U 678
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U 678 ( previous / next - all submarines ) |
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|---|---|
| Type : | VII C |
| Field Post Number : | 52 381 |
| Shipyard: | Howaldtswerke Hamburg |
| Construction contract: | June 5, 1941 |
| Build number: | 827 |
| Keel laying: | November 25, 1941 |
| Launch: | September 18, 1943 |
| Commissioning: | October 25, 1943 |
| Commanders: |
Guido Hyronimus |
| Flotilla: |
|
| Calls: | an enterprise |
| Sinkings: |
no |
| Whereabouts: | sunk with depth charges near Brighton on July 6, 1944 |
U 678 was a German submarine of the type VII C , also known as the "Atlantic boat ", which was used by the German navy during the Second World War in the submarine warfare .
Technical specifications
After the start of the war, the production of the Hamburg Howaldtswerke was essentially converted to submarine construction. Nevertheless, this shipyard could not achieve the planned annual output of 16 submarines - increased to 22 boats from mid-1943. By the end of the war, the Hamburg Howaldtswerke delivered 33 Type VII C submarines to the Navy. Such a 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.
Like most German submarines of its time, the U 678 also had a boat-specific logo, which was usually selected by the crew during the training period, attached to the submarine tower and worn on uniform caps and boats . It was a stylized drawing of the "Baron of Lies" Münchhausen with a sword, who rides on the soaring bow of a submarine.
history
Commander Oberleutnant zur See Hyronimus had previously commanded U 670 , which, however, collided with a target ship during a training voyage in Danzig Bay and was sunk in the process. Hyronimus transferred U 678 after commissioning from Hamburg through the Kiel Canal to Kiel , the base of the 5th U-Flotilla , to which the boat was subordinated as a training boat until May 1944. During this time, Hyronimus undertook test drives and then training trips in the Baltic Sea , to bring the boat in and to train the crew.
At the end of May, the boat moved to the naval base in Kristiansand , Norway , where it arrived on May 29 and was used as a front boat in the 7th U-Flotilla . From here, U 678 set out for its only venture on June 8th. Hyronimus patrolled Brighton and Beachy Head on this voyage .
Sinking
The boat was attacked by three Allied warships in early July. The Canadian destroyers HMCS Ottawa and HMCS Kootenay and the British corvette HMS Statice were involved in the sinking . The three warships sank U 678 southwest of Brighton on July 6 with depth charges. All 52 crew members were killed.
Even after floating oil, debris and body parts had been sighted, the attackers continued their depth charges until the following day.
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 2: U-boat construction in German shipyards. ES Mittler und Sohn, Hamburg et al. 1997, ISBN 3-8132-0512-6 .
Individual evidence
- ^ Georg Högel: Embleme Wappen Maling's German U-Boats 1939–1945 , Koehlers Verlagsgesellschaft, Hamburg 2001, ISBN 978-3-7822-1002-7 , page 139
- ↑ Axel Niestlé: German U-Boat Losses during World War II Details of Destruction , Frontline Books, London 2014, ISBN 978–1–84832–210–3, page 80