U 554
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U 554 ( previous / next - all submarines ) |
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| Type : | VII C |
| Field Post Number : | M-31 279 |
| Shipyard: | Blohm & Voss , Hamburg |
| Construction contract: | September 25, 1939 |
| Build number: | 530 |
| Keel laying: | December 1, 1939 |
| Launch: | November 7, 1940 |
| Commissioning: | January 15, 1941 |
| Commanders: |
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| Flotilla: |
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| Calls: | no ventures |
| Sinkings: |
no |
| Whereabouts: | On May 5, 1945 in Wilhelmshaven at the west entrance of the Raederschleuse, when sunk himself. |
U 554 was a Germanclass VII C submarine , which was usedas a training and school boatin the Baltic Sea during World War II .
Construction and use
The building contract for U 554 and its sister boats U 551 , U 552 , U 553 , U 555 , U 556 , U 557 and U 558 was awarded to Blohm & Voss in Hamburg on September 25, 1939 . The boat with hull number 530 was laid down on December 1, 1939 , the launch took place on November 7, 1940. The commissioning of U 554 took place on January 15, 1941 under Lieutenant Dietrich Lohmann. Until June 30, 1944, U 554 was assigned to the 24th U-Flotilla as a training boat. During this time, Commander Lohmann undertook training trips in the Baltic Sea to train the crew and to retract the boat. The boat was then placed under the 22nd U-Flotilla, a school flotilla which was initially stationed in Gotenhaven and was moved to Wilhelmshaven towards the end of the war. The boat served as a school boat under the command of various commanders until February 1945, then it was placed under the 31st U-Flotilla as a training boat.
Coat of arms of the boat
In addition to the V-sign of the 24th U-Flotilla, the boat carried the coat of arms of its godfather city Eger on the tower . Under the command of Lieutenant Rave, the boat wielded a raven in a blue star. The raven was taken from the family crest of the commandant's family, while the blue star came from the Type IX B boat U 105 . On U 105 , Ernst-Wolfgang Rave had completed three patrols as a second watch officer from September 1940 to October 1941 .
Self-immersion
On May 5, 1945, U 554 and 21 other Type II , Type VII and Type XXI submarines were self -scuttled in Wilhelmshaven in compliance with the rainbow order by their crews. The boats sank near the Raederschleuse and were blown up by the British with concentrated loads in October 1945, later demolished and scrapped.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Busch u. Röll: The Submarine War 1939–1945. The construction of submarines in German shipyards. Mittler and Son (1997), 38
- ^ Georg Högel: Emblems, coats of arms, Malings German submarines 1939-1945. 5th edition. Koehlers Verlagsgesellschaft mbH, Hamburg 2009, ISBN 978-3-7822-1002-7 , p. 121.
- ↑ Busch u. Röll: The Submarine War 1939–1945. The German submarine commanders. Mittler, 1996, p. 188
- ↑ Rainer Busch, Hans-Joachim Röll: The U-Boat War 1939-1945. Volume 3: German submarine losses from September 1939 to May 1945. ES Mittler und Sohn, Hamburg et al. 1999, ISBN 3-8132-0514-2 , page 356
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 .