U 848
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U 848 ( previous / next - all submarines ) |
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.jpg) U 848 during the attack by American bombers |
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| Type : | IX D2 |
| Field Post Number : | M 50 593 |
| Shipyard: | AG Weser , Bremen |
| Construction contract: | January 20, 1941 |
| Build number: | 1054 |
| Keel laying: | January 6, 1942 |
| Launch: | October 6, 1942 |
| Commissioning: | February 20, 1943 |
| Commanders: |
February 20, 1943 - November 5, 1943 |
| Calls: | 1 patrol |
| Sinkings: |
1 merchant ship (4573 GRT) with 62 dead |
| Whereabouts: | sunk on November 5, 1943 in the South Atlantic southwest of Ascension (63 dead, no survivors) |
U 848 was a German submarine of the type IX D2 of the Kriegsmarine in the Second World War . It was able to sink a British merchant ship with 4573 GRT on its only patrol, killing all 62 men. It was sunk by US planes on November 5, 1943, killing the entire 63-strong crew - including a man who drifted on a lifeboat for four weeks.
history
The order for this boat was awarded to AG Weser in Bremen on January 20, 1941 . On January 6, 1942, was there on keel laid. The launch took place on October 6, 1942. On February 20, 1943, U 848 was put into service under Corvette Captain Wilhelm Rollmann. At the beginning of the war, Rollmann had commanded U 34 and received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross for his successes on July 31, 1940 . He was thus an experienced submarine commander.
U 848 was a training boat for the 4th U-Flotilla in Stettin until July 31, 1943 . After that it was assigned as a front boat to the 12th U-Flotilla in Bordeaux until it was sunk . The boat had a drawing depicting a globe as a coat of arms. The Latin words "et quo volverunt!"
commitment
On September 18, 1943, U 848 ran out of Kiel on its only patrol. The destination was Penang in Malaysia . This was the base of the monsoon boats . On November 2, 1943, the British freighter Baron Semple ( Lage ) was sunk by a torpedo in the South Atlantic, killing all 62 men on board. U 848 reported success. The radio message, however, was aligned by the Allies.
Sinking
On November 5, 1943, the boat was attacked by three American B-24 Liberators and two B-25 Mitchell . After U 848 was able to repel several attacks, it was finally sunk with depth charges ( Lage ). About 20 survivors were observed after sinking in the water. However, after four weeks on a life raft, only the chief helmsman Hans Schade was recovered from the American cruiser USS Marblehead on December 3, 1943 and brought to Recife . However, he died on December 5, 1943 in a Brazilian hospital. All 63 crew members were killed, including the commander who was promoted to frigate captain on November 1, 1943 .
Web links
- German submarines 1935–1945, U 848
- U-848, Uboat.net
- U-118, Uboatarchive.net: Report by OP-16-Z LTJG Robert J. Mullen on the brief interrogation of Oberbootsmann Hans Schade the lone survivor of U-848
literature
- Paul Kemp: The German and Austrian submarine losses in both world wars. Urbes Verlag, Graefelfing before Munich 1998, ISBN 3-924896-43-7 .
- Georg Högel: Emblems, coats of arms, Maling's German submarines 1939–1945. 4th edition. Koehler, Hamburg 2001, ISBN 3-7822-0826-9 .
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