U 217
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U 217 ( previous / next - all submarines ) |
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 The laughing swordfish of the 9th U-Flotilla, second emblem of U-217 |
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| Type : | VII D |
| Field Post Number : | M-47721 |
| Shipyard: | F. Krupp Germania shipyard , Kiel |
| Construction contract: | February 16, 1940 |
| Build number: | 649 |
| Keel laying: | January 30, 1941 |
| Launch: | November 15, 1941 |
| Commissioning: | January 31, 1942 |
| Commanders: |
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| Calls: | 3 activities |
| Sinkings: |
3 ships sunk |
U 217 was a Germantype VII D submarine that was used in World War II .
history
The story of U 217 began with the construction contract for the Germania shipyard in Kiel on February 16, 1940. On January 30, 1941, the keel was laid. The launch took place on November 15th of the same year. The commissioning took place on January 31, 1942.
commander
Captain Kurt Reichenbach-Klinke was born on February 21, 1917 in Fürstenwalde (Lebus district) and joined the Navy on September 25, 1935. At first he was the 1st WO on board the U 57 under Kptl. Claus Korth and on January 10, 1940 took command of U 23 , a Type II submarine. During the construction of U 217, he was appointed its commander. Kurt Reichenbach-Klinke died with the rest of his men in an attack on U 217.
Tower coat of arms
When Kapitänleutnant Reichenbach-Klinke took over command of U 217, he chose a tower coat of arms for the boat. He decided on three intertwined rings in the middle of which was a heart with a sun. When he switched to the 9th U-Flotilla in Brest after testing , U 217 also got the Laughing Swordfish, the flotilla symbol under Heinrich Lehmann-Willbrock, painted on the tower. U 214, U 217 and U 218 were the only VII D submarines in the 9th U-Flotilla that carried this emblem.
Flotillas
After being launched, the boat was in the 5th U-Flotilla, Kiel as a training boat. It remained in this flotilla until July 31, 1942. Later the boat changed to the 9th U-Flotilla in Brest, where the other Type VII D submarines were also located. The boat stayed in this flotilla from August 1, 1942 to June 5, 1943.
Use statistics
1. Company
On July 14, 1942 at 7:10 a.m., U 217 set sail for the first venture and reached Kristiansand in occupied Norway two days later at 1:21 a.m. After another fuel addition, the boat left again at 04:56, heading towards the Caribbean and off the island of Curacao, the area where the boat was used. The supply boat U 463 (Korvettenkapitän Leo Wolfbauer) supplied U 217 with 30.3 cubic meters of fuel, 1.1 cubic meters of engine oil and provisions for 21 days on August 12, 1942. On September 28, 1942, U 461 (Korvettenkapitän Wolf-Harro Stiebler) supplied the boat with provisions for 18 days and the next day with 55 cubic meters of fuel and spare parts for the Ju compressor. U 217 was able to sink the ship Seagull D. with 75 GRT on August 19, 1942, before it entered Brest on October 16, 1942 at 8:00 p.m.
2. Company
U 217 left Brest on November 24, 1942 for the 2nd company. The boat operated in the mid-Atlantic, again in the Caribbean and north of Trinidad. On February 9, 1943, it met with U 504 (Korvettenkapitän Wilhelm Luis) which supplied U 217 with 43 cubic meters of fuel. On February 15, 1943, U 155 (Korvettenkapitän Adolf-Cornelius Piening) supplied the boat with a Metox device with antenna and with spare parts. On this venture, U 217 sank two ships, the Etna and the Rhexenor, with a total tonnage of 10,576 GRT.
3. Company
On April 19, 1943 at 5:10 p.m. U 217 left for the last venture. First the boat laid 15 mines in the Bristol Channel and then operated in the Central Atlantic and southeast of the Azorean Islands . The boat could not sink any ships on the last patrol.
Whereabouts
U 217 was sighted on June 5, 1943 in the central North Atlantic by an Avenger and a Wildcat of Squadron VC-9 of the US escort carrier USS Bogue , which operated together with her , shot at with on-board weapons and finally sunk with depth charges. All 50 men on board died.