German submarine U-155 (1941)
| Career (Nazi Germany) |  |
|---|---|
| Name: | U-155 |
| Ordered: | September 25, 1939 |
| Builder: | AG Weser, Bremen |
| Yard number: | 997 |
| Laid down: | October 1, 1940 |
| Launched: | May 12, 1941 |
| Commissioned: | August 23, 1941 |
| Fate: | Surrendered at Fredericia, 8 May 1945 Sunk during Operation Deadlight on December 21, 1945. |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Type IXC submarine |
| Displacement: | 1,120 t (1,100 long tons) surfaced 1,232 t (1,213 long tons) submerged |
| Length: | 76.8 m (252 ft 0 in) overall 58.7 m (192 ft 7 in) pressure hull |
| Beam: | 6.8 m (22 ft 4 in) overall 4.4 m (14 ft 5 in) pressure hull |
| Height: | 9.4 m (30 ft 10 in) |
| Draft: | 4.7 m (15 ft 5 in) |
| Propulsion: | 2 × MAN M9V40/46 supercharged 9-cylinder diesel engines, 4,000 hp (2,983 kW) 2 × SSW GU345/34 double-acting electric motors, 1,000 hp (746 kW) |
| Speed: | 18.2 knots (33.7 km/h) surfaced 7.3 knots (13.5 km/h) submerged |
| Range: | 24,880 nmi (46,080 km) at 10 knots (19 km/h) surfaced 117 nmi (217 km) at 4 kn (7.4 km/h) submerged |
| Test depth: | 230 m (750 ft) |
| Complement: | 48 to 56 |
| Armament: | 6 × torpedo tubes (4 bow, 2 stern) 22 × 55 cm (22 in) torpedoes 1 × Utof 105 mm/45 deck gun (110 rounds) |
| Service record | |
| Part of: | Kriegsmarine 4th U-boat Flotilla 10th U-boat Flotilla 33rd U-boat Flotilla |
| Identification codes: | M 01 188 |
| Commanders: | Adolf Cornelius Piening Johannes Rudolph Ludwig von Friedeburg Erwin Witte Friedrich Altmeier |
| Operations: | 10 patrols |
| Victories: | 25 ships sunk for a total of 126,664 gross register tons (GRT) 1 warship sunk for a total of 13,785 tons 1 auxiliary warship damaged for a total of 6,736 GRT |
German submarine U-155 was a Type IXC U-boat of the German Kriegsmarine built for service during World War II. Her keel was laid down on October 1, 1940 by AG Weser in Bremen. She was commissioned on August 23, 1941, with Kapitänleutnant Adolf Cornelius Piening in command. Piening was relieved in February 1944 (after being promoted to Korvettenkapitän) by Oberleutnant zur See Johannes Rudolph.
Leutnant zur See Ludwig von Friedeburg relieved Rudolph from August to November 1944, when Rudolph resumed command for another month. During these four months, U-155 had the youngest U-boat commander during the war since Von Friedeburg was only 20 years old. In December, Kptlt. Erwin Witte took over, and was relieved in April 1945 by Oblt. Friedrich Altmeier. Altmeier commanded the boat for one month before being ordered to surrender her.
Contents |
[edit] Career
U-155 conducted 10 patrols, sinking 26 ships totalling 140,449 tons and damaging one other grossing 6,736 tons.
On November 15, 1942 she sank the escort carrier HMS Avenger and the British troop transport ship Ettrick, and damaged the cargo ship USS Almack.
On May 4, 1945, the boat shot down a P-51 Mustang of No. 126 Squadron RAF.
U-155 lost only five crewmen during her career:
- On March 10, 1942, she was returning from the US east coast when I WO Oberleutnant zur See Gert Rentrop was lost overboard.
- On August 19, 1942, during an aircraft attack Maschinengefreiter Konrad Garneier was lost overboard.
- On June 14, 1943, Bootsmaat Heinz Wilke was killed when a Wellington aircraft of the No. 547 Squadron RAF attacked in the Bay of Biscay. Also on that day, four Mosquito aircraft of the 307th Polish Squadron attacked, wounding five men. U-155 shot down one of the attacking aircraft.
- On June 23, 1944, Mosquito aircraft of the 248th Squadron attacked, killing Matrosenobergefreiter Karl Lohmeier and Mechanikerobergefreiter Friedrich Feller and wounding seven others.
[edit] Fate
On June 30, 1945, she was transferred from Wilhelmshaven to Loch Ryan, Scotland for Operation Deadlight and sunk on December 21, 1945.
The U-155 lies at a depth of 73 metres (240 ft). She was was located and identified in 2001 by a team of divers led by nautical archaeologist Innes McCartney, revealing the wreck was lying upright on the sea bed and largely intact.[1]
[edit] References
- Notes
- ^ Innes McCartney. "Day Nine: 24th July 2001". Operation Deadlight 2002 Expedition. http://www.operationdeadlight.co.uk/day9.htm. Retrieved 14 May 2011.
- Bibliography
[edit] External links
- U-155 at u-boot-archiv.de (German)
[edit] See also
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