U 7 (Navy)
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U 7 (Kriegsmarine) ( previous / next - all submarines ) |
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| Type : | II B |
| Field Post Number : | M-16723 |
| Shipyard: | Germania shipyard , Kiel |
| Construction contract: | July 20, 1934 |
| Build number: | 541 |
| Keel laying: | March 11, 1935 |
| Launch: | June 29, 1935 |
| Commissioning: | July 18, 1935 |
| Commanders: |
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| Calls: | 6 patrols |
| Sinkings: |
2 ships (4,524 GRT) |
| Whereabouts: | In a diving accident in the northwest of the February 18, 1944 Pillau dropped |
U 7 was a German submarine from Type II B , which in the Second World War by the Navy was used.
history
The building contract for the boat was awarded to the Germania shipyard in Kiel on July 20, 1934 . The keel was laid on March 11, 1935, the launch on June 19, 1935, the commissioning under Lieutenant Kurt Freiwald on July 18, 1935.
After the commissioning, the boat belonged to the U-Flotilla "Weddigen" in Kiel until 1937 as a service boat or reserve boat . Then it served as a school boat for the school association of the U-Schule and the U-Bootschulflotilla in Kiel until September 1939 , and later in Neustadt . During the attack on Poland in September and October 1939 it was used again as a front boat, and then again until February 1940 as a school boat for the submarine school flotilla. At the Weser Exercise Company - the occupation of Norway - it was used again as a front boat from March 1940 to May 1940. Then it returned to the U-Boat School Flotilla in Neustadt , which was then renamed the 21st U-Flotilla and relocated to Pillau on July 1, 1940 . It served there until February 18, 1944.
U 7 undertook six patrols during its service , on which it was able to sink two ships with a total tonnage of 4,524 GRT .
Mission history
First patrol
The boat left Neustadt on August 24, 1939 at 4:30 a.m. and entered Kiel on September 8, 1939 . No ships were sunk or damaged on this fifteen-day venture during the attack on Poland in the Baltic Sea and the Kattegat .
Second patrol
The boat left Kiel on September 18, 1939 at 10:00 a.m. and returned there on October 3, 1939 at 2:30 p.m. On this 16-day expedition off southern Norway , a ship with 2,694 GRT was sunk and another ship with 1,830 GRT was so badly damaged that it is considered a total loss:
- September 22, 1939: Sinking of the British steamer Akenside (2,694 GRT) ( location ) by a torpedo . He had loaded about 2,000 tons of coal and was on the way from Blyth to Bergen . The 26 crew members were rescued by the Norwegian torpedo boat Storm and the lighthouse keeper's boat on the island of Store Marstein .
- September 29, 1939: sinking approximately ten nautical miles from the lighthouse marstein lighthouse from the Norwegian steamer Takstaas (1830 BRT) ( position ) by a torpedo and artillery . The ship had loaded wood and was on its way from Sundsvall in Sweden to Antwerp and London . The freighter was ordered to stop by a warning shot from the 20 mm cannon. Since it could be seen from the shipping documents that the ship was on its way to England, the submarine commander gave the crew 20 minutes to get into the lifeboats . At 8:55 a.m. the ship was fired at with a torpedo, but it continued to float because the cargo was made of lumber. Even the bombardment with the on-board gun below the waterline did not cause the ship to sink and had to be canceled when a Norwegian aircraft appeared and forced the submarine to submerge. The two lifeboats were found by the Norwegian torpedo boat Storm and towed to Sund . The ship was supposed to be towed by a Norwegian tug , but it broke in two. The foredeck sank, but the stern section with a large part of the cargo was salvaged.
Third patrol
The boat left Wilhelmshaven on March 3, 1940 at 10:43 a.m. and returned there on March 8, 1940 at 4:25 p.m. No ships were sunk or damaged during this six-day and approximately 580 nm above and 80 nm underwater expedition into the North Sea .
Fourth patrol
The boat left Wilhelmshaven on March 14, 1940 at 2:15 p.m. and entered Kiel on March 19, 1940 at 6:10 p.m. No ships were sunk or damaged during this six-day, 672-nm over and 97-nm-long submarine hunt in the North Sea.
Fifth patrol
The boat left Wilhelmshaven on April 3, 1940 at 1:00 p.m. and entered Kiel on April 21, 1940 at 5:00 p.m. ( Weser Exercise Company ). No ships were sunk or damaged on this 25-day and approximately 1,500 nm long trip around the Shetland or Orkney Islands .
Sixth patrol
The boat left Kiel on May 7, 1940 at 0:30 a.m. and entered Wilhelmshaven on May 18, 1940 at 11:45 p.m. No ships were sunk or damaged during this twelve-day, 942.5 nm under and 160.5 nm overwater expedition into the North Sea off the Dutch coast.
Seventh patrol
U 7, under Lieutenant Karl Schrott, left Wilhelmshaven on May 16, 1940. Just one day later the boat had to break off the operation in the North Sea due to a broken crankshaft. After entering Helgoland, the boat had to be towed to Wilhelmshaven. After 2 days, U 7 ran back into Wilhelmshaven on May 18, 1940.
Whereabouts
U 7 sank on February 18, 1944 as a school boat near Pillau in the Baltic Sea in a diving accident. It dived at 9:30 a.m. and did not come back to the surface at the agreed time at 11:00 a.m. Presumably there was a water ingress at a depth of 108 meters. The position was 54 ° 52 '0 " N , 19 ° 29' 8" O , marine-grid square AO 8583. It was a total loss of 28 dead.
Web links
- Data from U 7 at uboat.net (English)
Map with all coordinates: