German submarine U-551 | |
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Career | ![]() |
Name: | U-551 |
Ordered: | 25 September 1939 |
Builder: | Blohm & Voss, Hamburg |
Yard number: | 527 |
Laid down: | 21 November 1939 |
Launched: | 14 September 1940 |
Commissioned: | 7 November 1940 |
Fate: | Sunk, 23 March 1941[1] |
General characteristics | |
Type: | Type VIIC submarine |
Displacement: |
769 tonnes (757 long tons) surfaced 871 t (857 long tons) submerged |
Length: |
67.1 m (220 ft 2 in) o/a 50.5 m (165 ft 8 in) pressure hull |
Beam: |
6.2 m (20 ft 4 in) o/a 4.7 m (15 ft 5 in) pressure hull |
Draft: | 4.74 m (15 ft 7 in) |
Propulsion: |
2 × supercharged Germaniawerft 6-cylinder 4-stroke M6V 40/46 diesel engines, totalling 2,800–3,200 bhp (2,100–2,400 kW). Max rpm: 470-490 2 × electric motors, totalling 750 shp (560 kW) and max rpm: 296. |
Speed: |
17.7 knots (20.4 mph; 32.8 km/h) surfaced 7.6 knots (8.7 mph; 14.1 km/h) submerged |
Range: |
15,170 km (8,190 nmi) at 10 kn (19 km/h) surfaced 150 km (81 nmi) at 4 kn (7.4 km/h) submerged |
Test depth: |
230 m (750 ft) Crush depth: 250–295 m (820–968 ft) |
Complement: | 44–52 officers and ratings |
Armament: |
• 5 × 533 mm (21 in) torpedo tubes (four bow, one stern) • 14 × G7e torpedoes or 26 TMA mines • 1 × C35 88mm gun/L45 deck gun (220 rounds) • Various AA guns |
Service record[2][3] | |
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Part of: |
7th U-boat Flotilla (7 November 1940–23 March 1941) |
Commanders: |
Kptlt. Karl Schrott (7 November 1940–23 March 1941) |
Operations: | 1st patrol: 18–23 March 1941 |
Victories: | None |
German submarine U-551 was a Type VIIC U-boat of the Nazi German Kriegsmarine during World War II. The submarine was laid down on 21 November 1939 at the Blohm & Voss yard in Hamburg as 'werk' 527, launched on 14 September 1940, and commissioned on 7 November 1940 under the command of Kapitänleutnant Karl Schrott.[2]
Service history[]
Attached to the 7th U-boat Flotilla, she first sailed from Kiel, Germany to Bergen, Norway, before commencing her first and only war patrol on 18 March 1941.[3] She sailed to the waters south of Iceland,[4] and there on 23 March, in position 62°37′N 16°47′W / 62.617°N 16.783°WCoordinates: 62°37′N 16°47′W / 62.617°N 16.783°W, she was sunk by depth charges from the British anti-submarine warfare trawler HMT Visenda. All 45 hands were lost.[2]
References[]
- Notes
- ↑ Kemp, Paul: U-Boats Destroyed - German Submarine Losses in the World Wars, 1997, Arms & Armour, ISBN 1-85409-515-3, p. 69.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "The Type VIIC boat U-551 - German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net". uboat.net. http://www.uboat.net/boats/u551.htm. Retrieved 9 February 2010.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "War Patrols by German U-boat U-551 - Boats - uboat.net". uboat.net. http://www.uboat.net/boats/patrols/u551.html. Retrieved 9 February 2010.
- ↑ "Patrol of U-boat U-551 from 18 Mar 1941 to 23 Mar 1941 - U-boat patrols - uboat.net". uboat.net. http://www.uboat.net/boats/patrols/patrol_1267.html. Retrieved 9 February 2010.
- Bibliography
See also[]
The original article can be found at German submarine U-551 and the edit history here.