U 345
|
U 345 ( previous / next - all submarines ) |
|
|---|---|
| Type : | VII C |
| Field Post Number : | 45 333 |
| Shipyard: | North Sea Works , Emden |
| Construction contract: | April 10, 1941 |
| Build number: | 217 |
| Keel laying: | July 9, 1942 |
| Launch: | March 11, 1943 |
| Commissioning: | May 4, 1943 |
| Commanders: |
Ulrich Knackfuss |
| Calls: | no |
| Sinkings: |
no |
| Whereabouts: | Decommissioned on December 23, 1943, ran into a mine on December 27, 1945 near Warnemünde ( 54 ° 15 ′ 0 ″ N , 12 ° 0 ′ 0 ″ E ) |
U 345 was a German submarine from the Type VII C , which in World War II for the War submarine in the Atlantic Ocean by the Navy should be used. It was decommissioned on December 23, 1943 and on December 27, 1945 it ran into a mine near Warnemünde.
construction
The Emden North Sea works stopped when the war broke shipbuilding for civil needs and put production on military projects to. Between 1941 and 1944, a total of 30 submarines were built for the Navy, 22 of which were type VII C. U 345 was part of the sixth construction contract that went to Nordseewerke, and comprised a total of four VII C boats. Almost two years later to the day, the boat was launched on March 11, 1943 and was put into service on May 4 by Oberleutnant zur See Ulrich Knackfuß. Like most German submarines of its time, U 345 also had a boat-specific mark that was selected by the crew itself. This depicted a comic stylized naval officer who trampled a merchant ship with an oversized boot. The sign was designed by Ernst Schmidt, the boat's 1st officer on watch , and was inspired by the name of the commander.
Damage and whereabouts
U 345 was badly damaged on December 13, 1943 in an air raid by the US Army Air Force on Kiel . Since the boat was irreparable, the U 345 was decommissioned on December 23, 1943. Later the U 345 was used as a spare part boat and partly cannibalized.
The commander Oberleutnant zur See Ulrich Knackfuss and parts of his crew switched to another boat. He took over command of U 821 and was killed with most of his crew when - after he had lost this boat in an air raid - the rescued men were shot at by British mosquitos on board launches .
U 345 was to be transferred to Great Britain after the German surrender . On December 27, 1945, however, the boat ran at position 54 ° 15 ′ 0 ″ N , 12 ° 0 ′ 0 ″ E before Warnemünde on a mine and sank.
literature
- Paul Kemp: The German and Austrian submarine losses in both world wars . Translated from the English by Alfred P. Zeller, Urbes-Verlag, Gräfelfing vor München 1998, ISBN 3-924896-43-7 , p. 167.
- 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 .
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 , page 93
- ↑ Clay Blair : The Submarine War. Volume 2: The Hunted, 1942–1945. Heyne, Munich 1998, ISBN 3-453-16059-2 , page 681
Map with all coordinates: