U 669
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U 669 ( previous / next - all submarines ) |
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|---|---|
| Type : | VII C |
| Field Post Number : | 49 427 |
| Shipyard: | Howaldtswerke Hamburg |
| Construction contract: | January 20, 1941 |
| Build number: | 818 |
| Keel laying: | May 31, 1941 |
| Launch: | October 5, 1942 |
| Commissioning: | December 16, 1942 |
| Commanders: |
First Lieutenant |
| Flotilla: |
|
| Calls: | 2 patrols |
| Sinkings: |
no |
| Whereabouts: | missing in the Bay of Biscay since August 29, 1943 |
U 669 was a German type VII C submarine. This type was also called "Atlantic boat". U 669 was used by the Kriegsmarine in submarine warfare during the Second World War .
Technical specifications
From the beginning of the war, the production of the Hamburg Howaldtswerke was completely converted to submarine construction. The shipyard was intended for an annual output of 16 submarines, which should increase to 22 boats from mid-1943. However, these numbers could never be reached. By the end of the war, Howaldtswerke Hamburg had delivered 33 submarines to the Kriegsmarine, all of the Type VII C. One of the ten boats that were delivered in 1942 was the U 669 . The boat had a length of 67 m and a displacement of 865 m³ under water. It was propelled over water by two diesel engines, which enabled a speed of 17 knots . Two electric motors produced a speed of 7 knots under water. The armament consisted of a 8.8 cm cannon and a 2.0 cm flak on deck as well as four bow torpedo tubes and a stern torpedo tube.
Commitment and history
U 669 undertook two patrols and was not successful in sinking. The boat was planned for a secret operation with the code name "Kiebitz" in the summer of 1943, in the course of which it was sunk.
Company Lapwing
U 669 was supposed to evacuate a group of German submarine officers from Canada as part of the Kiebitz operation . The prisoner-of-war officers were to break out of Camp 30 and make their way to New Brunswick , where they were to be picked up by the submarine. The boat left St. Nazaire on August 29, 1943 in strictest secrecy and crossed the Bay of Biscay with a course for Canada. It was sunk a week later. The intended role in the Kiebitz company was transferred to U 536 , which was actually able to take up position at the mouth of the St. Lawrence River . However, the prisoners' planned escape failed.
Sinking
The cause of the loss of U 669 has not been finally clarified. It is currently believed that this boat ran into a mine in the Bay of Biscay. The attack by a Vickers Wellington of the RCAF , previously assumed to be the cause, was probably U 584 .
literature
- Clay Blair : The Submarine War. Volume 2: The Hunted, 1942–1945. Heyne, Munich 1999, ISBN 3-453-16059-2 .
- 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 4: German submarine losses from September 1939 to May 1945. ES Mittler und Sohn, Hamburg et al. 1999, ISBN 3-8132-0514-2 .
- Paul Kemp: The German and Austrian submarine losses in both world wars. Urbes Verlag, Graefelfing before Munich 1998, ISBN 3-924896-43-7 .
- Terence Robertson: The Wolf in the Atlantic. The war experiences of Otto Kretschmer, the most successful submarine commander in World War II. 5th edition. Welsermühl, Munich 1969, (Original title: The golden horseshoe ).
Individual evidence
- ↑ C. Blair: The Submarine War. Volume 2: The Hunted, 1942–1945. 1999, p. 485.
- ↑ Rainer Busch, Hans-Joachim Röll: The U-Boat 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 , p. 146.
- ^ Nigel West: Historical Dictionary of Naval Intelligence . Scarecrow Press, 2010, ISBN 978-0-8108-7377-3 , pp. 102 ( google.de [accessed on October 20, 2018]).
- ^ P. Kemp: The German and Austrian submarine losses in both world wars. 1998, p. 150.