German submarine U-320
History | |
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Name | U-320 |
Ordered | 14 October 1942 |
Builder | Flender Werke, Lübeck |
Yard number | 320 |
Laid down | 1 December 1942 |
Launched | 6 November 1943 |
Commissioned | 30 December 1943 |
Fate | Badly damaged by a British aircraft in May 1945; scuttled in Norway[1] |
General characteristics | |
Type | Type VIIC/41 submarine |
Displacement | list error: <br /> list (help) 769 long tons (781 t) surfaced 871 long tons (885 t) submerged |
Length | list error: <br /> list (help) 67.23 m (220 ft 7 in) o/a 50.5 m (165 ft 8 in) pressure hull |
Beam | list error: <br /> list (help) 6.2 m (20 ft 4 in) o/a 4.7 m (15 ft 5 in) pressure hull |
Draft | 4.74 m (15 ft 7 in) |
Propulsion | list error: <br /> list (help) 2 × supercharged Germaniawerft 6-cylinder 4-stroke F46 diesel engines, totalling 2,800–3,200 bhp (2,100–2,400 kW). Max rpm: 470-490 2 × electric motors, totalling 750 shp (560 kW) and max rpm: 296. |
Speed | list error: <br /> list (help) 17.7 knots (32.8 km/h; 20.4 mph) surfaced 7.6 knots (14.1 km/h; 8.7 mph) submerged |
Range | list error: <br /> list (help) 15,725 km (8,491 nmi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) surfaced 150 km (81 nmi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph) submerged |
Test depth | list error: <br /> list (help) 250 m (820 ft) Crush depth: 275–325 m (902–1,066 ft) |
Complement | 44–52 officers and ratings |
Armament | list error: <br /> list (help) 5 × 53.3 cm (21 in) torpedo tubes (four bow, one stern) 14 × G7e torpedoes or 26 TMA mines 1 × 8.8 cm (3.46 in) deck gun (220 rounds) Various AA guns |
Service record[2][3] | |
Part of: |
list error: <br /> list (help) 4th U-boat Flotilla (30 December 1943–1 April 1944) 5th U-boat Flotilla (1 April–8 May 1945) |
Commanders: |
list error: <br /> list (help) Oblt.z.S.. Siegfried Breinlinger (3 December 1943–10 July 1944) Oblt.z.S. Heinz Emmrich* (1 July 1944–8 May 1945) |
Operations: |
list error: <br /> list (help) Two patrols: 16–21 April 1945 27 April–8 May 1945 |
Victories: | None |
German submarine U-320 was a Type VIIC/41 U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II.
She carried out just two patrols, but did not sink any ships.
The boat was sunk in May 1945 by a British aircraft and scuttling in the North Sea, the last to be sunk by direct action.[4]
Service history
The submarine was laid down on 1 December 1942 by the Flender Werke yard at Lübeck as 'werk' 320, launched on 6 November 1943 and commissioned on 30 December under the command of Oberleutnant zur See Siegfried Breinlinger.
She served with the 4th U-boat Flotilla for training, from 30 December 1943 to 1 April 1944 and the 5th flotilla for operations until her sinking on 8 May 1945.
1st patrol
U-320 departed Kiel on 16 April 1945 and arrived in Horten (south of Oslo), on the 21st.
2nd patrol and loss
The boat left Horten on 27 April 1945. On 8 May she was badly damaged by depth charges dropped from a British Catalina of No. 210 Squadron RAF. The battered submarine managed to surface off the Norwegian coast, where she was scuttled.[4]
References
- Notes
- ^ Kemp, Paul: U-Boats Destroyed - German Submarine Losses in the World Wars, 1997, Arms & Armour, ISBN 1-85409-515-3, p. 261
- ^ "The Type VIIC/41 boat U-320 - German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net". www.uboat.net. Retrieved 19 August 2012.
- ^ "War Patrols by German U-boat U-320 - Boats - uboat.net". www.uboat.net. Retrieved 19 August 2012.
- ^ a b Kemp, p. 261
*Kemp spells his surname "Emmerich".
- Bibliography
External links
See also
61°32′N 1°53′E / 61.533°N 1.883°E
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