U 225

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U 225
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Type : VII C
Field Post Number : 10 643
Shipyard: Germania shipyard , Kiel
Construction contract: August 15, 1940
Build number: 655
Keel laying: September 3, 1941
Launch: May 28, 1942
Commissioning: July 11, 1942
Commanders:
Calls: 2 activities
Sinkings:

1 ship (5,273 GRT)
4 ships damaged

Whereabouts: sunk in the North Atlantic on February 15, 1943

U 225 was a German submarine from the Type VII C , which during the Second World War by the German navy was used in the North Atlantic.

Technical specifications

The Germania shipyard in Kiel was mainly commissioned with the construction of large combat ships, but submarines had been manufactured since 1934, including for export. After the expansion of the submarine building program, the shipyard was commissioned with an annual output of 42 boats - a number that could never be reached. Mainly boats of the submarine class VII C should be produced at the Germania shipyard. A submarine of this class had a displacement of 761 cubic meters above and 865 cubic meters below the water. The diesel engine ensured an overwater speed of 17  knots , submerged the boat drove up to eight knots. A VII C had a length of 67.1 meters, a width of 6.2 meters and a draft of 4.8 meters. Usually there were 44 men on board. The order for U 225 was awarded on August 15, 1940. The launch took place on May 18, 1942 and the commissioning under Lieutenant Leimkühler on July 11, 1942. The emblem of the boat was, among other things, the crew mark of the year the commander was recruited - two crossed swords - and at times a white spitz as a maling .

Commitment and history

On June 11, U 225 came to the 5th U-Flotilla in Kiel as a training boat and undertook training trips in the Baltic Sea to train the crew. On January 1, 1943, the boat was assigned to the 1st U-Flotilla and stationed in Brest . During his two patrols with this boat, Commander Leimkühler succeeded in sinking one ship and damaging four. U 225 achieved all of these successes during a convoy battle from December 27 to 29, 1942, during which two submarine groups attacked the Allied convoy ONS 154 in accordance with the pack tactics developed by Karl Dönitz .

Among the ships damaged by glue coolers was the President Franqui , which sailed under the Belgian flag. The captain of the President Francqui , G. Bayot, was captured by U 225 . Five Belgian seamen were killed and fifty-two crew members were picked up by two Canadian escort corvettes, HMCS Prescott and HMCS Shediac . The President Francqui was later sunk by U 336 . The Empire Shackleton , lead ship of convoy ON 154 , was also damaged by U 225 . The ship was then sunk by U 123 . All 69 crew members survived the attack. They were rescued by HMS Fidelity , HMCS Shediac and HMCS Calgary .

Whereabouts

On his second venture, U 225 was spotted by a Liberator bomber attacking the SC 119 convoy , which immediately launched an attack. While U 225 was about to dive, the Liberator dropped six depth charges from a low height and observed a while later floating debris and a widening pool of oil in the sea. According to previous assumptions, to U 225 in consequence of the attack on February 15, 1943, the position of 55 ° 45 '0 "  N , 31 ° 9' 0 '  W to be dropped. At times it was also assumed that the boat was sunk on February 21 by a cutter of the American Coast Guard. That has since turned out to be wrong; this attack was aimed at U 604 .

According to current knowledge, U 225 was actually sunk on February 22, 1943 by depth charges from the English corvette HMS "Dianthus" at position 48 ° 37'n, 30 ° 35'w.

See also

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Rainer Busch, Hans-Joachim Röll: The U-Boat War 1939-1945. Volume 2: U-boat construction in German shipyards. ES Mittler and Son, Hamburg a. a. 1997, ISBN 3-8132-0512-6 , p. 82.
  2. ^ A b 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 , p. 77.
  3. ^ Ian M. Malcolm: "Shipping Company Losses of the Second World War. Book II", Moira Brown, Dundee 2020, ISBN 978-1-65661-255-7 , page 77
  4. ^ Paul Kemp: The German and Austrian submarine losses in both world wars. Urbes-Verlag, Graefelfing before Munich 1998, ISBN 3-924896-43-7 , p. 105.
  5. ↑ Axel Niestlé: German U-Boat Losses during World War II. Details of Destruction , Frontline Books, London 2014, ISBN 978-1-84832-210-3 , page 47