U 258

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
U 258
( previous / next - all submarines )
Type : VII C
Shipyard: Vegesacker shipyard
Bremen-Vegesack
Construction contract: December 23, 1939
Build number: 023
Keel laying: March 20, 1941
Launch: December 13, 1941
Commissioning: February 4, 1942
Commanders:

February 4, 1942 - June 21, 1943
Lieutenant Captain Wilhelm von Mäszenhausen

Calls: 4 patrols
Sinkings:

1 ship (6198 GRT)

Whereabouts: Sunk in the North Atlantic on May 20, 1943

U 258 was a German submarine from the Type VII C , which in World War II by the German Navy was used.

history

Since commissioning, U 258 has been subordinate to the 5th U-Flotilla , which was stationed in Kiel , as a training boat . On September 1, 1942, the boat was assigned to the 3rd U-Flotilla as a front boat.

Calls

On the first patrol, U 258 operated in the North Atlantic area , to be more precise east of Newfoundland . Commander Wilhelm von Mässenhausen reported having torpedoed two ships on this voyage. A hit could not be observed, nor could damage or sinking of a ship be confirmed afterwards. This patrol ended on October 27th in the boat's new home port: La Pallice . From here, U 258 ran out on a patrol into the Bay of Biscay in December of the same year and in the spring of 1943 on a patrol with the Central Atlantic operational area. The last voyage of the boat began on March 1, 1943. The boat was assigned to a submarine group at the end of March, which consisted of the jointly operating groups Fink and Amsel and was assigned to two convoys that were expected at that time from North America. Instead of this, the convoy ONS 5, which had deviated from its course, accidentally and surprisingly for both sides into this cluster of 52 submarines. U 258 sank the American tanker McKeesport with 6198 GRT from this convoy . Commandant von Mässenhausen reported having damaged two more steamers, but this could not be confirmed.

Downfall

On May 20, 1943, U 258 was sighted at 7:24 p.m. in the North Atlantic at position 55 ° 18 ′  N , 27 ° 49 ′  W by a British B-24 Liberator of the RAF's 120th Squadron . The boat was on the surface at this time and was initially attacked by the British machine with on-board weapons. After dropping a depth charge, the boat began to roll stern-heavy in heavy seas and finally sank over the stern into the depths.

Notes and individual references

  1. ↑ Busch, Röll: The U-Boat War 1939-1945. Volume 2: U-boat construction in German shipyards. 1997, p. 352.
  2. ↑ Busch, Röll: The U-Boat War 1939-1945. Volume 2: U-boat construction in German shipyards. 1997, p. 465.
  3. ↑ Captain Godt, the head of the operations department of the BdU, often chose bird names as code names for submarine groups. Dönitz himself preferred more rustic terms, such as murder burner or robber baron .
  4. ↑ C. Blair: The Submarine War. Volume 2: The Hunted, 1942–1945. 1998, p. 358.
  5. ↑ Rainer Busch, Hans-Joachim Röll: The U-Boat War 1939-1945. Volume 3: German submarine successes from September 1939 to May 1945. ES Mittler und Sohn, Hamburg et al. 2001, ISBN 3-8132-0513-4 , p. 161.
  6. ^ P. Kemp: The German and Austrian submarine losses in both world wars. 1998, p. 123.

literature

  • Clay Blair : The Submarine War. Volume 2: The Hunted, 1942–1945. Heyne, Munich 1998, ISBN 3-453-16059-2 .
  • 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 .
  • Rainer Busch, Hans-Joachim Röll: The submarine war 1939-1945. Volume 3: German submarine successes from September 1939 to May 1945. ES Mittler und Sohn, Hamburg et al. 2001, ISBN 3-8132-0513-4 .
  • Paul Kemp: The German and Austrian submarine losses in both world wars. Urbes Verlag, Graefelfing before Munich 1998, ISBN 3-924896-43-7 .