| German submarine U-845 | |
|---|---|
| Career (Nazi Germany) |  |
| Name: | U-845 |
| Ordered: | 20 January 1941 |
| Builder: | DeSchiMAG AG Weser, Bremen |
| Yard number: | 1051 |
| Laid down: | 20 June 1942 |
| Launched: | 18 January 1943 |
| Commissioned: | 1 May 1943 |
| Fate: | scuttled in position 48°20′N 20°33′W / 48.333°N 20.55°WCoordinates: 48°20′N 20°33′W / 48.333°N 20.55°W on 10 March 1944 |
| General characteristics [1] | |
| Type: | Type IXC/40 submarine |
| Displacement: |
1,144 t (1,126 long tons) surfaced 1,257 t (1,237 long tons) submerged |
| Length: |
76.76 m (251 ft 10 in) o/a 58.75 m (192 ft 9 in) pressure hull |
| Beam: | 6.86 m (22 ft 6 in) o/a 4.44 m (14 ft 7 in) pressure hull |
| Height: | 9.6 m (31 ft 6 in) |
| Draft: | 4.67 m (15 ft 4 in) |
| Propulsion: |
2 × MAN M 9 V 40/46 supercharged 9-cylinder diesel engines, 4,400 hp (3,281 kW) 2 × SSW GU 345/34 double-acting electric motors, 1,000 hp (746 kW) |
| Speed: |
19 knots (35 km/h; 22 mph) surfaced 7.3 kn (13.5 km/h; 8.4 mph) submerged |
| Range: |
13,850 nmi (25,650 km; 15,940 mi) at 10 kn (19 km/h; 12 mph) surfaced 63 nmi (117 km; 72 mi) at 4 kn (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph) submerged |
| Test depth: | 230 m (750 ft) |
| Complement: | 4 officers, 44 enlisted |
| Armament: |
|
| Service record | |
|---|---|
| Commanders: |
|
| Operations: | 2 patrols |
German submarine U-845 was a Type IXC/40 U-boat built for Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II.
U-845 was ordered in January 1941 from DeSchiMAG AG Weser in Bremen under the yard number 1051. Her keel was laid down on 20 June 1942. The U-boat was launched the following year on 18 January 1943. she was commissioned into service under the command of Kapitänleutnant Udo Behrens (Crew 30) in 4th U-boat Flotilla on 1 May 1943.
On 10 July 1943 Rudolf Hoffmann (Crew 36) took over command. On her way to Gotenhafen U-845 assisted U-490 which was unable to dive and escorted her to port where they arrived on 24 July. Hoffmann handed over command to Werner Weber (Crew 25) in early October 1943. On 1 January 1944 U-845, which had been transferred to the 10th U-boat Flotilla, left for operations in the North Atlantic. Via Kristiansand, Stavanger and Bergen she reached her assigned operation area off Newfoundland in February 1944. A first attack on an unescorted freighter on 6 February 1944 failed, but three days later a British steamer, Kelmscott (7,039 GRT), fell victim to U-845's torpedo. On 14 February the U-boat was spotted by an aircraft. In the subsequent attack one crew member died and two others were wounded. An attack on another unescorted freighter the next day failed to sink the ship. On 10 March 1944, U-845 made contact with convoy SC 154, but was picked up by an escort, HMCS St. Laurent, in the late afternoon and depth-charged. When the U-boat surfaced late at night, she was attacked by St. Laurent and three other escorts of 9th Excort Group, HMCS Swansea, HMCS Owen Sound and HMS Forester, with artillery, killing Weber and the bridge crew as well as the crew servicing the AA guns. The rest of the crew survived the attack and was picked up by the escorts. Swansea picked up 23, Forester 17, and St. Laurent five men.[2]
References[]
- Notes
- ↑ Gröner 1985, p. 105-7.
- ↑ Busch & Röll 1999, p. 203-4.
- Bibliography
- Busch, Rainer; Röll, Hans-Joachim (1999) (in German). Deutsche U-Boot-Verluste von September 1939 bis Mai 1945. IV. Hamburg, Berlin, Bonn: Mittler. ISBN 3-8132-0514-2.
- Gröner, Erich (1985) (in German). U-Boote, Hilfskreuzer, Minenschiffe, Netzleger, Sperrbrecher. III. Koblenz: Bernard & Graefe. ISBN 3-7637-4802-4.
The original article can be found at German submarine U-845 and the edit history here.