U 73 (Navy)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
U 73 (Kriegsmarine)
( previous / next - all submarines )
Coat of arms Duisburg.jpg
City arms of Duisburg, arms of the boat
Type : VII B
Field Post Number : M 09 142
Shipyard: Vegesacker shipyard
Bremen-Vegesack
Construction contract: June 2, 1938
Build number: 001
Keel laying: November 5, 1939
Launch: July 27, 1940
Commissioning: September 30, 1940
Commanders:
Calls: 15 activities
Sinkings:

8 merchant ships (43,945 GRT), 4 warships (22,947 t), together 66,892 t and 431 dead; 1 plane shot down

Whereabouts: self-sunk on December 16, 1943 near Oran after damage (16 dead, 34 prisoners of war)

U 73 was a German submarine of type VII B , which in World War II by the German navy was used. In its 15 patrols it sank eight merchant ships 43,945 GRT and four warships - including an aircraft carrier - with 22 947 t, with a total of 431 people were killed. On December 16, 1943, it wasbadly damaged by several US destroyersin front of the Algerian city of Oran and self-sunk , killing 16 crew members and making 34 Allied prisoners of war , of which one was able to escape in Oran.

history

The order for the boat was awarded to the Vegesacker shipyard in Bremen on June 2, 1938 . The keel was laid on November 5, 1939, the launch on July 27, 1940, the commissioning under Lieutenant Captain Helmut Rosenbaum finally took place on September 30, 1940. Most of the German submarines of this time bore boat-specific coats of arms or emblems that were selected by the crew as a result of special events or contexts. In addition to the coat of arms of Duisburg , the godfather city of the boat, the U 73 wore a tree on the submarine tower as an allusion to the name of the first commander . In 1943, as a result of the sinking of a US ammunition transporter, the drawing of an ax was added, which was found on the upper deck after surfacing. The crew members made small ax-shaped badges that they wore on their hats and boats .

After its commissioning on September 30, 1940 until January 31, 1942, the boat belonged to the 7th U-Flotilla in Kiel as a training boat . After the training period, U 73 came from February 1, 1941 to January 1942 as a front boat to the 7th U-Flotilla in St. Nazaire and from January 1942 to its sinking on December 16, 1943 to the 29th U-Flotilla in La Spezia .

Use statistics

U 73 ran out of fifteen operations during its service, on which twelve ships with a total tonnage of 66,892  GRT were sunk and three with a total tonnage of 22,928 GRT were damaged.

First venture

The boat was on was on February 4, 1941 at 8:00 from Kiel and ran on March 2, 1941 at 10:00 am at Lorient one. On this trip, which lasted 27 days and was about 4,260 nm long, in the North Atlantic and west of Ireland , a ship with 4,260 GRT was sunk.

  • February 24, 1941: sinking of the British steamer Waynegate with 4,260 GRT. The steamer was sunk by two torpedoes . He had loaded 6,200 tons of coal and was on the way from Newport to Freetown . The ship belonged to the disbanded convoy OB-288 with 46 ships. There were no casualties, 44 survivors. ( Location )

Second venture

The boat left Lorient on March 25, 1941 at 4:30 p.m. and returned there on April 24, 1941 at 4:55 p.m. On this 30-day and 5,000 nm above and 239 nm underwater expedition in the North Atlantic, south and southwest of Iceland , five ships with 30,911 GRT were sunk.

  • April 3, 1941: sinking of the British steamer Alderpool with 4,313 GRT. The steamer was sunk by a torpedo. It had loaded 7,200 tons of wheat and was on its way from New York via Sydney to Hull . The ship belonged to convoy SC-26 with 24 ships. There were no casualties, 41 survivors. ( Location )
  • April 3, 1941: sinking of the British steamer Westpool with 5,724 GRT. The steamer was sunk by a G7e torpedo. He had loaded 7,144 tons of scrap and was on the way from Baltimore via Halifax to Leith . That belonged to convoy SC-26 with 24 ships. There were 26 dead and seven survivors. ( Location )
  • 3 April 1941: sinking of the Belgian steamer Indians with 5,409 GRT. The steamer was sunk by a torpedo. He had loaded 6,300 tons of steel and general cargo and was on the way from New York via Halifax (Nova Scotia) to Glasgow . The ship belonged to convoy SC-26. There were 42 dead and four survivors. ( Location )
  • April 3, 1941: sinking of the British tanker British Viscount with 6,895 GRT. The tanker was sunk by a torpedo. He had loaded 9,500 tons of heating oil and was on the way from Curaçao via Sydney (Nova Scotia) to Scapa Flow . The ship belonged to convoy SC-26. There were 28 dead and 20 survivors. ( Location )
  • April 20, 1941: sinking of the British steamer Empire Endurance with 8,570 GRT. The steamer was sunk by two torpedoes. He had general cargo , mail, war material, 15 passengers and the two British patrol boats HMS ML 1003 and HMS ML 1037 (46 GRT each) on board and was on the way from Swansea via Cape Town to Alexandria . There were 70 dead and 24 survivors. ( Location )

Third company

The boat left Lorient on May 20, 1941 at 3:00 p.m. and entered St. Nazaire on June 24, 1941 at 9:30 a.m. The boat belonged to the "Kurfürst" group. No ships were sunk or damaged on this 35-day, 5,892 nm above and 223 nm underwater expedition in the North Atlantic, western Biscay , east of the Azores and south of Iceland.

Fourth venture

The boat left St. Nazaire on July 29, 1941 at 8:30 p.m. and returned there on September 7, 1941 at 8:05 p.m. U 73 returned to St. Nazaire on August 2, 1941 due to machine problems and left again on August 7, 1941. The boat belonged to the group "Greenland". No ships were sunk or damaged during this 37-day and 5,105.1 nm above and 416.2 nm underwater venture in the North Atlantic and southwest of Iceland.

Fifth venture

The boat left St. Nazaire on October 11, 1941 at 7:10 p.m. and returned there on November 11, 1941 at 11:38 a.m. No ships were sunk or damaged on this 31-day, 5,098 nm above and 269 nm underwater expedition in the North Atlantic.

Sixth venture

The boat left St. Nazaire on January 4, 1942 at 4:25 p.m. and entered La Spezia on February 12, 1942. No ships were sunk or damaged on this 39-day undertaking, during which the breakthrough through the Strait of Gibraltar and the switch to the Mediterranean Sea succeeded on January 14, 1942.

Seventh venture

The boat left La Spezia on March 16, 1942 at 1:38 p.m. and returned there on March 26, 1942 at 10.15 a.m. No ships were sunk or damaged on this ten-day venture in the eastern Mediterranean.

Eighth venture

HMS Eagle is sinking

The boat left La Spezia on August 4, 1942 at 11 a.m., and returned there on September 5, 1942 at 10:20 a.m. On this 32 day long and 5,236 nm over and 612 nm underwater operation in the western Mediterranean, an aircraft carrier with 22,600 t was sunk by four torpedoes. He belonged to convoy WS-21S .

  • August 11, 1942: Sinking of the British aircraft carrier HMS Eagle , killing 160 men and rescuing 790. ( Location )

Ninth venture

The boat left La Spezia on October 20, 1942 at 5:00 p.m. and returned there on November 19, 1942 at 9:40 a.m. On this 30-day and 4,428.3 nm over and 629.7 nm underwater expedition in the western Mediterranean and off the North African coast, a ship with 7,453 GRT was damaged.

  • November 14, 1942: Damage to the British steamer Lalande with 7,453 GRT. The steamer was damaged by a torpedo. He drove in ballast and was on the way from Algiers to Gibraltar . The ship belonged to the "Torch" convoy.

Tenth venture

The boat left La Spezia on December 1, 1942 at 1:00 a.m. and returned there on December 8, 1942 at 12:28 p.m. No ships were sunk or damaged on this eight-day, 1,297 nm over and 126.8 nm underwater expedition into the western Mediterranean.

Eleventh venture

The boat left La Spezia on December 22, 1942 at 10:14 p.m. and returned there on January 13, 1943 at 10:10 a.m. On this 22-day long and 2,569.2 nm over and 676.4 nm underwater venture into the western Mediterranean, a ship with 7,176 GRT sunk and an aircraft was shot down.

  • January 1, 1943: sinking of the American steamer Arthur Middleton with 7,176 GRT. The steamer was sunk by a torpedo. He had ammunition and 300 bags of mail on board, as well as the US landing craft USS LCT-21 (126 BRT), and was on his way from New York to Oran . The ship belonged to convoy UGS-3. There were 78 dead and three survivors.

Twelfth venture

The boat was launched on 12 June 1943 at 16.00 from La Spezia, and ran on July 1, 1943 at 10:25 in Toulon one. On this 19-day, 1,098.7 nm over and 759.2 nm underwater venture into the western Mediterranean, a ship with 1,598 GRT was sunk and a ship with 8,299 GRT was damaged.

  • June 21, 1943: sinking of the British steamer Brinkburn with 1,598 GRT. The steamer was sunk by two torpedoes. He had loaded military equipment and 800 tons of ammunition and was on the way from Swansea to Gibraltar and Philippeville ( Algeria ). The ship belonged to convoy TE-22 with 29 ships. There were 27 dead and two survivors.
  • June 27, 1943: Damage to the British tanker Abbeydale with 8,299 GRT. The tanker was damaged by a torpedo. He was on the way from Bône to Gibraltar. The ship belonged to convoy XTG-2.

Thirteenth venture

The boat left Toulon on August 2, 1943 at 9:55 p.m. and returned there on August 29, 1943 at 8:10 a.m. On this 27-day, 1,575.1 nm over and 866.1 nm underwater expedition in the western Mediterranean, no ships were sunk or damaged.

Fourteenth venture

The boat left Toulon on October 5, 1943 at 6.18 p.m., and returned there on October 30, 1943. No ships were sunk or damaged during this 25-day, 1,509.1 nm above and 713.7 nm underwater expedition into the western Mediterranean.

Fifteenth venture

The boat left Toulon on December 4, 1943 at 0.15 a.m. and was sunk off Oran on December 16, 1943. On this 13-day trip into the western Mediterranean and the Algerian coast, a ship with 7,176 GRT was damaged.

  • December 16, 1943: Damage to the US steamer John S. Copley with 7,176 GRT. The steamer was damaged by a torpedo. The ship belonged to the convoy GUS-24.

Whereabouts

On December 16, 1943, U 73 was forced to surface in the Mediterranean near Oran by depth charges and artillery from the US destroyers USS Niblack , USS Ludlow , USS Woolsey , USS Trippe , and USS Edison ; 16 crew members were killed. The boat was then sunk by the crew themselves at position 36 ° 7 '  N , 0 ° 50'  W in marine grid square CH 7665. The 34 survivors were taken on board as prisoners of war by the US destroyers Woolsey and Edison and brought to Oran. Here the second officer on watch managed to escape from captivity together with the second officer on watch from the submarine U 593, which was also sunk (where all 51 survived). The remaining 33 prisoners from U 73 were brought to Great Britain along with 50 men from U 593 .

U 73 did not lose any crew members during its service life prior to the sinking.

literature

  • Clay Blair : The Submarine War. Volume 1: The Hunters. 1939-1942. Heyne, Munich 1998, ISBN 3-453-12345-X .
  • Clay Blair: The Submarine War. Volume 2: The Hunted, 1942–1945. Heyne, Munich 1998, ISBN 3-453-16059-2 .
  • Robert M. Browning Jr .: US Merchant Vessel War casualties of World War II. Naval Institute Press, Annapolis MD 1996, ISBN 1-55750-087-8 .
  • 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 3: German submarine successes from September 1939 to May 1945. ES Mittler und Sohn, Hamburg et al. 2001, ISBN 3-8132-0513-4 .
  • 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 .
  • Rainer Busch, Hans-Joachim Röll: The submarine war 1939-1945. Volume 5: The knight's cross bearers of the submarine weapon from September 1939 to May 1945. ES Mittler and Son, Hamburg et al. 2003, ISBN 3-8132-0515-0 .
  • Erich Gröner : Die Handelsflotten der Welt 1942 and supplement 1944. JF Lehmanns Verlag, Munich 1976, ISBN 3-469-00552-4 (reprint of the 1942–1943 edition).
  • Erich Gröner: Search list for ship names (= The merchant fleets of the world. Supplementary volume). JF Lehmanns Verlag Munich 1976, ISBN 3-469-00553-2 (reprint of the 1943 edition).

Web links

Notes and individual references

  1. ^ Georg Högel: Emblems, coats of arms, Malings German submarines 1939-1945. 5th edition. Koehlers Verlagsgesellschaft mbH, Hamburg 2009, ISBN 978-3-7822-1002-7 , page 50

See also

Web links