U 850
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U 850 ( previous / next - all submarines ) |
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| Type : | IX D2 |
| Field Post Number : | M-41 858 |
| Shipyard: | AG Weser , Bremen |
| Construction contract: | January 20, 1941 |
| Build number: | 1056 |
| Keel laying: | March 17, 1942 |
| Launch: | December 7, 1942 |
| Commissioning: | April 17, 1943 |
| Commanders: |
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| Flotilla: |
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| Calls: | an enterprise |
| Sinkings: |
No |
| Whereabouts: | Sunk in an air raid on December 20, 1943 in the mid-Atlantic west of Madeira . |
U 850 was a submarine of the large type IX D2 , also called "ocean boat" or "remote submarine", which was usedby the German navy in the submarine warfare during the Second World War . U 850 belonged to the Monsun group and was supposed tooperatein the Indian Ocean , but was sunk before it could reach the operational area.
history
U 850 was commissioned from Bremer AG Weser on January 20, 1941 together with five other boats ( U 848 to U 852 ) . The keel-laying of the boat under the temporary designation "Neubau 1056" began on March 17, 1942, and it was launched on December 7 of the same year. The commissioning, after the remaining equipment under Korvettenkapitän , later frigate captain and posthumously sea captain Klaus Ewerth, formerly in command of U 1 , U 26 , U 35 and U 36 , took place on April 17, 1943. U 850 had a four-leaf clover as the boat's coat of arms and each of the leaves had the number "25". According to his son, Captain Hannes Ewerth, Klaus carried this clover leaf as a lucky charm on the U 26 and U 850 .
commitment
1. Company
The boat left the naval base in Kiel on November 18, 1943 at 7:00 a.m. and reached Kristiansand two days later , where a few more provisions and fuel were added. Then U 850 should join the Monsun group and then call at the Penang base . The monsoon boats operated from Southeast Asian ports that were occupied by Japanese troops. On his 31-day long undertaking, Ewerth, who had previously sunk 4 ships with a total tonnage of 21,699 GRT during the war, could not sink or damage any ships.
loss
The boat was sighted on the surface of the water on December 20, 1943 by the American Avenger torpedo bomber T-18 of the US Navy Squadron VC-19, flown by HG Bradshaw, and attacked with depth charges and Fido target search torpedoes. The acoustic target search torpedoes hit the stern of the U 850 after a short time , whereupon the boat sank. The Avenger T-18 was stationed on the escort carrier USS Bogue . U 850 was a total loss with 66 dead. The wreck is located at 37 ° 54 'N / 37 ° 01' W in the former naval grid square DF 3731.
literature
- 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 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Georg Högel: Emblems, coats of arms, Malings German submarines 1939-1945. 5th edition. Koehlers Verlagsgesellschaft mbH, Hamburg 2009, ISBN 978-3-7822-1002-7 , p. 150.
- ↑ Hannes Ewerth was from January 21, 1971 to September 30, 1973 the 5th commander of the 1st submarine squadron of the German Navy . After the documentary "Lost in the North Sea", which tells the story of U-Hai , Hannes Ewerth also tells the story of how he wanted to become a submarine commander. Klaus Ewerth and U 850 are also mentioned in this documentation .