U 205
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U 205 ( previous / next - all submarines ) |
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| Type : | VII C |
| Field Post Number : | M-38 350 |
| Shipyard: | F. Krupp Germania shipyard , Kiel |
| Construction contract: | October 16, 1939 |
| Build number: | 634 |
| Keel laying: | June 19, 1940 |
| Launch: | March 20, 1941 |
| Commissioning: | May 3, 1941 |
| Commanders: | |
| Flotilla: |
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| Calls: | 11 patrols |
| Sinkings: |
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| Whereabouts: | Badly damaged by depth charges from the British destroyer HMS Paladin and boarded on February 17, 1943 in the Mediterranean north-west of Darna , Libya . |
U 205 was a German type VII C submarine that operated in the North Atlantic and the Mediterranean during World War II . The boat played an important role in deciphering the Enigma code when a British boarding party was able to secure some code books and the boat's Enigma engine .
history
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The U 205 and its sister boats U 206 , U 207 , U 208 , U 209 , U 210 , U 211 and U 212 were commissioned from the Germania shipyard in Kiel on October 16, 1939 as part of the U 201 to U 212 series . The laying of the keel under the temporary designation "Neubau 634" began on June 19, 1940, the launch took place on March 20, 1941. The ceremonial commissioning under the command of Lieutenant Franz-Georg Reschke, formerly a student in command on Lieutenant Kuppisch's Type VII C boat U 94 , took place on May 3, 1941. The city of Salzburg in Austria took over the sponsorship of U 205 , because the city bore part of the construction costs of the boat. Representatives from Salzburg took part in the commissioning ceremony and handed over the city's coat of arms to Kapitänleutnant Reschke. The boat also had its own coat of arms: a turtle, which was similar to the coat of arms of the 3rd U-Flotilla , as the boat was under the flotilla for seven months.
commitment
The first patrol of U 205 began on July 24, 1941 at 8:00 a.m. The boat left the port of Trondheim and operated for 30 days without success in the North Atlantic and the Azores . The boat docked again on August 23 at 6:00 p.m. in occupied French Lorient . Commander Reschke commented on this patrol:
“Even if this first patrol of the boat was not crowned with success, I have gained the conviction that the crew has grown together and can feel up to any situation. That has the water bomb blessing on 3.8. proven. "
On September 23 at 7:30 p.m. U 205 cast off from Lorient for the second patrol. The two officers on watch, Oberleutnant zur See Rolf Struckmeier and Leutnant zur See Friedrich-Wilhelm Marienfeld, were joined by the commandant in training, Oberleutnant zur See Friedrich Deetz. After sailing, the boat was at sea for nine days and operated in the North Atlantic and southwest of Ireland . Again, no enemy units could be sunk or damaged. On September 26, U 205 observed convoy HG 73 when it was bombed by an aircraft "with American markings" and badly damaged, which meant that it had to run back to France . Four days later, Ensign at Sea Fritz Säger committed suicide for reasons unknown. Lorient was reached on October 2nd at 8:00 p.m. Oberleutnant zur See Deetz left the boat and went to Wilhelmshaven, where he took over the Type VII C boat U 757 on February 28, 1942 . The BdU noted the following about the patrol in its war diary:
“The commandant tried tenaciously to get a success from the escort. The strong guard as well as the luck were against him. "
Captain Reschke's third patrol began on November 3 at 6:00 p.m. The boat was ordered to break through the Strait of Gibraltar and call at Messina . The undertaking lasted 35 days and the Gibraltar breakthrough took place on November 13th. On November 13th, Reschke spotted the aircraft carrier Ark Royal on the horizon , which was partly responsible for the sinking of the Bismarck in May 1941 . But what Reschke did not know was that Kptlt Guggenberger and his U 81 had already been following the Ark Royal's heels. U 205 took up attack position and fired from all bow tubes at the carrier, but only the torpedoes from U 81 hit and sank the ship with the loss of one crew member. Although Guggenberger sank the carrier, Reschke reported a success to the BdU. On December 10, U 205 entered its new base in La Spezia . However, the BdU criticized Reschke's report in his war diary:
“The hits scored by U 205 on the Ark Royal are based on an assumption. After running times, hits are also rather unlikely. The guard 'Lady Glacie' was hit and sunk in the attack. "
After completing this patrol, the I WO, Oberleutnant zur See Rolf Struckmann, was assigned to take over the Type VII C boat U 608 in Hamburg on February 5, 1942 .
The fourth patrol began on January 5, 1942, led into the eastern Mediterranean and the waters of Tobruk . Until the arrival in La Spezia on February 10th, no sinkings could be achieved. The BdU also criticized this patrol because the commander always fired his torpedoes from too great a distance: “Just as on the previous operation, the commander again fired at a very long range. Get closer and also try to observe the effects of the shots. «During the layover a new I WO was commanded on board: First Lieutenant Dietrich Schöneboom, who was part of the crew for the next three patrols.
The fifth patrol of the boat, which lasted 19 days, began at 5:11 p.m. on March 17. On March 19, U 205 had to arrive in Messina because of some Italian operations . Then the patrol continued and operated in the eastern Mediterranean and in the waters of Tobruk. In the end, the original II WO, Leutnant zur See Friedrich-Wilhelm Marienfeld, was assigned to his commanding course in order to later become commanding officer of the Type II A school boat U 4 and the Type IX C / 40 boat U 1228 . No ships could be sunk or damaged before the boat reached La Spezia on April 6th.
The sixth patrol began on May 6th with the departure from La Spezia at 5 p.m. On this 31-day voyage, the boat first had to return to La Spezia on May 6th due to the risk of mines and was given the order to operate in Messina on May 9th. The patrol then again led into the eastern Mediterranean and again into the waters off Tobruk, but again no sinkings could be achieved before the boat reached Salamis on June 8th . After the end of the patrol, a new II WO took over the post of Lieutenant Marienfeld, Oberleutnant zur See Emmo Hummerjohann, who stayed on board on three patrols. The BdU also commented on this patrol:
“The English supply traffic runs only very close to the land, so that submarines make it extremely difficult to find the convoys. In addition, it has recently been the case that every escort has a strong air security system that also carries out submarine hunts. It must be regarded as certain that the aircraft have an infallible locating means for locating the submarines that leads them into the immediate vicinity of the boat. Discarded flares force the boat to dive immediately. "
Finally, on June 11, 1942, at 4:45 p.m., the seventh patrol of U 205 began . The trip led to the eastern Mediterranean and the area south of the island of Crete . On this 11 day long voyage, Kapitänleutnant Reschke also achieved his first and only great success when he torpedoed and sank the British light cruiser HMS Hermione (74) of convoy MW-11 on June 16 , before the boat returned to its home on June 23 La Spezia entered. After this voyage, Lieutenant Schöneboom finally left the boat to take over the Type II C school boat U 58 and the Type VII C boat U 431 from Kptlt Wilhelm Dommes after completing his commanding course . The BdU noted the patrol:
"Despite frequent admonitions, the commander still shoots from far too great a distance"
But the FdU Mediterranean also commented :
"A company that brought in a great success for warships, but of which one has the impression that it could have brought more tonnage."
The eighth patrol began on August 3rd in La Spezia. On the 36-day voyage, U 205 operated in the western and eastern Mediterranean and off the coast of Palestine . On August 16, 10 rescued Italian planes were delivered to Caligari and on August 17 additions and repairs were carried out in Messina. The boat entered Pola on September 12, 1942 , without success in sinking . This was Kptlt Franz-Georg Reschke's last patrol, his successor was Oberleutnant zur See Friedrich Bürgel, formerly in command of U 97 . The FdU Mediterranean criticized the war patrol:
“The way the company was carried out is not convincing. It's hard to tell if standing underwater for long was inevitable. It is clear, however, that seeing is better than listening, that an assessment of listening conditions is usually only possible through a missed opportunity, and that coastal shipping, which often uses sailing ships, is not captured by listening. "
On December 20, Oberleutnant Bürgel's first patrol with U 205 began , which lasted 29 days. The boat operated in the eastern and western Mediterranean and off Algiers , but again without success. The boat then moved via La Spezia and Messina back to the shipyard in Pola, where I WO Oberleutnant Hummerjohann left the boat to take over the Type VII C boat U 964 in Hamburg in February 1943 . The FdU Mediterranean commented on the patrol:
“The commander drove with a crew that was strange to him. He carried out the undertaking with the usual verve. "
After the docking time, the boat ran out on January 12, 1943 for the tenth patrol. The 14-day voyage led to the eastern Mediterranean and the coast of Cyrenaica , but again no sinking could be achieved. The patrol had to be stopped early due to damage to the Fu.MB, the control bunkers and the control cells. The FdU Mediterranean commented on this patrol:
"As things stand, it was right to go to the nearby Salamis for repairs, as the boat was unclear for great depths."
The boat left La Spezia on February 2, 1943 for the eleventh and final patrol and was at sea for 15 days. It again operated in the eastern Mediterranean and between the island of Malta and Tripoli , but again failed to sink or damage any enemy units before the boat was boarded.
Boarding and sinking
U 205 was sighted on March 17, 1943 on the northwest of Darna by a South African Bisley flying boat when the boat was operating on convoy TX-1. It was attacked with depth charges and badly damaged. The flying boat signaled to the British destroyer HMS Paladin that the submarine was incapable of diving. The shipwrecked crew of U 205 was then fired from the destroyer, eight men were killed. A boarding party of the paladin succeeded in boarding the boat and stealing the code books and the Enigma before U 205 sank. 42 men of the crew, including Lieutenant Bürgel, were rescued. With the captured secret materials from U 570 , U 559 and U 205 , the British secret service came closer to its goal of deciphering the German Enigma code.
literature
- 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 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Georg Högel: Emblems, coats of arms, Malings German submarines 1939-1945. 5th edition. Koehlers Verlagsgesellschaft mbH, Hamburg 2009, ISBN 978-3-7822-1002-7 , p. 74.
- ↑ ubootarchiv.de states that U 205 should have sunk the 2,623 GRT British freighter Slavol on March 26th . But uboat.net does not confirm this information.