U 878
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U 878 ( previous / next - all submarines ) |
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|---|---|
| Type : | IX C / 40 |
| Field Post Number : | 00 518 |
| Shipyard: | Deschimag AG Weser , Bremen |
| Construction contract: | April 2, 1942 |
| Build number: | 1586 |
| Keel laying: | June 16, 1943 |
| Launch: | January 6, 1944 |
| Commissioning: | April 14, 1944 |
| Commanders: |
Johannes Rodig |
| Flotilla: |
|
| Calls: | Two ventures |
| Sinkings: |
no ships sunk or damaged |
| Whereabouts: | Sunk with depth charges on April 10, 1945 southwest of Ireland |
U 878 was a submarine of type IX C / 40 , which the Navy during the Second World War in the North Atlantic was used.
Technical specifications
Deschimag AG Weser has been involved in building up the German submarine fleet since 1934. Originally intended for the construction of boats of the large type IA , which was little appreciated by Dönitz , the shipyard - in addition to two boats of this class - produced six boats of the smaller type VII by 1937 . During this time, the shipyard was already commissioned to build the larger Type IX boats, which the Deschimag shipyard eventually specialized in manufacturing and 113 of which were delivered to the Navy by the end of the war. The Type IX C / 40 designed for overseas use was a two-hulled boat that was 76 m long and 6.84 m in diameter. It reached a speed of 18.3 knots when sailing above water and drove a maximum of 7.5 knots under water.
The boat was put into service on April 14, 1944 by Lieutenant Johannes Rodig and transferred to the Baltic Sea for training . Commander Rodig had previously served as an officer on watch on destroyers and completed his submarine training in 1943. U 878 was his first submarine command.
Like most German submarines of its time, the U 878 also had a boat-specific sign that was displayed on the tower . It was a rear view of a stylized rabbit behind cage wire.
Commitment and history
U 878 was subordinate to the 4th U-Flotilla until January 1945 . During this time, Commander Rodig undertook training trips in the Baltic Sea to retract the boat and train the crew.
On January 30, 1945 the boat left Kiel for its first venture. This led the boat first to Horten and from there to Saint-Nazaire . At the end of March, U 878 brought supplies to the French port city that was enclosed by the Allied troops and that the Wehrmacht had declared a so-called "fortress". On April 6, the boat left Saint-Nazaire again.
Sinking
U 878 was sunk on April 10, 1945 southwest of Ireland by the British destroyer HMS Vanquisher with depth charges. All 51 crew members died in the sinking.
literature
- Rainer Busch, Hans-Joachim Röll: The submarine war 1939-1945. Volume 2: Submarine construction in German shipyards. ES Mittler and Son, Hamburg / Berlin / Bonn 1997, pp. 149, 211. ISBN 3-8132-0512-6 .
Notes and individual references
- ↑ Bodo Herzog: German U-Boats 1906–1966 , Karl Müller Verlag, Erlangen 1996, ISBN 3-86070-036-7 . Page 199
- ↑ Rainer Busch, Hans-Joachim Röll: The U-Boat War 1939-1945. Volume 1: The German submarine commanders. ES Mittler and Son, Hamburg 1997. ISBN 3-8132-0490-1 . Page 194
- ^ 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. 153.
- ↑ Axel Niestlé: German U-Boat Losses during World War II. Details of Destruction , Frontline Books, London 2014, ISBN 978-1-84832-210-3 , page 132