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German submarine U-391

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History
Nazi Germany
NameU-391
Ordered20 January 1941
BuilderHowaldtswerke, Kiel
Yard number23
Laid down9 January 1942
Launched5 March 1943
Commissioned24 April 1943
FateSunk, December 1943, by a British aircraft northwest of Cape Ortegal, Spain
General characteristics [1]
Class and 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
Height9.6 m (31 ft 6 in)
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 PS (2,800–3,200 bhp; 2,100–2,400 kW). Max rpm: 470-490
2 × GL RP 137/c electric motors, totalling 750 PS (740 shp; 550 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)
8,500 nmi (15,700 km; 9,800 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) surfaced
80 nmi (150 km; 92 mi) 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: mixed text and list (help)
Service record[2]
Part of: list error: <br /> list (help)
5th U-boat Flotilla
(24 April–30 September 1943)
3rd U-boat Flotilla
(1 October–13 December 1943)
Commanders: list error: <br /> list (help)
Oblt.z.S. Gert Dültgen
(24 April–13 December 1943)
Operations: 23 October–13 December 1943
Victories: None

German submarine U-391 was a Type VIIC U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II.

She carried out one patrol. She did not sink or damage any ships.

She was sunk by a British aircraft northwest of Cape Ortegal in Spain in October 1943.[2]

Service history

The submarine was laid down on 9 January 1942 at the Howaldtswerke (yard) at Flensburg as yard number 23, launched on 5 March and commissioned on 24 April 1943 under the command of Oberleutnant zur See Gert Dültgen.

The boat was a member of three wolfpacks.

She served with the 5th U-boat Flotilla from 24 April 1943 and the 3rd flotilla from 1 October of the same year.

Patrol and loss

The boat departed Kiel on 23 October 1943. Passing through the gap that separates Iceland and the Faroe Islands, she was attacked by a Vickers Wellington of No. 179 Squadron RAF on 28 November.

On 13 December, she was attacked and sunk by depth charges dropped from a British B-24 Liberator of 53 Squadron on the western edge of the Bay of Biscay, northwest of Cape Ortegal in Spain.

51 men died in the U-boat; there were no survivors.

Wolfpacks

U-391 took part in three wolfpacks, namely.

  • Eisenhart 1 (9–15 November 1943)
  • Schill 3 (18–22 November 1943)
  • Weddigen (22 November - 7 December 1943)

References

  1. ^ Gröner 1985, pp. 72–74.
  2. ^ a b Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type VIIC boat U-391". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 9 September 2012.

Bibliography

  • Busch, Rainer; Röll, Hans-Joachim (1999). Deutsche U-Boot-Verluste von September 1939 bis Mai 1945 (in German). Vol. IV. Hamburg, Berlin, Bonn: Mittler. ISBN 3-8132-0514-2. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help); Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • Gröner, Erich (1985). U-Boote, Hilfskreuzer, Minenschiffe, Netzleger, Sperrbrecher (in German). Vol. III. Koblenz: Bernard & Graefe. ISBN 3-7637-4802-4. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help); Invalid |ref=harv (help)

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