| German submarine U-219 | |
|---|---|
| Career (Germany) |  |
| Name: | U-219 |
| Ordered: | 6 August 1940 |
| Builder: | Germaniawerft, Kiel |
| Laid down: | 31 May 1941 |
| Launched: | 6 October 1942 |
| Commissioned: | 12 December 1942 |
| Captured: | Seized by Imperial Japanese Navy at Jakarta, 8 May 1945 |
| Career (Japan) |  |
| Name: | I-505 |
| Acquired: | 8 May 1945 |
| Commissioned: | 15 July 1945 |
| Fate: |
Surrendered at Jakarta, 1945 Broken up, 1948 |
| General characteristics [1] | |
| 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 to 60 officers and ratings |
| 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[2] (200 rounds) |
| Service record[3][4] | |
|---|---|
| Part of: |
Kriegsmarine 4th U-boat Flotilla (12 December 1942–30 June 1943) 12th U-boat Flotilla (1 July 1943–30 September 1944) 33rd U-boat Flotilla (1 October 1944–8 May 1945) |
| Commanders: |
KrvKpt. Walter Burghagen (12 December 1944–8 May 1945) |
| Operations: |
Two: 1st patrol: 22 October 1943–1 January 1944 2nd patrol: 23 August–11 December 1944 |
| Victories: | None |
German submarine U-219 was a Type XB submarine of the German Kriegsmarine during World War II.
The U-boat was laid down on 31 May 1941 at the Germaniawerft yard at Kiel as 'werk' 625, launched on 6 October 1942, and commissioned on 12 December 1942 under the command of Korvettenkapitän Walter Burghagen.
Operational history[]
1st patrol[]
It first ventured through the South Atlantic with the second Monsun Gruppe to the Indian Ocean in late 1943, having first rounded the British Isles and headed in a southerly direction west of Ireland. Upon reaching Penang, this group of U-boats became part of 33rd U-boat Flotilla, which also comprised U-848, U-849, U-850, U-177, and U-510.
U-219's mission had been to lay mines off Cape Town and Colombo, but when the group's U-tanker was destroyed, U-219 was required to take its place, refuelling the other submarines of the group at sea so they could return to Germany. Of this group, only U-510 continued to Penang Island. U-219 returned to France and was prepared for a transport mission at Bordeaux.
2nd patrol[]
On her next voyage east, U-219 departed Bordeaux on 23 August 1944 with U-195 and U-180, carrying two Japanese officers, and cargo which included uranium oxide, blueprints for advanced weapons and part of a consignment of twelve dismantled V-2 rockets for Japan shared with U-195.[5] The boat was attacked five times by three Gruman Avengers from the aircraft carrier USS Tripoli west southwest of the Cape Verde Islands on 28 September. One aircraft was shot down. Both U-219 and U-195 reached Batavia (now Jakarta), in December 1944.
In Japanese service[]
Following Germany's surrender, U-219 was seized by the Japanese at Djakarta on 8 May 1945 and on 15 July it was placed into service with the Imperial Japanese Navy as I-505. Eventually U-219, operating as I-505, was captured at Surabaya in August 1945 by the Royal Navy and scuttled in February 1946 by gunfire and depth charges from the Dutch destroyer HMNS Kortenser[6][7] at 06°31′00″S 104°54′08″E / 6.5166667°S 104.90222°ECoordinates: 06°31′00″S 104°54′08″E / 6.5166667°S 104.90222°E off the Sunda Strait.
References[]
- Notes
- ↑ "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
- ↑ "The Type XB boat U-219 - German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net". www.uboat.net. http://www.uboat.net/boats/u219.htm. Retrieved 2009-12-21.
- ↑ "War Patrols by German U-boat U-219 - Boats - uboat.net". www.uboat.net. http://www.uboat.net/boats/patrols/u219.html. Retrieved 2009-12-21.
- ↑ Beasant, John. Stalin's Silver.
- ↑ http://uboat.net/boats/u219.htm
- ↑ http://www.combinedfleet.com/I-505.htm HIJMS Submarine I-505: Tabular Record of Movement
- Bibliography
- U-219 at uboat.net
- U-219 at ubootwaffe.net
- Stevens, David, U-boat Far from Home, The Epic Voyage of U-862 to Australia and New Zealand, (1997), Allen & Unwin, ISBN 978-1-86448-267-6
- Beasant, John, Stalin's Silver: The Sinking of the USS John Barry, (1999), St. Martin's Press, ISBN 978-0-312-20590-4
External links[]
The original article can be found at German submarine U-219 and the edit history here.