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German submarine U-879
Career (Nazi Germany) War Ensign of Germany 1938-1945
Name: U-879
Ordered: 2 April 1942
Builder: DeSchiMAG AG Weser, Bremen
Yard number: 1087
Laid down: 26 June 1943
Launched: 11 January 1944
Commissioned: 19 April 1944
Fate: sunk by US warships in position 36°34′N 74°00′W / 36.567°N 74°W / 36.567; -74Coordinates: 36°34′N 74°00′W / 36.567°N 74°W / 36.567; -74 on 30 April 1945
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
Identification codes: M 00 832
Commanders: Kptlt. Erwin Manchen
Operations: 1 patrol

German submarine U-879 was a Type IXC/40 U-boat built for Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II.

U-879 was ordered in April 1942 from DeSchiMAG AG Weser in Bremen under the yard number 1087. Her keel was laid down on 16 June 1942 and the U-boat was launched the following year on 11 January 1944. She was commissioned into service under the command of Kapitänleutnant Erwin Manchen (Crew 36) in 4th U-boat Flotilla.

U-879 was transferred to 33rd U-boat Flotilla after completing training and work up for deployment. She left her base in Horten on 9 February 1945 for operations off the US east coast. Since another U-boat, U-857 was operating at the same time in the vicinity, it is not clear, which ships were attacked U-879 or the other U-boat, which is missing. The US tanker Atlantic States was probably hit and damaged on 5 April 1945, while the Belgian steamer Belgian Airman and the US tanker Swiftscout may have been sunk by U-879 on 14 and 18 April respectively. The Norwegian tanker Katy might have been hit and damaged on 23 April.[2]

Late on 29 April a U-boat was picked up by escorts of convoy KN 382. USS Natchez tried to ram her but missed. Natchez with three more escorts, USS Coffmann, USS Thomas, and USS Bostwick, chased the contact for several hours with depth charges and hedgehogs. In the early hours of 30 April, a strong explosion was heard and the contact disappeared. Only in 1968 a wreck was discovered, confirming the sinking of an U-boat. It is assumed that the U-boat in question was U-879, but there are indicators that it might have been U-857 instead.[3]

References[]

Notes
  1. Gröner 1985, p. 105-7.
  2. Busch & Röll 2001, p. 304.
  3. Busch & Röll 1999, p. 346-7.
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. 
  • Busch, Rainer; Röll, Hans-Joachim (2001) (in German). Deutsche U-Boot-Erfolge von September 1939 bis Mai 1945. III. Hamburg, Berlin, Bonn: Mittler. ISBN 3-8132-0513-4. 
  • Gröner, Erich (1985) (in German). U-Boote, Hilfskreuzer, Minenschiffe, Netzleger, Sperrbrecher. III. Koblenz: Bernard & Graefe. ISBN 3-7637-4802-4. 



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