| Career (Nazi Germany) | |
|---|---|
| Name: | U-198 |
| Ordered: | 4 November 1940 |
| Builder: | Deschimag AG Weser in Bremen |
| Laid down: | 1 August 1941 |
| Launched: | 15 June 1942 |
| Commissioned: | 3 November 1942 |
| Fate: | Sunk on 12 August 1944 near the Seychelles, in position , by depth charges from the British frigate HMS Findhorn and the Indian Black Swan class sloop HMIS Godavari. |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Type IXD2 submarine |
| Displacement: | Surfaced: 1616 tons Submerged: 1804 tons |
| Length: | Overall: 87.60 m (287.4 ft) Pressure hull: 68.50 m (224.7 ft) |
| Beam: | Overall: 7.50 m (24.6 ft) Pressure hull: 4.40 m (14.4 ft) |
| Draught: | 5.40 m (17.7 ft) |
| Propulsion: | Surfaced: 5,400 hp Submerged: 1,100 hp |
| Speed: | Surfaced: 19.2 kn (35.6 km/h; 22.1 mph) Submerged: 6.9 kn (12.8 km/h; 7.9 mph) |
| Range: | Surfaced: 31,500 mi (50,700 km) at 10 kn (19 km/h; 12 mph) Submerged: 57 mi (92 km) at 4 kn (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph) |
| Test depth: | Calculated crush depth: 230 m (750 ft) |
| Armament: |
|
German submarine U-198, was a Type IXD2 U-boat which fought in World War II. She was built by the Deschimag AG Weser in Bremen. The boat was sunk on 12 August 1944 near the Seychelles, in position , by depth charges from the British frigate HMS Findhorn and the Indian Black Swan class sloop HMIS Godavari. She is credited with sinking eleven ships, for a total of 59,690 GRT.
Contents |
U-198 began her first active war patrol on 9 March 1943, departing Kiel under the command of Fregattenkapitän Werner Hartmann. The new submarine headed south around South Africa to hunt the waters between Mada gascar and the African mainland. Her first taste of combat arrived on 5 April 1943 northeast of the Cape Verde Islands. At 18.10 hours, the submarine was sighted and attacked by a British Short Sunderland flying boat with eight depth charges. One of these bounced off the stern without detonating. At 20.40 hours, the same aircraft attacked again with four more depth charges. U-198 escaped unharmed.
A little over two months after departing Kiel, U-198 earned her first success of the war, torpedoing and sinking the 4,392 GRT British steam merchant Northmoor. Two anti-submarine trawlers and an estorting aircraft retaliated furiously, dropping about 55 depth charges but U-198 escaped without damage. Two days later, the submarine was spotted and attacked by a British PBY Catalina aircraft. The U-boat was not damaged, but effective anti-aircraft fire hit the flying boat forcing it to return to base on one engine.
On the evening of 29 May 1943, U-198 torpedoed the unescorted British motor merchant Hopetarn. 37 souls survived this attack, although the second officer was taken as a prisoner of war by the submarine crew. At the end of the patrol he was sent to the POW camp at Milag Nord.
While tracking a small convoy on 31 May, U-198 was sighted by the escorts. Attacks from one of the corvettes drove the submarine deep but caused no serious damage. A little while later the submarine drove off an approaching British Catalina aircraft with gunfire and then crash dove to escape, losing the convoy in the process.
The morning of 5 June 1943 found U-198 stalking her next victim, the unescorted British motor merchant Dumra. Two torpedoes at 07.50 hours destroyed the merchant's bow, but she remained afloat. A coup de grâce ten minutes later hit amidships causing her to sink immediately. This final torpedo killed the shipmaster (who was blown overboard by the blast) and 24 men in a lifeboat that had already abandoned the sinking freighter. The chief engineer, Henry Townsend Graham, was taken as a prisoner of war.
At 13.18 hours the U-boat hit the American Liberty Ship William King with one of two torpedoes as she traveled on a zig zag course about 200 miles east of Durban. A coup de grâce about 45 minutes later caused her to sink by the stern in about ten minutes. After questioning the survivors the shipmaster (Owen Harvey Reed) was taken as a prisoner of war. He and the chief engineer of Dumra were transferred to the German supply ship Charlotte Schliemann and handed over to the Japanese at Batavia in August. Both men died in captivity on 18 September 1944 when the Japanese hell ship that was transporting them, Junyo Maru, was sunk by HMS Tradewind.
A month passed before U-198 crossed paths with her next victim, the 4,476 GRT Greek steam merchant Hydraios. A single torpedo followed by a coup de grâce fifteen minutes later sealed her fate. All 40 men aboard survived, although after questioning the survivors the Germans confiscated the ship's papers and cashbox.
Early the next day, U-198 located the British steam merchant Leana. The submarine shelled the merchant with 147 shots from the deck gun before finishing the job with s coup de grâce torpedo a little over an hour after the shelling began. Two men were killed by the sub's gunfire, and the shipmaster (Joseph Crosthwaite) was taken as a prisoner of war. When the patrol ended, he was sent to the POW camp Milag Nord.
The final kill of this patrol occurred on 1 August 1943. U-198 fired two torpedoes at the Dutch steam merchant Mangkalihat which was traveling with convy BC-2 transporting a cargo of copper, sisal, and tobacco. The first two shots missed so the U-boat fired its last torpedo at 18.51 hours scoring a hit that eventually sank the merchant (she foundered 4 August while under tow). Out of torpedoes, U-198 turned for home and terminated this highly successful patrol at Bordeaux on 24 September 1943.
Oberleutnant zur See Burkhard Heusinger von Waldegg took command on 21 January 1944, and the submarine was transferred from Bordeaux to La Pallice. U-198 began her second and final patrol on 20 April 1944 sailing again around South Africa and into the Indian Ocean. Enroute to her station, she was attacked by two Ventura patrol aircraft. Effective anti-aircraft fire drove the attackers off; U-198 received only slight damage in return and continued south to her assigned patrol area.
June 16th brought the U-boat crew their first success of the patrol. The unescorted South African steam merchant Columbine was hit on the port side by one torpedo. The crew began to abandon ship and was in the process of doing so when a coup de grâce struck 8 minutes after the first hit causing the ship to sink very rapidly. 23 men died, including the shipmaster.
About a month later, on July 15th, U-198 torpedoed the British steam merchant Director in the Mozambique channel (Between Mozambique and Madagascar). One man died, the remaining 56 were picked up by the Portuguese Sloop Gonçalves Zarco. On July 19th, U-198 fired torpedoes at an unidentified freighter and was counter attacked by an escorting corvette. The torpedoes missed and no damage was suffered from depth charges.
Ranging farther up the east coast of Africa, U-198 sighted convoy DKA-21 on 6 August 1944 and attacked, sinking the 7,295 GRT British motor merchant Empire City east of Mocímboa da Praia, Portuguese East Africa. Two crew and ten gunners were lost from a total complement of 70. The following day, U-198 scored her final kill, sinking the British motor merchant Empire Day. All 43 crew and gunners managed to abandon the sinking ship, however the U-boat crew took the chief officer of the ship, Robert Courteney Selfe, as a prisoner of war. The remaining crew landed safely on the island of Zanzibar.
On 12 August 1944, U-198 was depth charged and sunk by the British frigate HMS Findhorn and the Indian sloop HMIS Godavari in position (near the Seychelles). The entire crew of the submarine was lost, as well as the first officer of the Empire Day, a total of 66 men.