U 442
U 442 ( previous / next - all submarines ) |
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Type : | VII C |
Shipyard: | F. Schichau Werft GmbH , Danzig |
Keel laying: | October 19, 1940 |
Commissioning: | March 21, 1942 |
Commanders: |
1941–1943 |
Calls: | 2 patrols |
Sinkings: |
4 ships (25,417 GRT) |
Whereabouts: | Sunk off Cape St. Vincent on February 12, 1943 |
U 442 was a German type VII C submarine of the Kriegsmarine .
history
Construction and commissioning
The keel of U 442 was laid on October 19, 1940 at the F. Schichau GmbH shipyard in Danzig. It was put into service on March 21, 1942 as a training boat with the 5th U-Flotilla . On October 1 of the same year, the boat was assigned to the 7th U-Flotilla in Saint-Nazaire and used as a front boat.
Calls
First patrol
During its service, U 442 undertook an patrol following the transfer voyage from Kiel (the base of the 5th U-Flotilla) to Saint-Nazaire from September 17 to November 16, 1942. The area of operation of the boat was the North Atlantic east of Newfoundland. Commander Hesse sank two ships with a total of 8,434 GRT on this voyage :
- on September 25 the British freighter Empire Bell ( location )
- on November 4th the British freighter Hatimura ( location )
In addition, the Greek freighter Parthenon was attacked on November 2nd . The impact of the torpedo could be heard, but there was no explosion.
Second patrol
The second patrol on December 20, 1942 was also the last of the boat. U 442 sank on this journey:
- on January 9, 1943 the British tanker Empire Lytton ( able )
- on January 27, the American steamer Julia Ward Howe ( Lage ),
a total of 16,983 GRT.
Whereabouts
The submarine was sunk by British Hudson planes west of Cape St. Vincent on February 12, 1943 ( Lage ). The entire boat crew (48 seamen) perished.
Remarks
- ↑ The freighter had been torpedoed shortly before by U 132 , which was still in the immediate vicinity when the torpedo from U 442 detonated the Hatimura . It is now certain that U 132 was also sunk by this detonation.
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 3: German submarine successes from September 1939 to May 1945. ES Mittler und Sohn, Hamburg et al. 2001, ISBN 3-8132-0513-4 .