U 155 (Navy)

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U 155 (Kriegsmarine)
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DEU Schwelm COA.png
Schwelm coat of arms, tower emblem of the boat
Type : IX C
Field Post Number : M 01 188
Shipyard: AG Weser , Bremen
Construction contract: September 25, 1939
Keel laying: October 1, 1940
Launch: May 12, 1941
Commissioning: August 23, 1941
Commanders:
Calls: 10 activities
Sinkings:
  • 25 ships (126,664 GRT )
  • 1 warship (13,785 t )
Whereabouts: handed over to the Allies on May 8, 1945

U 155 was a German submarine from the Type IX C , which in World War II by the German navy was used.

Technology and history

Class IX C boats were designed for oceanic use and were therefore also called "ocean boats". U 155 was a two-hull type submarine and had a water displacement of 1120  t above and 1232 t under water. It had a length of 76.76  m , a width of 6.76 m and a draft of 4.70 m. With the two 2200 HP MAN nine-cylinder four-stroke diesel engines M 9 V 40/46 with supercharging, a top speed over water of 18.3 kn could be achieved. At a speed of 10 kn, 12,000 nautical miles could be covered. The two 500 PS SSM double E-machines GU 345/34 had 62 × 62 AFA type 44 MAL 740 W battery cells. A top speed of 7.3 knots was achieved under water. A distance of 64 nautical miles could be covered at a speed of 4 kn. 22 torpedoes or up to 44 TMA or 66 TMB mines could be ejected from 4 bow and 2 stern torpedo tubes . The diving depth was 100 - 200 m. The quick dive time was 35 seconds. It had a 10.5-cm Utof L / 45 gun with 180 rounds and 1 × 3.7-cm anti-aircraft gun with 2625 rounds, 1 × 2-cm anti-aircraft gun with 4250 rounds. From 1943/44, the 10.5 cm cannon was removed from this type of boat and 4 × 2 cm twin anti-aircraft guns with 8,500 rounds were installed. The crew could consist of four officers and 44 men. The cost of building was 6,448,000 Reichsmarks .

U 155 was laid on keel by AG Weser in Bremen on October 1, 1940 and handed over to active service on August 23, 1941 with Lieutenant Adolf Cornelius Piening as commander. A later captain of the boat, Leutnant zur See Ludwig-Ferdinand von Friedeburg , was the youngest submarine commander in the entire war at just 20 years of age. Like most submarines of its time, the U 155 also had boat-specific emblems on the tower: On the one hand the coat of arms of its godfather town Schwelm , on the other hand a star on which a submarine and the miner's greeting "Glück auf" were depicted. A similar star was handed over by Crown Princess Cecilie to the commander of the U-cruiser U 155 during the First World War . Its commander presented a depiction of the star on a coat of arms of the crew of U 155 when the boat was put into service.

Use statistics

After its commissioning on August 23, 1941 to January 31, 1942, the boat was part of the 4th U-Flotilla in Stettin as a training boat . After training belonged U 155 from 1 February 1942 to 14 August 1944 as a front boat 10. U-Flotilla in Lorient before until 8 May 1945 to 33. U-flotilla to the August 15, 1944 Flensburg came .

The boat undertook ten patrols on which 26 ships with a total tonnage of 140,449 GRT could be sunk and one ship with 6,736 GRT was damaged. On November 15, 1942, U 155 sank the British escort aircraft carrier HMS Avenger and the British troop transport ship Ettrick and damaged the US cargo ship Almaack . On May 4, 1943, the boat was able to shoot down a P-51 Mustang of the 126th RAF squadron.

First venture

The boat ran on February 7, 1942 at 11:40 from Kiel and ran at 15.50 pm on February 8, 1942 Helgoland one. It left there again on February 9, 1942 at 6.45 p.m. and entered Lorient on March 27, 1942 at 10:05 a.m. On this 51-day and approx. 7,740 nm above and 267 nm underwater undertaking in the west Atlantic to the east coast of the United States off Cape Hatteras , three ships with 17,657 GRT were sunk.

  • February 22, 1942: sinking of the Norwegian motor ship Sama ( Lage ) with 1,799 GRT. The ship was sunk by a torpedo . He had loaded 1,000 tons of china clay and was on his way from Cardiff and Belfast to St. John's . The ship belonged to convoy ONS 67. There were 20 dead and 19 survivors.
  • February 22, 1942: Sinking of the British motor tanker Adellen ( Lage ) with 7,984 GRT. The tanker was sunk by a torpedo. He drove in ballast and was on his way from Newport (Gwent) to Trinidad . There were 36 dead and 12 survivors. The ship belonged to convoy ONS 67 with 37 ships.
  • March 7, 1942: sinking of the Brazilian steamer Arabutan ( Lage ) with 7,874 GRT. The steamer was sunk by a torpedo. He had loaded 9,680 tons of coal and coke and was on his way from New York and Hampton Roads to Trinidad and Rio de Janeiro . There was one dead and 54 survivors.

Second venture

The boat left Lorient on April 20, 1942 at 7.30 p.m. and returned there on June 14, 1942 at 7.35 a.m. Seven ships with 32,329 GRT were sunk on this 54 day long and 9,284.5 nm above and 335.5 nm underwater expedition in the West Atlantic, the Caribbean and the Panama Canal .

  • May 14, 1942: sinking of the Belgian motor ship Brabant ( Lage ) with 2,483 GRT. The ship was sunk by a torpedo. It was ballasted and on its way from Glasgow to Trinidad and Curacao . There were three dead and 30 survivors.
  • May 17, 1942: sinking of the British tanker San Victorio ( Lage ) with 8,136 GRT. The tanker was sunk by three torpedoes (one missed shot). He had 12,000 tons of petrol and paraffin and one passenger on board. The ship was en route from Curacao via Freetown to Great Britain. There were 52 dead (including the passenger) and one survivor.
  • May 17, 1942: sinking of the American motor ship Challenger ( Lage ) with 7,667 GRT. The ship was sunk by three torpedoes (one missed shot). He had loaded 8,400 tons of general cargo and was on the way from New York to Cape Town . There were eight dead and 63 survivors.
  • May 20, 1942: sinking of the Panamanian tanker Sylvan Arrow ( Lage ) with 7,797 GRT. The tanker was sunk by a torpedo. He had loaded 12,500 tons of crude oil and was on his way from Curacao to Table Bay . There was one dead and 43 survivors. The ship belonged to convoy OT 1.
  • May 23, 1942: sinking of the Panamanian steamer Watsonville ( Lage ) with 2,220 GRT. The steamer was sunk by a torpedo. He had general cargo and was on his way from Bermuda and St. Vincent to Trinidad. There were no losses.
  • May 28, 1942: sinking of the Dutch steamer Poseidon ( Lage ) with 1,928 GRT. The steamer was sunk by four torpedoes (two missed shots). He drove in ballast and was on the way from Demerara via Trinidad to New York. It was a total loss with 32 dead.
  • May 30, 1942: sinking of the Norwegian motor ship Baghdad ( Lage ) with 2,161 GRT. The ship was sunk by five torpedoes (two missed shots). He had loaded 2,700 tons of general cargo and 316 sacks of mail and was on the way from New York to Pernambuco . There were nine dead and 21 survivors.

Third company

The boat left Lorient on July 9, 1942 at 8:30 p.m. and returned there on September 15, 1942 at 9:00 a.m. Ten ships with 43,514 GRT were sunk on this 76-day, 11,433 nm above and 310 nm underwater expedition in the western Atlantic, south of Trinidad and off the coast of Guiana .

  • July 28, 1942: sinking of the Brazilian steamer Barbacena ( Lage ) with 4,772 GRT. The steamer was sunk by four torpedoes (two missed shots). He had loaded coffee , castor seeds and beans and was on his way from Santos to Trinidad. There were six dead and 54 survivors.
  • July 28, 1942: sinking of the Brazilian steamer Piave ( Lage ) with 2,347 GRT. The steamer was sunk by a torpedo and artillery. He drove in ballast and was on the way from Belém via Carapito ( Venezuela ) to Trinidad.
  • July 29, 1942: sinking of the Norwegian steamer Bill ( Lage ) with 2,445 GRT. The steamer was sunk by a torpedo. He had loaded general cargo, cocoa and 500 tons of manganese ore and was on his way from Bahia to Trinidad. There was one dead and 23 survivors.
  • July 30, 1942: sinking of the US steamer Cranford ( Lage ) with 6,096 GRT. The steamer was sunk by a torpedo. He had loaded 6,600 tons of chrome ore and 1,600 tons of cotton and was on his way from Cape Town to Trinidad. There were eleven dead and 36 survivors.
  • August 1, 1942: sinking of the Dutch steamer Kentar ( Lage ) with 5,878 GRT. The steamer was sunk by three torpedoes (one failure). He had loaded 1,500 tons of manganese ore and was on the way from Bombay via Durban and Trinidad to St. John's. There were 17 dead and 66 survivors.
  • August 1, 1942: sinking of the British steamer Clan Macnaughton ( Lage ) with 6,088 GRT. The steamer was sunk by two torpedoes. He had loaded 10,670 cotton bales and was on his way from Alexandria via Freetown to Trinidad. There were five dead and 81 survivors.
  • 4th August 1942: sinking of the British steamer Empire Arnold ( Lage ) with 7,045 GRT. The steamer was sunk by two torpedoes. He had planes , tanks and trucks as well as two passengers on board and was on his way from New York via Trinidad and Cape Town to Alexandria. There were nine dead and 50 survivors. The ship belonged to convoy E-6 with eleven ships.
  • August 5, 1942: sinking of the Dutch motor ship Draco ( Lage ) with 389 GRT. The ship was sunk by artillery. He had loaded 514 t of general cargo and was on the way from Santos via Rio de Janeiro to Barbados . There were no casualties, 16 survivors.
  • August 9, 1942: sinking of the British tanker San Emiliano ( Lage ) with 8,071 GRT. The tanker was sunk by two torpedoes (one missed shot). He had loaded 11,286 tons of aviation fuel and was on the way from Curacao and Trinidad to Table Bay and Suez. There were 40 dead and eight survivors.
  • August 10, 1942: sinking of the Dutch motor ship Strabo ( Lage ) with 383 GRT. The ship was sunk by artillery. He had loaded 504 tons of Brazil nuts and was on the way from Maranham to Barranquilla . There were no casualties, 13 survivors.

Fourth venture

The boat left Lorient on November 7, 1942 at 4:30 p.m., and returned there on December 30, 1942 at 9:45 a.m. On this 53-day and 7767 nm long undertaking in the mid-Atlantic, west of Gibraltar and Morocco , two ships with 19,735 GRT and an aircraft carrier with 13,785 t were sunk and a ship with 6,736 GRT was damaged.

  • November 15, 1942: Damage to the US material transporter Almaack with 6,736 GRT. The ship was damaged by torpedoes. The ship belonged to convoy MKF 1Y with eight ships.
  • November 15, 1942: Sinking of the British troop carrier Ettrick ( Lage ) with 11,279 GRT. The ship was sunk by torpedoes. It was ballasted and on its way from Gibraltar to Glasgow. The ship belonged to convoy MKF 1Y with eight ships. There were 24 dead and 250 survivors.
  • November 15, 1942: sinking of the British escort aircraft carrier HMS Avenger ( Lage ) with 13,785 ts . The aircraft carrier was sunk by torpedoes. He belonged to convoy MKF 1Y with eight ships. There were 470 dead and 12 survivors.
  • December 6, 1942: sinking of the Dutch steamer Serooskerk ( Lage ) with 8,456 GRT. The steamer was sunk by four torpedoes (one failure). He had loaded 2,314 t of military equipment and 4,246 t of general cargo and was on his way from London via Durban and Colombo to Calcutta . The ship belonged to convoy ON 149. It was a total loss with 83 dead.

Fifth venture

The boat left Lorient on February 8, 1943 at 4:20 p.m. and returned there on April 30, 1943 at 2:30 p.m. On this 81 day and 11,472 nm long expedition in the West Atlantic, the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico , two ships with 7,973 GRT were sunk.

  • April 2, 1943: sinking of the Norwegian steamer Lysefjord ( Lage ) with 1,091 GRT. The steamer was sunk by two torpedoes (one missed shot). He had loaded wood, asphalt and machines and was on his way from Tampa to Puerto Barrios . There were four dead and 18 survivors.
  • April 3, 1943: Sinking of the US tanker Gulfstate with 6,882 GRT. The tanker was sunk by two torpedoes. He had 68,417 barrels of diesel oil loaded and was on the way from Corpus Christi via New York to Portland (Maine) . There were 36 dead and 38 survivors.

Sixth venture

The boat left Lorient on June 10, 1943 at 2 p.m. and returned there on June 16, 1943 at 3:40 p.m. U 155 was attacked on June 14, 1943 by an aircraft of the 307th RAF squadron and was slightly damaged and had to break off the mission.

Seventh venture

The boat left Lorient on June 30, 1943 at 3 p.m. and returned there on August 11, 1943 at 5:33 p.m. No ships were sunk or damaged on this 42-day and 5,832 nm long undertaking in the mid-Atlantic. Three boats of the Monsun group (East Asia boats ) were supplied.

Eighth venture

The boat left Lorient on September 18, 1943 at 6.30 p.m. and entered Brest on September 19, 1943 at 10.45 p.m. It left there on September 21, 1943 at 4.10 p.m. and entered Lorient on January 1, 1944 at 9.30 a.m. On this 115 day and approx. 11,700 nm long expedition in the mid-Atlantic, west of the Azores and off the Brazilian coast, a ship with 5,393 GRT was sunk. U 155 was on 4th / 5th October 1943 supplied by U 488 with provisions and 30 m³ of fuel.

  • October 24, 1943: sinking of the Norwegian motor ship Siranger ( Lage ) with 5,393 GRT. The ship was sunk by a TV torpedo . It had loaded 7,300 tons of general cargo as well as five armored vehicles, trucks and road construction machines and was on its way from New York and Trinidad to Takoradi and Duala . There were no losses.

Ninth venture

The boat left Lorient on March 5, 1944 at 7:00 p.m. and returned there on March 6, 1944 at 6:25 p.m. due to damage after an air raid. It left Lorient on March 11, 1944 at 6.45 p.m. and returned there on June 23, 1944 at 6.30 a.m. No ships were sunk or damaged on this 109-day and approx. 8,450 nm above and 2,348 nm underwater undertaking in the Central and South Atlantic, off Freetown and the Gulf of Guinea .

Tenth venture

The boat was on September 9, 1944 by Lorient, and expired on 17 October 1944 at 19.50 in Kristiansand one. It left there again on October 18, 1944 at 6 p.m. and entered Frederikshavn on October 19, 1944 . On the same day at 12:30 left U 155 Frederikshavn and ran at 19.00 on October 21, 1944 Flensburg a. No ships were sunk or damaged on this 42-day long approximately 895 nm over and 1,568 nm underwater venture into the North Atlantic and to transfer the boat to Germany.

Whereabouts

After the unconditional surrender of the Wehrmacht on May 8, 1945, the boat was handed over to the Allies and brought to Loch Ryan in Scotland on June 30, 1945 . On December 21, 1945 it was sunk about 100 nautical miles off the Irish coast as part of Operation Deadlight .

U 155 lost five crew members during its service.

Remarks

  1. ↑ Utof = abbreviation for U -Boots- and To rpedoboots- F lugabwehrkanone . An anti-aircraft gun with a particularly narrow mount , which, thanks to its design, could also be mounted on the narrow decks of submarines and early torpedo boats.
  2. ^ Georg Högel: Emblems, coats of arms, Malings German submarines 1939-1945. 5th edition. Koehlers Verlagsgesellschaft mbH, Hamburg 2009, ISBN 978-3-7822-1002-7 , page 64.

Web links

literature

  • 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 4: German submarine losses from September 1939 to May 1945. ES Mittler and Son, Hamburg a. a. 1999, ISBN 3-8132-0514-2 .