| German submarine U-116 (1941) | |
|---|---|
| Career |  |
| Name: | U-116 |
| Ordered: | 31 January 1939 |
| Builder: | Friedrich Krupp Germaniawerft, Kiel |
| Yard number: | 615 |
| Laid down: | 1 July 1939 |
| Launched: | 3 May 1941[1] |
| Commissioned: | 26 July 1941[2] |
| Fate: | Presumed sunk after 6 October 1942[2] |
| General characteristics [3] | |
| Class & type: | Type XB submarine minelayer |
| Displacement: |
1,763 long tons (1,791 t) surfaced 2,177 long tons (2,212 t) submerged |
| Length: |
89.80 m (294 ft 7 in) o/a 70.90 m (232 ft 7 in) pressure hull |
| Beam: |
9.20 m (30 ft 2 in) o/a 4.75 m (15 ft 7 in) pressure hull |
| Height: | 10.20 m (33 ft 6 in) |
| Draught: | 4.71 m (15 ft 5 in) |
| Propulsion: |
2 × diesel engines, 4,800 hp (3,600 kW) 2 × electric motors, 1,100 hp (820 kW) |
| Speed: |
17 knots (31 km/h; 20 mph) surfaced 7 knots (13 km/h; 8.1 mph) submerged |
| Range: |
18,450 nmi (34,170 km) at 10 kn (19 km/h) surfaced 93 nmi (172 km) at 4 kn (7.4 km/h) submerged |
| Test depth: | Calculated crush depth: 220 m (720 ft) |
| Complement: | 48-60 men |
| Armament: |
• 2 × 53.3 cm (21 in) stern torpedo tubes • 15 × G7e torpedoes • 66 × SMA mines • 1 × 10.5 cm SK C/32 naval gun[4] (200 rounds) |
| Service record[5][6] | |
|---|---|
| Part of: |
2nd U-boat Flotilla (26 July 1941–31 January 1942) 1st U-boat Flotilla (1 February 1942–6 October 1942) |
| Commanders: |
KrvKpt. Werner von Schmidt (26 July 1941–10 September 1942) Oblt. Wilhelm Grimme (11 September 1942–6 October 1942) |
| Operations: |
Four 1st patrol: 25 April–5 May 1942 2nd patrol: 16 May–9 June 1942 3rd patrol: 27 June–23 August 1942 4th patrol: 22 September–6 October 1942 |
| Victories: |
One commercial ship sunk (4,284 GRT) One commercial ship damaged (7,093 GRT) |
German submarine U-116 was a Type XB minelaying U-boat of the Nazi German Kriegsmarine during World War II.
She was ordered on 31 January 1939 and laid down on 1 July at Germaniawerft, Kiel, as 'werk 615'. She was launched on 3 May 1941 and commissioned under the command of Korvettenkapitän Werner von Schmidt on 26 July of that year.[5]
Service history
1st patrol
After a period of training as part of the 2nd U-boat Flotilla, U-116 was assigned to the front-line as part of the 1st U-boat Flotilla on 1 February 1942.[5] She sailed from Kiel on 4 April 1942, bound for Bergen, Norway, via Heligoland, and departed Bergen on 25 April, circling the British Isles before arriving at Lorient in occupied France, on 5 May.[7]
2nd patrol
U-116 sailed from Lorient on 16 May 1942 on a patrol to the mid-Atlantic lasting 25 days, arriving back at her homeport on 9 June, without any success.[8]
3rd patrol
U-116 was more successful on her third patrol which took her south to the coast of West Africa, attacking Convoy OS-33 south of the Azores on 12 July 1942. Soon after midnight she fired one torpedo at the 7,093 ton merchant ship Cortona, causing some damage; although the ship was then sunk by U-201.[9] Nine hours later U-116 fired two torpedoes into the 4,284 ton British merchant ship Shaftesbury, which sank in 15 minutes.[10] The U-boat returned to Lorient on 23 August, after 58 days at sea.[11]
4th patrol
For her fourth patrol, U-116 sailed under the command of Oberleutnant zur See Wilhelm Grimme. Leaving Lorient on 22 September 1942,[12] she sent her last radio message on 6 October whilst in the North Atlantic at position 45°00′N 31°30′W / 45°N 31.5°WCoordinates: 45°00′N 31°30′W / 45°N 31.5°W, and was never heard from again. 56 men were lost with her.[2][5]
References
- Notes
- ↑ Kemp, Paul: U-Boats Destroyed, German Submarine Losses in the World Wars. 1997. pp. 92-93. Arms and Armour. ISBN 1-85409-515-3
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Kemp, pp. 92-93.
- ↑ "Type XB Mine-laying boats - German U-boat Types of WWII - uboat.net". uboat.net. http://uboat.net/types/xb.htm. Retrieved 2009-12-20.
- ↑ Campbell, John Naval Weapons of World War Two ISBN 0-87021-459-4 pp.248&249
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 "The Type XB boat U-116 - German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net". uboat.net. http://uboat.net/boats/u116.htm. Retrieved 2009-12-20.
- ↑ "War Patrols by German U-boat U-116 - Boats - uboat.net". uboat.net. http://uboat.net/boats/patrols/u116.html. Retrieved 2009-12-20.
- ↑ "Patrol of U-boat U-116 from 25 Apr 1942 to 5 May 1942 - U-boat patrols - uboat.net". uboat.net. http://uboat.net/boats/patrols/patrol_3767.html. Retrieved 2009-12-20.
- ↑ "Patrol of U-boat U-116 from 16 May 1942 to 9 Jun 1942 - U-boat patrols - uboat.net". uboat.net. http://uboat.net/boats/patrols/patrol_3768.html. Retrieved 2009-12-20.
- ↑ "Cortona (Steam merchant) - Ships hit by U-boats - uboat.net". uboat.net. http://uboat.net/allies/merchants/ships/1924.html. Retrieved 2009-12-20.
- ↑ "Shaftesbury (Steam merchant) - Ships hit by U-boats - uboat.net". uboat.net. http://uboat.net/allies/merchants/ships/1921.html. Retrieved 2009-12-20.
- ↑ "Patrol of U-boat U-116 from 27 Jun 1942 to 23 Aug 1942 - U-boat patrols - uboat.net". uboat.net. http://uboat.net/boats/patrols/patrol_3769.html. Retrieved 2009-12-20.
- ↑ "Patrol of U-boat U-116 from 22 Sep 1942 to 6 Oct 1942 - U-boat patrols - uboat.net". uboat.net. http://uboat.net/boats/patrols/patrol_3770.html. Retrieved 2009-12-20.
- Bibliography
External links
- U-116 at u-boot-archiv.de (German)
See also
| This page uses Creative Commons Licensed content from Wikipedia (view authors). |
