U 449

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
U 449
( previous / next - all submarines )
Type : VII C
Field Post Number : M 50 203
Shipyard: Schichau-Werke , Danzig
Construction contract: November 21, 1940
Build number: 1520
Keel laying: July 17, 1941
Launch: June 13, 1942
Commissioning: August 22, 1942
Commanders:

August 22, 1942 - June 24, 1943
Oberleutnant zur See Hermann Otto

Calls: 1 company
Sinkings:

no

Whereabouts: Sunk on June 14, 1943 northwest of Cape Ortegal

U 449 was a German submarine from the Type VII C , which in World War II by the German navy was used.

Construction and commissioning

The order for the boat was awarded to the branch of the Elbinger Schichau-Werke in Danzig on November 21, 1940 . It was the sixth construction contract that was awarded to this shipyard by the Navy. By the end of the war, a total of 62 Type VII C boats had been delivered by the Danzig Schichau shipyard.

Such a boat had a length of 67 m and a displacement of 865 m³ under water. It was propelled by two diesel engines, which enabled a speed of 17 knots over water , which corresponds to 31.5 km / h . During the underwater journey, two electric motors propelled the boat to a speed of 7 knots. The keel of U 449 was laid on July 17, 1941, the launch on June 13, 1942, and the commissioning under Oberleutnant zur See Hermann Otto took place on August 22, 1942.

commitment

U 449 ran out during its service time to only one company on which no sinking or damage could be recorded. The boat left Kiel on June 1st. The intended area of ​​operation was the North Atlantic . Two weeks later, the boat was slightly damaged by an air raid. U 449 was sighted by a British B-24 , a so-called "Liberator bomber", which belonged to the air security of the convoy ONS 10 . In the course of this battle crew members of U 449 were injured and commander Otto requested medical assistance. The submarine command ordered that Otto break off his patrol and that the boat should meet either U 592 or U 119 , both of whom had doctors on board. U 449 first met U 119 , which had just returned from a mining company from Canada to France, and took over the doctor who was traveling there. When approaching the navy bases in northern France, the two boats were tracked down in the Bay of Biscay by a so-called "hunter killer group" of the Royal Navy .

Sinking

On 24 June 1943, the boat was about 190 nautical miles (355 km) northwest of Cape Ortegal by depth charges of the British sloops HMS Wren , HMS Woodpecker , HMS Kite and HMS Wild Goose under the command of Frederic John Walker in position 45 ° 0 '  N , 11 ° 59'  W sunk. All 49 crew members were killed, including the doctor Ernst Baumhard , who had held leading positions in the National Socialist killing centers in Grafeneck and Hadamar during Operation T4 .

U 449 did not lose any crew members before the sinking.

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Rainer Busch, Hans-Joachim Röll: The U-Boat War 1939-1945. Volume 2: U-boat construction in German shipyards. ES Mittler und Sohn, Hamburg et al. 1997, ISBN 3-8132-0512-6 , page 245

literature