Unterseeboot 227
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| U-512 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Type | VIIC
|
||
| Launch Date | July 30, 1942 | ||
| Commission Date | August 22, 1942 | ||
| Construction yard | Germaniawerft, Kiel | ||
| Patrols | |||
| Start Date | End Date | Assigned Unit | |
| April 24, 1943 | April 30, 1943 | 10th Flotilla | |
| Commanders | |||
| August, 1942 | April, 1943 | Kptlt. Jürgen Kuntze | |
| Successes | |||
| Type of Ship Sunk | Number of Ships Sunk | Gross Registered Tonnage | |
| Commercial Vessels | None | 0 | |
| Military Vessels | None | 0 | |
Unterseeboot 227 (usually abbreviated to U-227) was a German Type IXC U-boat of the Kriegsmarine built for service in the Second Battle of the Atlantic, which was cursed with repeated bad luck during her brief service life. She was built during 1941 and 1942 by the Germaniawerft shipyards in the fleet base of Kiel, and was completed in August 1942, in prepaation for operations over the coming winter. Her commander was Kptlt. Jürgen Kuntze, an officer with just five monthe U-boat experience at the time of his promotion.
During the initial working-up period disaster struck on month into the program, when U-227 ran onto a Royal Air Force mine dropped by aircraft into Danzig Bay. The crippled boat survived without any serious injuries, but only just managed to limp into port still afloat. The mining of coastal waters was a new tactic for the RAF, but one which wold reap dividends amongst the port-based German Navy. The repairs on the boat following this disaster meant that she was not completed until the following April, when Kuntze, having worked his crew hard embarked on his only war patrol.
[edit] War Patrol
The U-227 lasted a mere six days on her first operation patrol, when she was ordered to proceed with all haste for the North Atlantic Ocean to interdict Canadian convoys. Passing in the large gap between the Faroe Islands and Iceland, U-227 was spotted despite bad weather by a British Royal Air Force Hampden bomber of 455 squadron, which swooped low onto the submarine and dropped a bomb right onto the ship beneath it. U-227 went into an uncontrolled dive following the attack and never resurfaced, presumably hitting the sea floor hundreds of feet below, where she still lies with all 49 of her crew.
[edit] References
- Sharpe, Peter, U-Boat Fact File, Midland Publishing, Great Britain: 1998. ISBN 1-85780-072-9.
- U-boat.net webpage for U-227
See Also: List of U-boats
