U 365
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U 365 ( previous / next - all submarines ) |
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| Type : | VII C |
| Field Post Number : | M 52 253 |
| Shipyard: | Flensburg shipbuilding company |
| Construction contract: | January 20, 1941 |
| Keel laying: | April 21, 1942 |
| Launch: | March 9, 1943 |
| Commissioning: | June 8, 1943 |
| Commanders: |
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| Calls: | 11 activities |
| Sinkings: |
1 ship (9083 GRT ) |
| Whereabouts: | Sunk near Lofoten on December 13, 1944 |
U 365 was a German submarine from the Type VII C , which in World War II by the German navy was used.
history
The boat was mainly used against northern sea convoys that were between Great Britain and the Soviet ice ports Murmansk and Arkhangelsk . The main targets were Soviet forces, which received the convoys in the Barents Sea .
Construction and commissioning
U 365 was on 21 April 1942 at the Flensburger Schiffbau-Gesellschaft placed on Kiel and went under on June 8, 1943 Lieutenant on Heimar Wedemeyer to active duty. Like most German submarines of its time, U 365 also had a boat-specific coat of arms that was carried on the tower and worn by the crew on their caps and boats . In the spring of 1944, Commander Wedemeyer initiated a competition to develop a boat logo. From this a four-leaf clover with two sabers on top emerged as the winner. On February 19, the boat moved to Bergen in Norway , where it arrived on February 22. From there, U 365 completed its first four ventures.
Calls
The first voyages took place as part of secret operations in the North Sea and the Arctic Ocean , so U 365 did not record any actions against allied ships. It was only during the seventh venture, after patrolling the ice-covered waters around Novaya Zemlya , that the boat was able to report enemy contact and exchange of fire. In this region, 60 nautical miles west of the island of Bely , U 365 encountered a small Soviet convoy on August 12 and was able to use it to transport the freighter Marina Raskowa (9083 GRT ) ( location ) and two minesweepers accompanying the freighter (625 GRT each) ( Position ). 298 passengers and crew members of the sunken ships were killed, while 259 were rescued by another minesweeper ( T-116 ) and in the following two weeks by aircraft.
Due to the great distance between the operational areas, the effectiveness of the Allied anti-submarine measures in August 1944, and his own cautious approach, Commander Wedemeyer was unable to achieve further sinkings in the two following operations with U 365 . Wedemeyer was then replaced in November by Diether Todenhagen, who had already successfully commanded U 48 and acquired a reputation as an aggressive submarine commander. This decision seemed to pay off on December 6th, when Todenhagen was able to sink the Soviet patrol boat BO-230 (105 GRT ) ( Lage ) in the Barents Sea .
Attack on RA 62
On December 10, 1944, U 365 encountered an expected northern sea convoy that was leaving the Kola Bay . Contrary to the principles of the pack tactics developed by Karl Dönitz , which provided for the merging of several submarines to attack such targets, Commander Todenhagen decided to attack. He reported the sinking of a tanker with 7,000 GRT. Todenhagen stated to have registered the detonation of the torpedo and sinking noises. However, the sinking of a corresponding ship during this period could not be confirmed.
The boat continued to chase the convoy and the following day attacked a warship belonging to RA 62's escort , the HMS Cassandra . The British destroyer was severely damaged in the process. Todenhagen had destroyed the stern of the Cassandra with an acoustic torpedo (T5) . In addition, 62 crew members were killed. The Cassandra had to break off her escort duties and was towed back into the Kola Bay.
Sinking
Through this attack, Todenhagen revealed the presence and position of U 365 . Two days later the boat was sighted by two Fairey Swordfish planes belonging to the escort carrier HMS Campania and sunk near the Lofoten Islands by their bombs ( location ).
All 50 crew members of U 365 were killed in the attack.
Use statistics
- August 12, 1944: sinking of the Soviet minesweeper T-118 (625 GRT, moving in convoy BD-5)
- August 12, 1944: sinking of the Soviet minesweeper T-114 (625 GRT, convoy BD-5)
- August 12, 1944: sinking of the Soviet freighter Marina Raskowa (9083 BRT, convoy BD-5)
- December 6, 1944: sinking of the Soviet patrol boat BO-230 (105 GRT)
- 11 December 1944: Damage to the British destroyer HMS Cassandra (1710 BRT, convoy RA-62)
U 365 did not lose any crew members before it was sunk.
See also
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 96.
- ↑ a b Eckard Wetzel: U-Boats before Murmansk , Ullstein Buchverlage, Berlin 4th edition 2008, ISBN 978-3-548-26810-1 , page 248
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