German submarine U-106 (1940)
 A Type IXB submarine, believed to be U-106, under attack by a Sunderland flying boat
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 Nazi Germany | |
| Name | U-106 |
| Ordered | 24 May 1938 |
| Builder | AG Weser, Bremen |
| Yard number | 969 |
| Laid down | 26 November 1939 |
| Launched | 17 June 1940 |
| Commissioned | 24 September 1940 |
| Homeport | Lorient, France |
| Fate | Sunk, 2 August 1943 |
| Class and type | Type IXB submarine |
| Service record | |
| Part of: |
list error: <br /> list (help) Kriegsmarine: 2. Unterseebootsflottille |
| Commanders: |
list error: <br /> list (help) Kptlt. Jürgen Oesten (September 1940–October 1941) Kptlt. Hermann Rasch (October 1941–April 1943) Oblt. Wolf-Dietrich Damerow (June–August 1943) |
| Operations: | 10 patrols |
| Victories: |
list error: <br /> list (help) Sank 22 ships totalling 138,581 GRT GRT uses unsupported parameter (help) Damaged 2 ships totalling 12,634 GRT Damaged 1 auxiliary warship of 8,246 GRT Damaged the battleship HMS Malaya |
German submarine U-106 was a Type IXB U-boat of the German Kriegsmarine that operated during World War II. She was laid down in November 1939 at AG Weser in Bremen, Germany, and was commissioned on 24 September 1940. U-106 was assigned to 2. Unterseebootflottille ("2nd U-boat flotilla") on 24 September 1940, in which she would serve for nearly three years.
U-106 was one of the most successful German submarines of World War II. She completed 10 wartime patrols and sank 22 ships totalling 138,581 GRT GRT uses unsupported parameter (help). She also damaged two ships totalling 12,634 GRT, one auxiliary warship totalling 8,246 GRT, and the battleship HMS Malaya. U-106 catalyzed Mexico's entry into World War II on the side of the Allies by sinking the oil tanker Faja de Oro.
Service history
1941
The first patrol which U-106 completed lasted from 4 January until 10 February 1941; she patrolled north-west of Rockall and sank two ships. U-106's second patrol was from 26 February to 17 June, patrolling the central Atlantic, sinking eight ships. The third patrol started on 11 August and ended on 11 September; U-106 patrolled southwest of Ireland, but did not sink any ships. U-106's fourth patrol lasted from 21 October to 22 November; U-106 patrolled the North Atlantic and sunk one ship, but lost four crewmembers when they were washed overboard in heavy seas.
1942
On U-106's fifth patrol from 3 January to 22 February 1942, she patrolled the East Coast of the United States and sank five ships, during the so-called "Second Happy Time". Among the ships sunk were SS Empire Wildebeeste and the tanker SS Rochester, which U-106 sunk with her 10.5 cm deck gun.
During U-106's sixth patrol from 15 April to 29 June 1942, she operated in the Gulf of Mexico and sunk five ships. U-106's seventh patrol, from 25 to 28 July, was cut short when she was attacked by a Wellington bomber of No. 311 Squadron RAF, just two days into her patrol. During the attack, U-106 was damaged, the commander wounded, and one officer killed. U-106's eighth patrol lasted from 22 September until 26 December; she patrolled the central Atlantic and Gulf of St Lawrence, and sunk one ship.
1943
U-106's ninth patrol started on 17 February 1943; she patrolled the Azores and Canary Islands, but did not sink any ships.
U-106's 10th and last patrol started on 19 March 1943; she was sunk on 2 August of that year off northern Spain, after being damaged by a Wellington of No. 407 Squadron RCAF. U-106 tried to join E-boats (German surface torpedo boats), but was spotted by a Sunderland flying boat of No. 228 Squadron RAF flown by F/O Reader Hanbury. Although the anti-aircraft guns on U-106 fended off the Sunderland, U-106 was finished off by another Sunderland of No. 461 Squadron RAAF flown by F/Lt A. F. Clarke. According to the Allied crews, and photographs taken of the attack, the U-Boat partially exploded, before sinking vertically.[1] Of the 48 crew, 22 of U-106's crew were killed, and 26 survived the attack; they were later picked up by German E-Boats.
U-106 commanders
- Jürgen Oesten – September 1940 to October 1941
- Hermann Rasch – October 1941 to April 1943
- Wolf-Dietrich Damerow – June 1943 to August 1943, and loss of U-106
References
Citations
- ^ Bowyer 1977, p. 46.
Bibliography
- Bishop, C. Kriegsmarine U-Boats, 1939–45. Amber Books, 2006.
- Bowyer, Chaz. Coastal Command at War. Ian Allan. 1979, ISBN 0-7110-0980-5
- Evans, J. The Sunderland:Flying Boat Queen Paterchurch Publications, 2004 ISBN 1870745132
- U-106 at U-boat.net
See also