U 772
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U 772 ( previous / next - all submarines ) |
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|---|---|
 Flotilla sign 10th submarine flotilla, sign of the boat |
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| Type : | VII C |
| Field Post Number : | 14 151 |
| Shipyard: | Kriegsmarine shipyard Wilhelmshaven |
| Construction contract: | November 21, 1940 |
| Build number: | 155 |
| Keel laying: | September 21, 1942 |
| Launch: | October 31, 1943 |
| Commissioning: | December 23, 1943 |
| Commanders: |
Ewald Rademacher |
| Flotilla: |
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| Calls: | 2 activities |
| Sinkings: |
no |
| Whereabouts: | Sunk south of Ireland on December 17, 1944 |
U 772 was a German type VII C submarine, a so-called "Atlantic boat ". It was used by the German Navy during the submarine war, among other things for weather observation.
Technical specifications
The Kriegsmarinewerft in Wilhelmshaven was mainly responsible for equipping warships and was not included in the German submarine building program until 1942. The shipyard was intended for an annual output of 12 boats. This production goal was never achieved. The Kriegsmarinewerft delivered a total of 27 Type VII C boats to the Kriegsmarine by 1945. The two diesel engines of such submarines achieved a speed of 17 knots when traveling above water , while two electric motors propelled the boat to a speed of 7 knots when traveling underwater. The armament of the VII C-Boats until 1944 consisted of an 8.8 cm cannon and a 2 cm flak on deck, as well as four bow torpedo tubes and a stern torpedo tube. Usually a VII C-boat carried 14 torpedoes with it.
Most of the German submarines of its time had their own symbols or coats of arms, which represented the respective unit and were worn by the crew on caps or boats . U 772 did not have an individual symbol, but the flotilla symbol of the 10th U-Flotilla.
Mission history
U 772 was subordinated to the 31st U-Flotilla as a training boat until July 31, 1943 . Then it came to the 9th U-Flotilla . On August 3, 1943, the boat left Kiel and arrived two days later at the base in Horten, Norway . From here the boat moved to Drontheim in the middle of the month . In October U 772 was assigned to the 10th U-Flotilla .
Weather boat
The weather situation in Europe depends largely on the meteorological processes in the Arctic region . Corresponding findings were of considerable importance for military planning, but were difficult to obtain from ships that exposed themselves to considerable danger in view of the Allied air security. Therefore, submarines were used by the Kriegsmarine for weather observation. In the summer of 1944, the U 772 recorded temperatures and data on wind levels as a weather boat in the North Atlantic . The trip lasted from August 12 to October 6, 1944.
Loss of the boat
U 772 left Drontheim on November 19 for another company. Commander Rademacher was to patrol off Cherbourg , and, if the sea area there seemed too little promising to him, walk the coast off Milford Haven . U 772 was one of 25 German submarines that were dispatched to the English Channel and the Irish Sea in October and November to disrupt the Allied shipping traffic in this area of the sea. One in three of the boats used in this case was lost in this action, including U 772 : The boat was on December 17, 1944 south of Cork from the patrol frigate HMS Nyasaland with depth charges sunk.
The previous assumption that U 772 was only lost at the end of the month and that Commander Rademacher sank two ships with 6685 GRT on the 23rd and damaged two ships with 14367 GRT on the 29th is now considered to be outdated.
Individual evidence
- ^ Georg Högel: Emblems, coats of arms, Maling's German submarines 1939-1945. Koehlers Verlagsgesellschaft, Hamburg 2009, ISBN 978-3-7822-1002-7 , page 146
- ↑ Clay Blair : The Submarine War. Volume 2: The Hunted, 1942–1945. Heyne, Munich 1999, ISBN 3-453-16059-2 , pages 739-740
- ↑ Axel Niestle: German U-Boat Losses during World War II. Details of Destruction, Frotline Books, London 2014, ISBN 978-1-84832-210-3 , page 88
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 .
- 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 .