U 377
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U 377 ( previous / next - all submarines ) |
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| Type : | VII C |
| Field Post Number : | M - 16 791 |
| Shipyard: | Kriegsmarine shipyard , Kiel |
| Construction contract: | October 16, 1939 |
| Build number: | 008 |
| Keel laying: | May 8, 1940 |
| Launch: | August 15, 1941 |
| Commissioning: | October 2, 1941 |
| Commanders: |
KptLt. Otto Koehler
Oblt.zS Gerhard Kluth
Lt.zS Ernst-August Gerke
Oblt.zS Gerhard Kluth |
| Calls: | 11 activities |
| Sinkings: |
no |
| Whereabouts: | sunk on January 17, 1944 by the destroyers HMS Wanderer (D.74) and HMS Glenarm (K.258) in the North Atlantic. |
U 377 was a German U-boat of the Navy Type VII C, which was used in World War II.
history
The building contract was awarded to Howaldtswerke AG in Kiel on October 16, 1939 . The keel was laid on April 8, 1940, the launch on August 15, 1941. The boat was put into service on October 2, 1941 under Lieutenant Otto Köhler.
From October 3, 1941 to February 13, 1942, training and testing took place with the 6th U-Flotilla in Danzig , in which it was then taken over. The boat then belonged to the 6th U-Flotilla in Danzig as a front boat until June 30, 1942 . After that, U 377 belonged to the 11th U-Flotilla in Bergen from July 1, 1942 to February 28, 1943 , and to the 9th U-Flotilla in Brest from March 1, 1943 until it was sunk .
U 377 completed eleven operations on which no ships were sunk.
Use statistics
The boat left Kiel on February 14, 1942 at 7:00 p.m. and entered Narvik on February 28, 1942 at 9:46 p.m. No ships were sunk or damaged on this twelve-day, 2,171 nm above and 127.5 nm underwater voyage through the Kaiser Wilhelm Canal via Brunsbüttel and Helgoland into the North Sea .
First venture
The boat left Narvik on March 6, 1942 at 6:00 a.m. and entered Narvik on March 19, 1942 at 11:15 p.m. On this venture, the boat was part of the submarine fleet that was supposed to support the battleship Tirpitz in an attack on allied northern sea convoys . On this undertaking, which lasted 13 days and was 4,825 nm above and 157.5 nm under water, U 377 operated in the North Sea and near Jan Mayen on the convoy PQ-12 . It belonged to the submarine group recording. U 377 was mistakenly attacked by German aircraft while approaching the operational area . Commandant Köhler managed to escape with his undamaged boat, but he did not sink or damage any ships on this patrol .
Relocation trip
U 377 left Narvik on March 22, 1942 for a transfer trip and returned there on March 25, 1942. During this three-day journey, it moved back to Narvik via Harstad (provision and repairs) and Skjomenfjord (fuel replenished).
Second venture
The boat was launched on April 5th, 1942 at 03:00 from Narvik and, after a stopover due to bad weather on the same day in Lødingen, on April 25, 1942 at 14:40 again in Narvik one. On this 14-day and 2,584 nm above and 55 nm underwater expedition in the North Sea and east of Bear Island , U 377 operated on convoy PQ 14 . The submarine belonged to the groups Bums and Blutrausch. No ships were sunk or damaged.
Relocation trip
On April 23, 1942 at 2 p.m. U 377 left Narvik for a transfer trip and returned there on April 25, 1942 at 2:40 p.m. It moved to Skjomenfjord (repairs and fuel added) and back to Narvik during this two-day voyage .
Third company
U 377 left Narvik on May 25, 1942 at 6:30 p.m. and returned to Narvik on May 29, 1942 at 11 p.m. On this four-day expedition, the boat covered 722 nm above and 17.5 nm under water and operated in the North Sea. A machine defect forced the operation to be aborted. No ships were sunk or damaged.
Relocation trip
On May 31, 1942 at 9:30 U ran 377 to a transfer ride from Narvik and ran 20:25 in the June 2, 1942 Trondheim one. Repairs were carried out at the destination.
Fourth venture
The boat left Trondheim on July 18, 1942 at 02:20 and returned there on July 25, 1942 at 16:46. During these seven days the boat drove a distance of 2,117 nm over and 16.5 nm under water and operated in the North Sea. The journey had to be stopped early due to problems with the diesel exhaust pipe. Commander Köhler was unable to sink or damage ships with the U 377 .
Fifth venture
On August 30, 1942 at 10:02 a.m. the boat left Trondheim and on September 23, 1942 at 8:30 p.m. in Narvik. During these 23 days, U 377 covered a distance of 4,586 nm above and 111.9 nm under water and operated in the North Sea. During the voyage, the boat called Skjomenfjord (taking over weather station WFL-21), Lødingen (taking on a pilot) and Harstad (waiting for better weather to leave). U 377 was part of the submarine group Trägerertod and did not torpedo any ships on this venture.
Sixth venture
U 377 left Skjomenfjord on October 7, 1942 at 7:13 a.m. and entered Narvik on November 13, 1942 at 4:22 p.m. During this 32-day voyage, U 377 covered 3,383 nm above and 17.7 nm under water and operated in the North Sea. In the meantime the ports of Narvik, Harstad and Tromsø were called. No ships were sunk or damaged.
Relocation trip
On November 15, 1942 at 4:05 ran U 377 of Narvik and on 25 November 1942 at 18:04 in mountains one. The boat was at sea for 90 hours and 28 minutes. U 377 moved from Narvik via Bodø (convoy), Rørvik (bad weather), Trondheim (convoy), Kristiansund (bad weather), Ålesund (convoy), Daløy (anti-submarine exercises) and Askevold to Bergen. No ships were sunk or damaged here.
Seventh venture
U 377 ran on January 30, 1943 at 14:05 from mountains and on 18 March 1943 at 12:20 in Brest one. During this 46-day mission, U 377 covered 5,282 nm above and 407.5 nm under water and operated in the North Atlantic and southwest of Iceland . The boat was supposed to enter the Moray Firth at Kinnaird Head . U 377 was supplied with 80 cans of bread and 17.1 m³ of fuel by U 119 on March 9 and 10, 1943. It belonged to the submarine groups Ritter and Neptune. No ships were sunk or damaged.
Eighth venture
U 377 left Brest on April 15, 1943 at 5:20 p.m. and returned there on June 7, 1943 at 8:27 p.m. During this 53-day undertaking, 6,537 nm above and 719 nm under water were covered and the boat supplied itself with 7 m³ of fuel from U 229 on May 25, 1943 and belonged to the submarine groups Amsel, Amsel 2, Elbe and Elbe 2. The boat could not sink or damage any ships on this venture.
Ninth venture
The submarine left Brest on August 26, 1943 at 5:10 p.m. and returned there on August 30, 1943 at 12:05 p.m. This patrol had to be canceled due to failure of the telescope and U 377 ran back to the home port. During the stay in the shipyard, the periscope, the cooling water pump on the port side, the cooling water bottom valves and vibration dampers were overhauled, and the side lashing rings of the quadruple were replaced.
Tenth venture
U 377 left Brest on September 6, 1943 at 5:10 p.m. and returned there on September 7, 1943 at 7:20 p.m. to have leaks repaired in the shipyard after a deep dive attempt. After repairing the cooling water bottom valves, the exhaust flap and the port screw, the boat was able to continue its journey on September 9, 1943 at 4:10 p.m. and operated in the North Atlantic. During an air raid, the commandant, Oberleutnant zur See Gerhard Kluth, was wounded, and Oberleutnant zur See Ernst-August Gerke took command for the rest of the patrol. U 377 belonged to the Leuthen submarine group. When U 377 returned to Brest on October 10, 1943 at 11:00 a.m. it had covered 3,000 nm above and 660 nm under water and neither sunk nor damaged any ships, whereby the BdU assumes the sinking of an escort vehicle and a steamer (5,000 GRT) .
Eleventh venture
U 377 left Brest on December 15, 1943 at 3:30 p.m. and operated in the North Atlantic, northwest of Spain and west of Ireland. It belonged to the submarine groups Borkum, Borkum 3 and Rügen. No ships were sunk or damaged. U 377 was sunk in the North Atlantic on January 17, 1944.
Whereabouts
On January 17, 1944, U 377 was bombed in the North Atlantic northwest of the Azores by depth charges from the British destroyer HMS Wanderer (D.74) and the British corvette HMS Glenarm (K.258) at position 49 ° 39 ′ N , 20 ° 10 ′ W sunk in marine grid square BE 2445. There were 52 dead and no survivors.
An earlier assumption that the boat was sunk by its own torpedo of the wren type , whose acoustic target search aimed at the own boat after a circular trajectory, is now considered to be refuted. The assumption was based on a mutilated radio message, "SOS ... torpedoed ... sink" , which was received on January 15, 1944 - shortly after Commander Kluth had reported an unsuccessful attack on a submarine fighter group. The submarine command had created a context and assigned this radio message to U 377 , which in turn led to the assumption of the loss by its own torpedo after the boat no longer reported.
literature
- Rainer Busch, Hans-Joachim Röll: The submarine war 1939-1945. Volume 1: The German submarine commanders. ES Mittler und Sohn, Hamburg et al. 1996, ISBN 3-8132-0490-1 .
- 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 .
- Rainer Busch, Hans-Joachim Röll: The submarine war 1939-1945. Volume 4: German submarine losses from September 1939 to May 1945. ES Mittler und Sohn, Hamburg et al. 1999, ISBN 3-8132-0514-2 .
- Herbert Ritschel: Short version of the war diaries of German submarines. 1939-1945. Volume 8: KTB U 375 - U 435. Norderstedt, Books on Demand 2008, pp. 27-41.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Clay Blair : The U-Boat War 1939-1942. Die Jäger, (Vol. 1), Wilhelm Heyne Verlag, Munich 1998, pages 640-641.
- ↑ Axel Niestlé: "German U-Boat Losses During Wordl War II. Details of Destruction" , Frontline Books, London 2014 ISBN 978-1-84832-210-3 , page 58
- ↑ Rainer Busch, Hans-Joachim Röll: The U-Boat War 1939-1945. Volume 4: The German submarine losses from September 1939 to May 1945. ES Mittler und Sohn, Hamburg / Berlin / Bonn 2008, ISBN 3-8132-0514-2 , p. 182