U 925
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U 925 ( previous / next - all submarines ) |
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|---|---|
| Type : | VII C |
| Field Post Number : | 43 854 |
| Shipyard: | Neptun shipyard in Rostock |
| Construction contract: | August 25, 1941 |
| Build number: | 512 |
| Keel laying: | June 15, 1942 |
| Launch: | November 6, 1943 |
| Commissioning: | December 30, 1943 |
| Commanders: |
First Lieutenant Helmuth Knoke |
| Flotilla: |
|
| Calls: | 1 patrol |
| Sinkings: |
no |
| Whereabouts: | missing in the North Atlantic since August 1944 |
U 925 was a German type VII C submarine . This class of submarines was also called "Atlantic boat". It was used by the Kriegsmarine during the submarine war .
Technical specifications
U 925 was the last of a total of 188 VII C-boats that were put into service in 1943. The Neptun shipyard was only involved in the submarine building program from 1941. Initially, an annual output of six boats was planned, but this was never achieved. In the summer of 1943 it was then decided - after completing the previous orders - to stop building submarines at this shipyard. The Neptun shipyard completed a total of ten submarines, two of the type VII C / 41 and eight of the type VII C. This model, powered by two diesel engines , reached a speed of 19 knots when traveling above water and was able to use the two under water Electric motors drive 8 knots. However, the power of the batteries only allowed this top speed for underwater travel for an hour. At a lower speed, the boat could theoretically travel underwater for up to three days. A dive of this length could of course not be expected of the crew, because the air in the Type VII C boats was already very exhausted after 24 hours. This was also the usual interval for charging the batteries by generators during a surface voyage.
Snorkel boat
U 925 had a so-called snorkel, a ventilation hose that was suspended from a fold-out mast and had a float at the upper end that was supposed to keep the snorkel outlet above water. The snorkel ensured the removal of diesel gases as well as the supply of fresh air to enable longer underwater journeys.
commander
- December 20, 1943 to August 18, 1944
Helmuth Knoke was born on August 11, 1906 in Trier . He completed his submarine training from March to September 1942 and then went on as an officer on watch on U 462 . In June of the same year he disembarked to take part in further courses with the 12th U-Flotilla and the 23rd U-Flotilla . Following this, Helmuth Knoke was promoted to first lieutenant at sea in November . After the building instruction , he took command of U 925 in the winter of 1943 .
Commitment and history
U 925 did not undertake any patrols during its service. After a few practice trips in the Baltic Sea, it was finally used as a weather boat.
Weather boat
Such missions were based on the fact that the weather situation in Europe depends largely on the meteorological processes in the Arctic region. The tasks of such boats included the determination of temperatures and weather observations, from which the current and expected weather conditions could be derived to support further operational planning of the Navy.
Sinking
On August 24, U 925 left Kristiansand for a weather boat mission in the North Atlantic . From then on, the boat no longer reported and no sightings were reported. U 925 is therefore considered lost. Possible cause could be a diving accident due to human error or technical defects or a collision with a floating mine .
literature
- Clay Blair : The Submarine War. Volume 2: The Hunted, 1942–1945. Heyne, Munich 1999, 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 .
- Paul Kemp: The German and Austrian submarine losses in both world wars. Urbes Verlag, Graefelfing before Munich 1998, ISBN 3-924896-43-7 .