U 55 (Navy)

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U 55 (Kriegsmarine)
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Type : VII B
Field Post Number : M 38 070
Shipyard: Germania shipyard , Kiel
Construction contract: July 16, 1937
Build number: 590
Keel laying: November 2, 1938
Launch: October 19, 1939
Commissioning: November 21, 1939
Commanders:

November 21, 1939 - January 30, 1940
Lieutenant Werner Heidel

Calls: 1 company
Sinkings:

4 ships (12,937 GRT)

Whereabouts: self- scuttled on January 30, 1940 southwest of the Isles of Scilly

U 55 was a German submarine of type VII B , which in World War II by the German navy was used.

history

The order for the boat was awarded to the Germania shipyard in Kiel on July 16, 1937 . The keel was laid on November 2, 1938, the launch on October 19, 1939, and the commissioning under Lieutenant Werner Heidel finally took place on November 21, 1939.

After its commissioning on November 21, 1939 until December 31, 1939, the boat was part of the “Wegener” submarine flotilla in Kiel . After the reorganization of the flotilla, U 55 belonged to the 7th U-Flotilla in Kiel as a front boat from January 1, 1940 until its sinking on January 30, 1940.

Use statistics

Commander Heidel ran out with U 55 during his service time to an enterprise on which he sank four ships with a total tonnage of 12,937  GRT .

The boat left Kiel on January 16, 1940, and was sunk in the North Atlantic on January 30, 1940. On this 14-day undertaking in the North Atlantic , four ships of 12,937 GRT were sunk.

  • January 21, 1940: sinking of the Danish steamer Tekla with 1,469 GRT. The steamer was sunk by a torpedo .
  • January 21, 1940: sinking of the Swedish steamer Andalusia with 1,357 GRT. The steamer was sunk by a torpedo. He had loaded general cargo and was on the way from Bordeaux to Gothenburg . It was a total loss with 21 dead.
  • January 30, 1940: sinking of the Greek steamer Keramiai ( Lage ) with 5,085 GRT. The steamer was sunk by a torpedo. He drove in ballast and was on his way from London to Ciudad Trujillo . There were no human casualties and 28 survivors. The ship belonged to convoy OA-80G with 27 ships.
  • January 30, 1940: sinking of the British steamer Vaclite ( Lage ) with 5,026 GRT. The steamer was sunk by a torpedo. He was in ballast and was on his way from London to New York . The ship belonged to convoy OA-80G. There were no human casualties and 36 survivors.

Whereabouts

On January 30, 1940, U 55 was located southwest of the Isles of Scilly after attacks by the British destroyer HMS Whitshed , the sloop HMS Fowey as well as the French destroyers Valmy and Guépard and a British Sunderland flying boat at the position 48 ° 37 ′  N , 7 ° 48 ′  W sunk by the crew themselves in 1958 in the marine grid square BF. One crew member, the commander Kapitänleutnant Werner Heidel, was killed and 41 were rescued.

U 55 did not lose any crew members during its service life prior to the sinking.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Rainer Busch, Hans-Joachim Röll: The U-Boat War 1939-1945. Volume 2: U-boat construction in German shipyards. ES Mittler and Son, Hamburg a. a. 1997, ISBN 3-8132-0512-6 , page 28
  2. ↑ Rainer Busch, Hans-Joachim Röll: The U-Boat War 1939-1945. Volume 3: German submarine successes from September 1939 to May 1945. ES Mittler and Son, Hamburg a. a. 2001, ISBN 3-8132-0513-4 , page 54
  3. ↑ the sinking of the Tekla is also awarded to U 22 , see: Rainer Busch, Hans-Joachim Röll: Der U-Boot-Krieg 1939–1945. Volume 3: German submarine successes from September 1939 to May 1945. ES Mittler and Son, Hamburg a. a. 2001, page 54
  4. ↑ The sinkings of the Kramiai and the Vaclite are assigned to Commander Werner Heidel after evaluating British documents, U 55 did not send a report before it was sunk, see: Rainer Busch, Hans-Joachim Röll: Der U-Boot-Krieg 1939–1945. Volume 3: German submarine successes from September 1939 to May 1945. ES Mittler and Son, Hamburg a. a. 2001, page 54