German submarine U-116 (1941)

German World War II submarine From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

German submarine U-116 was a Type XB minelaying U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II.

NameU-116
Ordered31 January 1939
BuilderGermaniawerft, Kiel
Yard number615
Quick facts History, Nazi Germany ...
History
Nazi Germany
NameU-116
Ordered31 January 1939
BuilderGermaniawerft, Kiel
Yard number615
Laid down1 July 1939
Launched3 May 1941[1]
Commissioned26 July 1941[2]
FateMissing since 6 October 1942 in the North Atlantic[2]
General characteristics [3]
Class & typeType X submarine minelayer
Displacement
  • 1,763 tonnes (1,735 long tons) surfaced
  • 2,177 tonnes (2,143 long tons) submerged
Length
Beam
  • 9.20 m (30 ft 2 in) o/a
  • 4.75 m (15 ft 7 in) pressure hull
Height10.20 m (33 ft 6 in)
Draught4.71 m (15 ft 5 in)
Propulsion
Speed
  • 16.4–17 knots (30.4–31.5 km/h; 18.9–19.6 mph) surfaced
  • 7 knots (13 km/h; 8.1 mph) submerged
Range
  • 18,450 nautical miles (34,170 km; 21,230 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) surfaced
  • 93 nmi (172 km; 107 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph) submerged
Test depthCalculated crush depth: 220 m (720 ft)
Complement5 officers, 47 enlisted
Armament
Service record[4] [5]
Part of
Identification codesM 43 288
Commanders
  • K.Kapt. Werner von Schmidt
  • 26 July 1941 - 10 September 1942
  • Oblt.z.S. Wilhelm Grimme
  • 11 September - 6 October 1942
Operations
  • 4 patrols:
  • 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
  • 1 merchant ship sunk
    (4,284 GRT)
  • 1 merchant ship damaged
    (7,093 GRT)
Close

She was ordered on 31 January 1939 and laid down on 1 July at Friedrich Krupp Germaniawerft, Kiel, as yard number 615. She was launched on 3 May 1941 and commissioned under the command of Korvettenkapitän Werner von Schmidt on 26 July of that year.[4]

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.[4] 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.[6]

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.[7]

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 GRT merchant ship Cortona, causing some damage; although the ship was then sunk by U-201.[8] Nine hours later U-116 fired two torpedoes into the 4,284 GRT British merchant ship Shaftesbury, which sank in 15 minutes.[9] The U-boat returned to Lorient on 23 August, after 58 days at sea.[10]

4th patrol

For her fourth patrol, U-116 sailed under the command of Oberleutnant zur See Wilhelm Grimme. Leaving Lorient on 22 September 1942,[11] she sent her last radio message on 6 October whilst in the North Atlantic at position 45°00′N 31°30′W, and was never heard from again. 56 men were lost with her.[2][4]

Summary of raiding history

More information Date, Name ...
Date Name Nationality Tonnage
(GRT)		 Fate[12]
12 July 1942 Cortona United Kingdom 7,093 Damaged
12 July 1942 Shaftesbury United Kingdom 4,284 Sunk
Close

References

Bibliography

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