U 87 (Navy)

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U 87 (Kriegsmarine)
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Type : VII B
Field Post Number : M 00 111
Shipyard: Flender-Werke , Lübeck
Construction contract: June 9, 1938
Build number: 283
Keel laying: April 18, 1940
Launch: June 21, 1941
Commissioning: August 19, 1941
Commanders:

August 19, 1941 - March 4, 1943
Lieutenant Captain Joachim Berger

Calls: 5 activities
Sinkings:

5 ships (38,014 GRT)

Whereabouts: sunk in the Atlantic on March 4, 1943

U 87 was a German submarine of type VII B , which in World War II by the German navy was used.

history

The order for the boat was placed on June 9, 1938 by the Flender works in Lübeck . The keel was laid on April 18, 1940, the launch on June 21, 1941, the commissioning under Oberleutnant zur See Joachim Berger finally took place on August 19, 1941.

After its commissioning on August 19, 1941, the boat belonged to the 6th U-Flotilla in Danzig and St. Nazaire as a training and front boat until it was sunk on March 4, 1943 .

Commander Berger ran out with U 87 during his service time on five operations, on which he sank five ships with a total tonnage of 38,014  GRT .

Use statistics

First venture

The boat was launched on December 24, 1941 at 22:45 from Kiel and ran at 9:24 pm on January 29, 1942 La Pallice one. On this 37-day trip, the boat covered 5,106.3 nm above and 293.2 nm under water. The company led U 87 to the western Atlantic , to the Newfoundland Bank and west of the Hebrides and the Faroe Islands . Commander Berger sank two ships with 16,324 GRT. U 87 belonged to the “Ziethen” submarine group, which was supposed to seek combat with allied convoys in accordance with the pack tactics developed by Karl Dönitz .

  • January 17, 1942: sinking of the Norwegian tanker Nyholt ( Lage ) with 8,087 GRT. The tanker was sunk by three torpedoes and artillery ( Berger needed eight torpedoes to sink the ship, three hits and five missed shots). He drove in ballast and was on his way from Reykjavík to New York . There were 20 dead and 24 survivors.

Second venture

The boat left La Pallice on February 22, 1942 at 1.30 p.m. and entered St. Nazaire on March 27, 1942 at 2:30 p.m. On this 34-day undertaking, U covered 87 and 4,849.7 nm above and 332.6 nm under water. No ships were sunk or damaged during this venture in the North Atlantic , west of the Hebrides and the Faroe Islands.

Third company

The boat left St. Nazaire on May 19, 1942 at 7:12 p.m., and returned there on July 8, 1942 at 6:08 a.m. On this 50-day undertaking, the boat covered 6,362 nm above and 671 nm under water. The boat laid six TMC mines off Boston and patrolled the west Atlantic and the US east coast. Commander Berger sank two ships with 14,298 GRT there.

  • June 16, 1942: sinking of the American steamer Cherokee ( Lage ) with 5,896 GRT. The steamer was sunk with a torpedo. He had 350 tons of sand ballast and 46 passengers on board and was on the way from Halifax to Boston. The ship belonged to convoy XB-25. 66 crew members and 20 passengers were killed, 57 crew members and 26 passengers were rescued.
  • June 16, 1942: sinking of the British steamer Port Nicholson ( Lage ) with 8,402 GRT. The steamer was sunk by two torpedoes. He had loaded 1,600 tons of auto parts and 4,000 tons of military equipment and was on his way from Avonmouth, Barry via Halifax to New York and Panama to Wellington . The ship belonged to convoy XB-25. There were four dead and 83 survivors.

Fourth venture

The boat left St. Nazaire on August 31, 1942 at 1.30 p.m. and entered Brest on November 20, 1942 at 9:58 a.m. The boat was supplied with 45 m³ of fuel and provisions by U 460 on September 26, 1942 , and on November 4, 1942 by U 462 with 28 m³ of fuel and provisions. On this 81 day long and 11,511 nm above and 982 nm underwater expedition in the North Atlantic, west of Lisbon , the Central Atlantic and in front of Freetown , a ship with 7,392 GRT was sunk. U 87 belonged to the submarine group with the code name "Iltis".

  • October 11, 1942: sinking of the British steamer Agapenor with 7,392 GRT. The steamer was sunk by three torpedoes. He had loaded 6,500 tons of general cargo and 750 tons of copper and was on his way from Karachi via Cape Town and Freetown to Great Britain. There were seven dead and 88 survivors.

Fifth venture

The boat left Brest on January 9, 1943 at 3 p.m. and was sunk on March 4, 1943. It was supplied with 30 m³ of fuel and provisions by U 118 on February 14, 1943 , and again on February 26, 1943 by U 461 . No ships were sunk or damaged during this 54-day undertaking. U 87 belonged to the group with the code name "Delphin".

Whereabouts

The boat was on March 4, 1943 in the Atlantic Ocean west of Lexoes ( Portugal ) on Convoy KMS-10 by depth charges of the Canadian destroyer HMCS St. Croix and the Canadian corvette HMCS Shediac at position 41 ° 36 '  N , 13 ° 31'  W in the Navy - Recessed plan square CG 1543. It was a total loss with 49 dead.

literature

  • Clay Blair : The Submarine War. Volume 1: The Hunters. 1939-1942. Heyne, Munich 1998, ISBN 3-453-12345-X .
  • Clay Blair: The Submarine War. Volume 2: The Hunted, 1942–1945. Heyne, Munich 1998, ISBN 3-453-16059-2 .
  • 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 .
  • 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 .
  • Rainer Busch, Hans-Joachim Röll: The submarine war 1939-1945. Volume 4: German submarine losses from September 1939 to May 1945. ES Mittler und Sohn, Hamburg et al. 1999, ISBN 3-8132-0514-2 .
  • Rainer Busch, Hans-Joachim Röll: The submarine war 1939-1945. Volume 5: The knight's cross bearers of the submarine weapon from September 1939 to May 1945. ES Mittler and Son, Hamburg et al. 2003, ISBN 3-8132-0515-0 .
  • Erich Gröner : Die Handelsflotten der Welt 1942 and supplement 1944. JF Lehmanns Verlag, Munich 1976, ISBN 3-469-00552-4 (reprint of the 1942–1943 edition).
  • Erich Gröner: Search list for ship names (= The merchant fleets of the world. Supplementary volume). JF Lehmanns Verlag Munich 1976, ISBN 3-469-00553-2 (reprint of the 1943 edition).
  • Paul Kemp: The German and Austrian submarine losses in both world wars. Urbes Verlag, Graefelfing before Munich 1998, ISBN 3-924896-43-7 .

See also

Web links