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German submarine U-346

Coordinates: 54°25′N 19°50′E / 54.417°N 19.833°E / 54.417; 19.833
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History
NameU-346
Ordered10 April 1941
BuilderNordseewerke, Emden
Yard number218
Laid down28 October 1942
Launched13 April 1943[1]
Commissioned7 June 1943[2]
FateSunk in an accident, 20 September 1943[3]


General characteristics
TypeType VIIC submarine
Displacementlist error: <br /> list (help)
769 tonnes (757 long tons) surfaced
871 t (857 long tons) submerged
Lengthlist error: <br /> list (help)
67.1 m (220 ft 2 in) o/a
50.5 m (165 ft 8 in) pressure hull
Beamlist error: <br /> list (help)
6.2 m (20 ft 4 in) o/a
4.7 m (15 ft 5 in) pressure hull
Draft4.74 m (15 ft 7 in)
Propulsionlist 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
Speedlist 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
Rangelist error: <br /> list (help)
15,170 km (8,190 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 depthlist error: <br /> list (help)
230 m (750 ft)
Crush depth: 250–295 m (820–968 ft)
Complement44–52 officers and ratings
Armamentlist 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
Part of: list error: <br /> list (help)
8th U-boat Flotilla
(7 June–20 September 1943)
Commanders: list error: <br /> list (help)
Kptlt. Arno Leisten
(7 June–20 September 1943)
Operations: None
Victories: None

German submarine U-346 was a Type VIIC U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II. She was laid down at the Nordseewerke in Emden as werk 218 on 28 October 1942, launched on 13 April 1943 and commissioned on 7 June of the same year under the command of Oberleutnant zur See Arno Leisten. She had been built for operations during the Battle of the Atlantic, but was the victim of an accident before she started operations.

On 20 September 1943, the boat was undergoing diving trials as part of the 8th U-boat flotilla in Danzig Bay in the Baltic Sea; an unknown mechanical fault occurred, sending the submarine into a crash dive from which she never recovered, descending to the bottom of the bay, where she and her crew remain to this day. 37 people died on U-346, but unfortunately for the Kriegsmarine, the personnel aboard the boat were not regular U-boat crew, but a combination of the ship's officers (who were all killed), and dockyard experts on submarine operating systems (six of whom escaped the wreck), whose loss was far more severe than the loss of the boat of its crew, had they been aboard.

References

  1. ^ Kemp, Paul: U-Boats Destroyed - German Submarine Losses in the World Wars, 1999, Arms & Armour, ISBN 1-85409-515-3, p. 146.
  2. ^ Kemp, p. 146.
  3. ^ Kemp, p. 146.

See also


54°25′N 19°50′E / 54.417°N 19.833°E / 54.417; 19.833

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