German submarine U-99 (1940)

	A model of Günther Prien's VIIB U-47, which was identical to U-99
History
Nazi Germany
Name	U-99
Ordered	15 December 1937
Builder	Germaniawerft, Kiel
Yard number	593
Laid down	31 March 1939
Launched	12 March 1940
Commissioned	18 April 1940
Fate	Scuttled, 17 March 1941, south-east of Iceland. Three dead and 40 survivors
General characteristics
Class and type	Type VIIB U-boat
Displacement	list error: <br /> list (help); Surfaced 753 tons tons; submerged 857 tons
Length	list error: <br /> list (help); Overall 66.6 m; pressure hull 48.8 m
Beam	list error: <br /> list (help); Overall 6.2 m; pressure hull 4.7 m
Draught	4.74 m
Propulsion	Surfaced: two supercharged MAN, 6 cylinder, 4-stroke M6V 40/46 diesels totalling 2,800 - 3,200bhp(2,400 kW). Max rpm: 470-490
Speed	list error: <br /> list (help); Surfaced 17.9 knots (33 km/h); submerged 8 knots (15 km/h)
Range	list error: <br /> list (help); Surfaced: 16,095 km; submerged: 175 km
Test depth	230 m (754 ft). Calculated crush depth: 250-295 m (820-967 ft)
Complement	44 to 48 officers and ratings
Armament	list error: <br /> list (help); • 5 × 53.3 cm (21 in) torpedo tubes: four bow, one stern; • 14 × torpedoes or 26 TMA mines; • 1 × 8.8 cm (3.5 in) deck gun with 220 rounds; • 1 × C30 20 mm AA
Service record
Part of:	list error: <br /> list (help); Kriegsmarine:; 7th U-boat Flotilla
Identification codes:	M 17 046
Commanders:	Otto Kretschmer
Operations:	list error: <br /> list (help); Eleven; 1st patrol:; 18–25 June 1940; 2nd patrol:; 27 June–21 July 1940; 3rd patrol:; 25 July–5 August 1940; 4th patrol:; 4–25 September 1940; 5th patrol:; 13 –22 October 1940; 6th patrol:; 30 October–8 November 1940; 7th patrol:; 27 November–12 December 1940; 8th patrol:; 22 February–17 March 1941
Victories:	list error: <br /> list (help); 35 ships sunk (totaling 198,218 GRT GRT uses unsupported parameter (help)); three auxiliary warships sunk - 46,440 GRT; five ships damaged - 37,965 GRT; one ship taken as a prize - 2,136 GRT

German submarine U-99 was a Type VIIB U-boat of the Nazi German Kriegsmarine during World War II. She was laid down on 31 March 1939 at the Friedrich Krupp Germaniawerft in Kiel as 'werk' 593. She was launched on 12 March 1940 under the command of Korvettenkapitän Otto Kretschmer and was assigned to the 7th U-boat Flotilla based in Kiel and later in St Nazaire.

U-99 was one of the most successful German U-boats in the war, sinking 38 ships for a total tonnage of 244,658 GRT of Allied shipping in eight patrols. She damaged five more ships and took one vessel as a prize.

Career

From April to June 1940, the crew of U-99 were under training, based at Kiel and St. Nazaire.^[2]

1st patrol

On 18 June, U-99 departed Kiel for operations in the North Sea west of Norway.^[2] She was attacked by an Arado Ar-96 seaplane from the German battleship Scharnhorst, having been mistaken for a British submarine. Two days later, U-99 was attacked by two aircraft; minor damage was inflicted.^[3] She returned to Kiel on 25 June.^[2]

2nd patrol

U-99 departed Wilhelmshaven on 27 June to patrol southwest of Ireland.^[2] On 29 June, she was attacked by German aircraft. A crash dive was carried out with the result that the boat hit the seabed, causing some damage which was able to be repaired.^[3] During this patrol, U-99 sank six ships.^[2] A seventh was captured.^[4] An attack on the 5,360 GRT Manistee was called off on 7 July, when the armed merchant ship fired upon the U-boat.^[5] On 8 July, over 100 depth charges were dropped by the escorts of Convoy HX 53, but U-99 escaped undamaged.^[3] The patrol ended on 21 July.^[2]

Date	Ship	Tonnage (GRT)	Fate
5 July 1940	Magog ^†	2,053	Sunk
7 July 1940	Bissen	1,514	Sunk
	Manistee	5,360	Escaped
	Sea Glory	1,964	Sunk
8 July 1940	Humber Arm ^‡	5,758	Sunk
12 July 1940	Ia	4,861	Sunk
12 July 1940	Merisaar^*	2,136	Captured
18 July 1940	Woodbury	4,434	Sunk

† Convoy HX 52, ‡ Convoy HX 53, * sunk by German bombing, 15 July 1940

3rd patrol

On 25 July, U-99 departed Lorient for the North Atlantic. Four ships were sunk and three others damaged.^[2] On the 31st, the escorts of Convoy OB 191 dropped 20 depth charges on the boat without effect. Later that evening, a flying boat also attacked her, again without causing any damage.^[3] The patrol ended on 5 August.^[2]

Date	Ship	Tonnage (GRT)	Fate
28 July 1940	Auckland Star	13,212	Sunk
29 July 1940	Clan Menzies	7,226	Sunk
31 July 1940	Jamaica Progress	5,475	Sunk
31 July 1940	Jersey City ^†	6,322	Sunk
2 August 1940	Alexia ^{†, ‡}	8,016	Damaged
	Lucerna ^{†, ‡}	6,556	Damaged
	Strinda ^{†, ‡}	10,973	Damaged

† Convoy OB 191, ‡ Damaged

4th patrol

U-99 departed Lorient on 4 September for the North Atlantic; seven ships were sunk. The patrol ended on the 25th.^[2] U-99 was slightly damaged in an air raid on Lorient on 27 September.^[3]

Date	Ship	Tonnage (GRT)	Fate
11 September 1940	Albionic	2,468	Sunk
15 September 1940	Kenordoc ^†	1,780	Sunk
16 September 1940	Lotos ^†	1,327	Sunk
17 September 1940	Crown Arun ^‡	2,372	Sunk
21 September 1940	Baron Blythswood ^*	3,668	Sunk
	Elmbank ^*	5,156	Sunk
	Invershannon^*	9,154	Sunk

† Convoy SC 3, ‡ Convoy HX 71, * Convoy HX 72

5th patrol

On 13 October, U-99 departed Lorient to patrol the North West Approaches. Six ships from Convoy SC 7 were sunk and another was damaged. The patrol ended on 22 October.^[2]

Date	Ship	Tonnage (GRT)	Fate
18 October 1940	Empire Miniver	6,055	Sunk
	Fiscus	4,815	Sunk
	Niritos	3,854	Sunk
19 October 1940	Clintonia ^†	3,106	Damaged
	Empire Brigade	5,154	Sunk
	Snefjeld	1,643	Sunk
	Thalia	5,875	Sunk

6th patrol

U-99 departed Lorient for the North West Approaches on 30 October 1940; four ships were sunk. The patrol ended on 8 November.^[2]

Date	Ship	Tonnage (GRT)	Fate
3 November 1940	Casanare	5,376	Sunk
3 November 1940	HMS Laurentic	18,724	Sunk
4 November 1940	SS Patroclus	11,314	Sunk
5 November 1940	Scottish Maiden ^†	6,993	Sunk

† Convoy HX 83

7th patrol

On 27 November, U-99 departed Lorient for the North Atlantic. Four ships were sunk. The patrol ended on 12 December.^[2]

Date	Ship	Tonnage (GRT)	Fate
2 December 1940	HMS Forfar	16,402	Sunk
2 December 1940	Samnanger	4,276	Sunk
3 December 1940	Conch ^†	8,376	Sunk
7 December 1940	Farmsum ^‡	5,237	Sunk

† Convoy HX 90, ‡ Convoy OB 252

8th patrol

U-99 departed Lorient on 22 February 1941 to patrol in the North Atlantic; eight ships were sunk. U-99 was attacked herself, with severe damage inflicted. Kretschmer surrendered and scuttled the submarine with the loss of three lives.^[2]

Date	Ship	Tonnage (GRT)	Fate
7 March 1941	Athelbeach ^†	6,568	Sunk
7 March 1941	Terje Viken	20,638	Sunk
16 March 1941	Beduin ^‡	8,136	Sunk
	Ferm ^‡	6,593	Sunk
	Franche-Comté ^‡	9,314	Damaged
	J. B. White	7,375	Sunk
	Korshamn ^‡	6,673	Sunk
	Venetia ^†	5,728	Sunk

† Convoy OB 293, ‡ Convoy HX 112

Fate

On 17 March 1941, U-99 had just fired the last of her torpedoes and sunk Korshamn when the Watch Officer spotted a destroyer, south-east of Iceland in approximate position 61°N 12°W / 61°N 12°W / 61; -12. He immediately ordered a dive, contrary to Kretschmer's standing orders,^[6] but once the boat was under it was quickly fixed on ASDIC and attacked by HMS Walker and Vanoc. U-99 was driven deep by the attack but was nonetheless severely damaged. Kretschmer had no choice but to surface; immediately a barrage of fire greeted the boat. Kretschmer sent a message to Donald Macintyre, Walker's captain, "CAPTAIN TO CAPTAIN. I AM SUNKING [sic] PLEASE RESCUE MY CREW."^[7] He then ordered that the boat should be scuttled. 40 crew, including Kretschmer, were rescued to become POWs, while three crewmen lost their lives. Macintyre took Kretschmer's binoculars as a souvenir.^[8]

Wolfpack operations

U-99 operated with the following Wolfpacks during her career:

Wolfpack 1 (20 September 1940 - 22 September 1940)
Wolfpack 2 (17 October 1940 - 19 October 1940)

References

^ Kemp, Paul: U-Boats Destroyed, German Submarine Losses in the World Wars. 1997. p. 69. Arms and Armour. ISBN 1-85409-515-3
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m "U-99". Ubootwaffe. Retrieved 17 November 2009.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e "U-99". Uboat. Retrieved 17 November 2009.
^ "Merisaar". Uboat. Retrieved 17 November 2009.
^ "HMS Manistee (F104)". Uboat. Retrieved 17 November 2009.
^ Fairbank White, David - Bitter Ocean - The dramatic story of the Battle of the Atlantic 1939-1945, 2006, Headline Publishing Group ISBN 9 780 7553 1089 0, p.79
^ Fairbank White, p. 81
^ Fairbank White, pp. 82-83

v t e Type VII submarines
Type VIIA	U-27 U-28 U-29 U-30 U-31 U-32 U-33 U-34 U-35 U-36
Type VIIB	U-45 U-46 U-47 U-48 U-49 U-50 U-51 U-52 U-53 U-54 U-55 U-73 U-74 U-75 U-76 U-83 U-84 U-85 U-86 U-87 U-99 U-100 U-101 U-102
Type VIIC	U-69 U-70 U-71 U-72 U-77 U-78 U-79 U-80 U-81 U-82 U-88 U-89 U-90 U-91 U-92 U-93 U-94 U-95 U-96 U-97 U-98 U-132 U-133 U-134 U-135 U-136 U-201 U-202 U-203 U-204 U-205 U-206 U-207 U-208 U-209 U-210 U-211 U-212 U-221 U-222 U-223 U-224 U-225 U-226 U-227 U-228 U-229 U-230 U-231 U-232 U-235 U-236 U-237 U-238 U-239 U-240 U-241 U-242 U-243 U-244 U-245 U-246 U-247 U-248 U-249 U-250 U-251 U-252 U-253 U-254 U-255 U-256 U-257 U-258 U-259 U-260 U-261 U-262 U-263 U-264 U-265 U-266 U-267 U-268 U-269 U-270 U-271 U-272 U-273 U-274 U-275 U-276 U-277 U-278 U-279 U-280 U-281 U-282 U-283 U-284 U-285 U-286 U-287 U-288 U-289 U-290 U-291 U-301 U-302 U-303 U-304 U-305 U-306 U-307 U-308 U-309 U-310 U-311 U-312 U-313 U-314 U-315 U-316 U-331 U-332 U-333 U-334 U-335 U-336 U-337 U-338 U-339 U-340 U-341 U-342 U-343 U-344 U-345 U-346 U-347 U-348 U-349 U-350 U-351 U-352 U-353 U-354 U-355 U-356 U-357 U-358 U-359 U-360 U-361 U-362 U-363 U-364 U-365 U-366 U-367 U-368 U-369 U-370 U-371 U-372 U-373 U-374 U-375 U-376 U-377 U-378 U-379 U-380 U-381 U-382 U-383 U-384 U-385 U-386 U-387 U-388 U-389 U-390 U-391 U-392 U-393 U-394 U-396 U-397 U-398 U-399 U-400 U-401 U-402 U-403 U-404 U-405 U-406 U-407 U-408 U-409 U-410 U-411 U-412 U-413 U-414 U-415 U-416 U-417 U-418 U-419 U-420 U-421 U-422 U-423 U-424 U-425 U-426 U-427 U-428 U-429 U-430 U-431 U-432 U-433 U-434 U-435 U-436 U-437 U-438 U-439 U-440 U-441 U-442 U-443 U-444 U-445 U-446 U-447 U-448 U-449 U-450 U-451 U-452 U-453 U-454 U-455 U-456 U-457 U-458 U-465 U-466 U-467 U-468 U-469 U-470 U-471 U-472 U-473 U-475 U-476 U-477 U-478 U-479 U-480 U-481 U-482 U-483 U-484 U-485 U-486 U-551 U-552 U-553 U-554 U-555 U-556 U-557 U-558 U-559 U-560 U-561 U-562 U-563 U-564 U-565 U-566 U-567 U-568 U-569 U-570 U-571 U-572 U-573 U-574 U-575 U-576 U-577 U-578 U-579 U-580 U-581 U-582 U-583 U-584 U-585 U-586 U-587 U-588 U-589 U-590 U-591 U-592 U-593 U-594 U-595 U-596 U-597 U-598 U-599 U-600 U-601 U-602 U-603 U-604 U-605 U-606 U-607 U-608 U-609 U-610 U-611 U-612 U-613 U-614 U-615 U-616 U-617 U-618 U-619 U-620 U-621 U-622 U-623 U-624 U-625 U-626 U-627 U-628 U-629 U-630 U-631 U-632 U-633 U-634 U-635 U-636 U-637 U-638 U-639 U-640 U-641 U-642 U-643 U-644 U-645 U-646 U-647 U-648 U-649 U-650 U-651 U-652 U-653 U-654 U-655 U-656 U-657 U-658 U-659 U-660 U-661 U-662 U-663 U-664 U-665 U-666 U-667 U-668 U-669 U-670 U-671 U-672 U-673 U-674 U-675 U-676 U-677 U-678 U-679 U-680 U-681 U-682 U-683 U-701 U-702 U-703 U-704 U-705 U-706 U-707 U-708 U-709 U-710 U-711 U-712 U-713 U-714 U-715 U-716 U-717 U-718 U-719 U-720 U-721 U-722 U-731 U-732 U-733 U-734 U-735 U-736 U-737 U-738 U-739 U-740 U-741 U-742 U-743 U-744 U-745 U-746 U-747 U-748 U-749 U-750 U-751 U-752 U-753 U-754 U-755 U-756 U-757 U-758 U-759 U-760 U-761 U-762 U-763 U-764 U-765 U-766 U-767 U-768 U-771 U-772 U-773 U-774 U-775 U-776 U-777 U-778 U-779 U-821 U-822 U-825 U-826 U-901 U-903 U-904 U-905 U-907 U-921 U-922 U-923 U-924 U-925 U-926 U-927 U-928 U-951 U-952 U-953 U-954 U-955 U-956 U-957 U-958 U-959 U-960 U-961 U-962 U-963 U-964 U-965 U-966 U-967 U-968 U-969 U-970 U-971 U-972 U-973 U-974 U-975 U-976 U-977 U-978 U-979 U-980 U-981 U-982 U-983 U-984 U-985 U-986 U-987 U-988 U-989 U-990 U-991 U-992 U-993 U-994 U-1051 U-1052 U-1053 U-1054 U-1055 U-1056 U-1057 U-1058 U-1101 U-1102 U-1131 U-1132 U-1161 U-1162 U-1191 U-1192 U-1193 U-1194 U-1195 U-1196 U-1197 U-1198 U-1199 U-1200 U-1201 U-1202 U-1203 U-1204 U-1205 U-1206 U-1207 U-1208 U-1209 U-1210
Type VIIC/41	U-292 U-293 U-294 U-295 U-296 U-297 U-298 U-299 U-300 U-317 U-318 U-319 U-320 U-321 U-322 U-323 U-324 U-325 U-326 U-327 U-328 U-691 U-827 U-828 U-929 U-930 U-995 U-997 U-998 U-999 U-1000 U-1001 U-1002 U-1003 U-1004 U-1005 U-1006 U-1007 U-1008 U-1009 U-1010 U-1011 U-1013 U-1014 U-1015 U-1016 U-1017 U-1018 U-1019 U-1020 U-1021 U-1022 U-1023 U-1024 U-1025 U-1063 U-1064 U-1065 U-1103 U-1104 U-1105 U-1106 U-1107 U-1108 U-1109 U-1110 U-1163 U-1164 U-1165 U-1166 U-1167 U-1168 U-1169 U-1170 U-1171 U-1172 U-1271 U-1272 U-1273 U-1274 U-1275 U-1276 U-1277 U-1278 U-1279 U-1301 U-1302 U-1303 U-1304 U-1305 U-1306 U-1307 U-1308
Type VIID	U-213 U-214 U-215 U-216 U-217 U-218
Type VIIF	U-1059 U-1060 U-1061 U-1062
Preceded by: Type II Followed by: Type IX List of U-boats of Germany