German submarine U-88 (1941)
History | |
---|---|
Nazi Germany | |
Name | U-88 |
Ordered | 25 January 1939 |
Builder | Flender Werke, Lübeck |
Yard number | 292 |
Laid down | 1 July 1940 |
Launched | 16 August 1941 |
Commissioned | 15 October 1941 |
Fate | Sunk 12 September 1942 south of Spitzbergen by a British warship[1] |
General characteristics | |
Type | Type VIIC submarine |
Displacement | list error: <br /> list (help) 769 tonnes (757 long tons) ↑ 871 t (857 long tons) ↓ |
Length | list error: <br /> list (help) 67.1 m (220 ft 2 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 MAN 6-cylinder 4-stroke M 6 V 40/46 diesel engines, totalling 2,800–3,200 bhp (2,100–2,400 kW). Max rpm: 470-490 2 × BBC electric motors, totalling 750 shp (560 kW) and max rpm: 296 |
Speed | list error: <br /> list (help) 17.7 knots (20.4 mph; 32.8 km/h) surfaced 7.6 knots (8.7 mph; 14.1 km/h) submerged |
Range | list error: <br /> list (help) 8,500 nmi (15,700 km) at 10 kn (19 km/h) ↑ 80 km (43 nmi) at 4 kn (7.4 km/h) ↓ |
Test depth | list error: <br /> list (help) 230 m (750 ft) Crush depth: 250–295 m (820–968 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 | |
Part of: |
list error: <br /> list (help) Kriegsmarine: 7th U-boat Flotilla 8th U-boat Flotilla 11th U-boat Flotilla |
Identification codes: | M 27 945 |
Commanders: | Kptlt. Heino Bohmann |
Operations: |
list error: <br /> list (help) Three 1st patrol: 29 April–3 May 1942 2nd patrol: 17 June– 11 July 1942 3rd patrol: 25 August–12 September 1942 |
Victories: | Two ships, totalling (12,304 GRT GRT uses unsupported parameter (help)) sunk |
German submarine U-88 was a Type VIIC U-boat of the Nazi German Kriegsmarine during World War II.
She was laid down at the Flender Werke in Lübeck as 'werk' 292, launched on 16 August 1941 and commissioned on 15 October with Kapitänleutnant Heino Bohmann in command.
She was a fairly successful boat, succeeding in sinking over 12,000 tons of Allied shipping in a career lasting just one year over three patrols. She was a member of three wolfpacks.
Operational career
1st patrol
Having moved from Kiel to Kirkenes in Norway in April 1942, U-88 departed for her first patrol on the 29th. She returned on 3 May.
2nd patrol
The boat moved from Kirkenes to Narvik in early May and set-off for what was to be her most successful patrol on 17 June 1942. She sank two American ships, part of the ill-fated Convoy PQ-17, on 5 July. After a three hour pursuit, the Carlton was hit by a torpedo which did not detonate. A second torpedo did explode on impact, the ship sank in ten minutes. U-88's second victim was the Daniel Morgan which had already been attacked by German aircraft. Two 'eels' (U-boat slang for torpedoes), sent her to the bottom. Three men died, there were 51 survivors.
3rd patrol and loss
U-88 left Narvik for the last time on 25 August 1942. She was sunk south of Spitzbergen at 75°04′N 04°49′E / 75.067°N 4.817°E by depth charges from the British destroyer HMS Faulknor on 12 September.
46 men died; there were no survivors.
Summary of raiding history
Date | Ship | Nationality | Tonnage | Fate[2] |
---|---|---|---|---|
5 July 1942 | Carlton | USA | 5,127 | Sunk |
5 July 1942 | Daniel Morgan | USA | 7,177 | Sunk |
References
- ^ Kemp, Paul: U-Boats Destroyed, German Submarine Losses in the World Wars. 1997. p. 89. Arms and Armour. ISBN 1-85409-515-3
- ^ http://uboat.net/boats/successes/u.88html
See also