U 200
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U 200 ( previous / next - all submarines ) |
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 Attack on U 200 on June 23, 1943 in the western Atlantic by a Royal Air Force aircraft |
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| Type : | IX D2 |
| Shipyard: | AG Weser , Bremen |
| Construction contract: | November 4th 1940 |
| Build number: | 1046 |
| Keel laying: | November 3, 1941 |
| Launch: | August 10, 1942 |
| Commissioning: | December 22, 1942 |
| Commanders: |
December 22, 1942 - June 24, 1943 Kaptl. / Corvette Captain Heinrich Schonder |
| Calls: | 1 company |
| Sinkings: |
no |
| Whereabouts: | Sunk on June 24, 1943 southwest of Iceland |
U 200 was atype IX D2 submarine that was usedby the German Navy in thebattle ofthe Atlantic during World War II . It was supposed to be used as part of the activities of the so-called Monsun Group in the East Asian sea area, but was sunk before reaching the area of operation.
history
U 200 was laid on November 3, 1941 at the AG Weser in Bremen. It was launched on August 10, 1942. The commissioning took place on December 22, 1942. The commandant of the boat was captain lieutenant Heinrich Schonder . Schonder joined the Navy in 1935 and was considered an experienced commander. He had previously commanded U 53 , U 58 and U 77 and completed a total of 14 patrols as a commander.
The boat belonged to the 4th Flotilla ( Stettin ) until May 31, 1943 for training purposes. It was then placed under the command of the 12th Flotilla in ( Bordeaux ) as a front boat . On the tower it bore the coat of arms of its godfather city Erfurt .
commitment
U 200 left Kiel on June 12, 1943 for its only venture. It had been assigned with ten other boats to the Monsun group, which operated in the Indian Ocean from autumn 1943 . Of this group, only five boats reached their destination. Also U 200 did not reach its area of operations.
Downfall
On the approach to the Far East, U 200 was attacked on June 24, 1943 southwest of Iceland by a British Consolidated B-24H "Liberator" of the 120th Squadron. Commander Schonder decided not to let his boat submerge, but instead to take up the fight with the aircraft while driving on the surface. Two bombs hit the water close to the bow and damaged the boat so heavy that it sank ( location ). At the sinking site, boat debris and about 15 survivors floated on the water. But no one could be saved. 68 men lost their lives. Some of them belonged to the Brandenburg special unit .
The boat still had seven guests from the "Brandenburg" division on board. These soldiers should be put ashore in front of South Africa in order to sabotage the dock and shipyard facilities in Durban / South Africa.
Individual evidence
- ^ Georg Högel: Emblems, coats of arms, Maling's German U-Boats 1939-1945. 5th edition. Koehlers Verlagsgesellschaft mbH, Hamburg 2009, ISBN 978-3-7822-1002-7 .
- ^ Bernhard Zand: Downfall before the Orient. In: SpiegelOnline. Retrieved on April 8, 2010 ( one day , contemporary stories on SpiegelOnline).
- ^ Eckard Wetzel: "U-Boats before Murmansk," Ullstein Verlag edition maritim, 4th edition Berlin 2008, ISBN 978-3-548-26810-1 , page 16
- ^ Paul Kemp: The German and Austrian submarine losses in both world wars. Urbes-Verlag, Graefelfing before Munich 1998, ISBN 3-924896-43-7 .
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