 3 p.m. and entered St.Nazaire on January 31, 1942 at 11.40 a.m. A ship with 9,626 GRT was sunk on this 36 day long and 5,750 nm above and 204 nm underwater expedition in the West Atlantic , Newfoundland and Nova Scotia . U 135 belonged to the group with the code name "Ziehten".
- 22nd January 1942: sinking of the Belgian steamer Gandia ( Lage ) with 9,626 GRT (until 1939 Königstein of the Hamburg shipping company Red Star Line ) 420 nm south of Cape Race . The steamer was sunk by a torpedo . He had loaded 500 tons of potash and was on the way from Liverpool to St. John's . The ship was a straggler of convoy ON-54. There were 65 dead and 14 survivors.
Second venture
The boat was on 22 February 1942 at 17:00 of St. Nazaire, and expired on April 2, 1942 at 8:30 am in Lorient one. It ran on the same day at 19.30 clock back there, and ran on April 3, 1942 at 11:30 in Brest one. No ships were sunk or damaged on this 40-day and 6,053 nm over and 337 nm underwater expedition in the North Atlantic , west of the Hebrides and the Faroe Islands .
Third company
The boat left Brest on April 26, 1942 at 6:30 p.m. and entered Lorient on April 27, 1942 at 6:00 p.m. for fuel replenishment. It left there again at 8 p.m. on the same day and arrived at St. Nazaire on July 5, 1942 at 8:30 a.m. During this 72-day and 11,145 nm above and 395 nm underwater expedition in the west Atlantic, the east coast of the USA and in Canadian coastal waters, two ships with 11,670 GRT were sunk. U 135 was supplied with 13 m³ of fuel by U 459 on June 23, 1942 .
- May 17, 1942: sinking of the British steamer Fort Qu'Appelle ( Lage ) with 7,121 GRT. The steamer was sunk by three torpedoes. He had loaded 9,200 t of general cargo including 500 t of acetone and was on the way from Vancouver , Seattle via Panama , Kingston and Halifax to Great Britain. There were 14 dead and 33 survivors.
- June 8, 1942: sinking of the Norwegian motor ship Pleasantville ( Lage ) with 4,549 GRT. The ship was sunk by two torpedoes. It had loaded 3,000 tons of phosphate , tractors , planes , cars and two locomotives and was on its way from New York City via Table Bay and Suez to Alexandria . There were two dead and 45 survivors.
Fourth venture
The boat left St Nazaire on August 8, 1942 at 12.40 p.m. and returned there on October 3, 1942 at 6.30 p.m. No ships were sunk or damaged during this 56 day long and approximately 7,200 nm above and 774 nm underwater expedition in the North Atlantic. U 135 was supplied with 27 m³ of fuel by U 462 on September 1, 1942 . It belonged to the group with the code name "Lohs". Two boats were supplied by U 135 .
- September 25, 1942: Supply of U 373 with 14.5 m³ of fuel.
- September 25, 1942: U 176 is supplied with 10 m³ of fuel.
Fifth venture
The boat left St.Nazaire on November 21, 1942 at 12 p.m. and returned there on December 25, 1942 at 3:15 p.m. No ships were sunk or damaged on this 34-day, 6,050-nm above and 374-nm-long undertaking in the North Atlantic, west of Ireland and the central North Atlantic. U 135 belonged to the groups with the code names "Panzer" and "Raufbold".
Sixth venture
The boat left St. Nazaire on January 24, 1943 at 4:00 p.m., and entered Lorient on March 10, 1943 at 12:30 p.m. No ships were sunk or damaged on this 45-day and 6,560 nm above and 524 nm underwater expedition in the North Atlantic, east of Newfoundland and southwest of Iceland . U 135 was supplied with 35 m³ of fuel by U 460 on February 12, 1943 . U 135 belonged to the groups with the code names "Pfeil" and "Neptun".
Seventh venture
The boat left Lorient on June 7, 1943 at 11.40 a.m. and was sunk on July 15, 1943. On this 38-day expedition in the Central Atlantic and the Canary Islands , a ship with 4,762 GRT was damaged. U 135 belonged to the group with the code name "Trutz II".
- July 15, 1943: Damage to the British steamer Twickenham with 4,762 GRT. The steamer was damaged by a torpedo. He was carrying coal and was on his way from Hull to Buenos Aires . There were no casualties, 50 survivors. The ship entered Dakar for repairs on July 31, 1943 .
Whereabouts
The boat was forced to surface on July 15, 1943 in the mid-Atlantic off the African coast at Cape Juby by the British sloop HMS Rochester with 97 depth charges. Then HMS Rochester and the two corvettes HMS Balsam and HMS Mignonette as well as a Consolidated PBY Catalina of the US Navy Squadron VP-92 fired at with artillery and on-board weapons , and sunk by the HMS Mignonette by ramming. The position was 28 ° 20 ′ N , 13 ° 17 ′ W in marine grid reference DH 9625. There were five dead and 41 survivors.
Individual evidence
- ^ Arnold Kludas : Afterword. In: Arnold Bernstein : A Jewish shipowner. From Breslau via Hamburg to New York. Convent-Verlag, Hamburg 2001, ISBN 3-934613-18-7 , p. 455.
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 .
- Robert M. Browning Jr .: US Merchant Vessel War casualties of World War II. Naval Institute Press, Annapolis MD 1996, ISBN 1-55750-087-8 .
- Rainer Busch, Hans-Joachim Röll: The submarine war 1939-1945. Volume 1: The German submarine commanders. ES Mittler und Sohn, Hamburg et al. 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 und Sohn, Hamburg et al. 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 und Sohn, Hamburg et al. 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 und Sohn, Hamburg et al. 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 et al. 2003, ISBN 3-8132-0515-0 .
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