German submarine U-33 (1936)

For other ships of the same name, see German submarine U-33.
Career
Name: U-33
Ordered: 25 March 1935
Builder: Friedrich Krupp Germaniawerft, Kiel
Yard number: 556
Laid down: 1 September 1935
Launched: 11 June 1936
Commissioned: 25 July 1936
Fate: Sunk, 12 February 1940
General characteristics
Type: Type VIIA submarine
Displacement: 626 long tons (636 t) surfaced
745 long tons (757 t) submerged
Length: 64.5 m (211 ft 7 in) o/a
44.5 m (146 ft 0 in) pressure hull
Beam: 5.85 m (19 ft 2 in) o/a
4.7 m (15 ft 5 in) pressure hull
Draft: 4.4 m (14 ft 5 in)
Propulsion: 2 × MAN 6-cylinder 4-stroke M6V 40/46 diesel engines totalling 2,100–2,310 bhp (1,600–1,720 kW). Max rpm: 470-485
2 × Brown, Boveri & Cie GG UB 720/8 electric motors, totalling 750 shp (560 kW). Max rpm: 322
Speed: 17 knots (20 mph; 31 km/h) surfaced
8 knots (9.2 mph; 15 km/h) submerged
Range: 11,470 km (6,190 nmi) at 10 kn (19 km/h) surfaced
175 km (94 nmi) at 4 kn (7.4 km/h) submerged
Test depth: 220 m (720 ft)
Crush depth: 230–250 m (750–820 ft)
Complement: 42–46 officers & ratings
Armament: • 5 × 533 mm (21 in) torpedo tubes (4 bow, 1 stern)
• 11 × torpedoes or 22 TMA mines or 33 TMB mines
• 1 × 8.8 cm SK C/35 naval gun (220 rounds)
• 1 × C30 20 mm AA
Service record[1][2]
Part of: 2nd U-boat Flotilla
(25 July 1936–12 February 1940)
Commanders: Ottoheinrich Junker
(25 July 1936–28 October 1938)
Kptlt. Kurt Freiwald
(22 November–20 December 1936 & 3 June–25 July 1937)
Kptlt. Hans-Wilhelm von Dresky
(29 October 1938–12 February 1940)
Operations: 1st patrol: 19 August–28 September 1939
2nd patrol: 29 October–26 November 1939
3rd patrol: 5–12 February 1940
Victories: 10 commercial ships sunk (19,261 GRT)
1 commercial ship a total loss (3,670 GRT)

German submarine U-33 was a Type VIIA U-boat of the German Kriegsmarine during World War II.

Her keel was laid down on 1 September 1935 by Germaniawerft, Kiel. She was launched on 11 June 1936 and commissioned on 25 July 1936 with Ottoheinrich Junker in command. On 22 November 1936 Junker was relieved by Kurt Freiwald, and on 29 October 1938 Kapitänleutnant Hans-Wilhelm von Dresky took over and commanded the boat until her loss.[1]

From the survivors, rotors from the Kriegsmarine's Enigma machine were captured, the wirings of which were at that time unknown to British codebreakers at Bletchley Park.

Contents

Service history

Since November 1936 U-35 took part in Operation Ursula—the German submarine operation in support of Franco's naval forces during the Spanish Civil War.[3]

During World War II, U-33 sank 10 ships for a total of 19,261 gross register tons (GRT) in just three war patrols.[1]

On Monday, 20 November 1939 she sank three British steam trawlers. At 10:30 am, the Thomas Hankins 14 miles north-west of Tory Island, at 4:00 pm the Delphine 18 miles north-northeast of Tory[4] and at 5:05 pm the Sea Sweeper 25 miles west-northwest of Tory.[5] The crew of Thomas Hankins under Master M. Hankins was rescued by another trawler ten hours later in a lifeboat and landed in Northern Ireland. They reported that they had been shelled without warning. The second shell went through the bows and the fifth through the boiler, causing the trawler to sink in about 25 minutes.[6]

On Tuesday, 21 November 1939 at 08:30 in rough seas, the Fleetwood Trawler FD87 Sulby was sunk by gunfire from U-33 75-80 miles north-west of Rathlin Island.[7] The crew had just managed to launch and push off the two lifeboats as the submarine fired two shells into the trawler amidships and she sank within two minutes. The U-boat commander pointed at the crew as they rowed from their ship and laughed. One of the lifeboats crewed by Harold Blackburn, James Hay, James Geddes, Fred Brunt, Augustus Lewis, Sydney Mellish and Jack Threlfall was picked up the following day by the Tobermory lifeboat. The other lifeboat was lost with five men including the Skipper Clarence Hudson; Mate John Michael (Jack) Dawson; and deck hands Raymond Randles, James Wood, R.A. Lister.

An hour or so later at the same location U-33 sank another trawler, the William Humphreys. The entire crew of 13 men were lost.[8] Two of them were buried on the graveyard of Cill Chriosd on the Isle of Skye.

Fate

In February 1940, then captained by Hans-Wilhelm von Dresky, the U-33 had been ordered to lay mines in the Firth of Clyde, Scotland. However, the minesweeper HMS Gleaner, captained by Lt.-Commander Hugh Price, detected the U-boat on 12 February 1940 and dropped depth charges over a period of several hours. Eventually, the damaged U-33 was forced to surface and the crew abandoned the ship, which sank soon after. 25 men died while 17 survived. Before the ship was abandoned, the U-boat's secret Enigma rotors were distributed amongst a few of the crew, who were instructed to release them into the sea to avoid capture. This was not done, however, and as a result the British captured three rotors, including two rotors (VI and VII) used only by the Kriegsmarine for which the wiring was then unknown.[9]

References

Notes
  1. ^ a b c "The Type VIIA boat U-33 - German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net". www.uboat.net. http://www.uboat.net/boats/u33.htm. Retrieved 2009-12-19. 
  2. ^ "War Patrols by German U-boat U-33 - Boats - uboat.net". www.uboat.net. http://www.uboat.net/boats/patrols/u33.html. Retrieved 2009-12-19. 
  3. ^ Westwell, Ian (2004). Condor Legion: The Wehrmacht's Training Ground. Spearhead. 15. Hersham, United Kingdom: Ian Allan publishing. p. 58. ISBN 9780711030435. 
  4. ^ "Delphine (Steam trawler) - Ships hit by U-boats - uboat.net". www.uboat.net. http://www.uboat.net/allies/merchants/ships/106.html. Retrieved 2009-12-19. 
  5. ^ "Sea Sweeper (Steam trawler) - Ships hit by U-boats - uboat.net". www.uboat.net. http://www.uboat.net/allies/merchants/ships/108.html. Retrieved 2009-12-19. 
  6. ^ "Thomas Hankins (Steam trawler) - Ships hit by U-boats - uboat.net". www.uboat.net. http://www.uboat.net/allies/merchants/ships/107.html. Retrieved 2009-12-19. 
  7. ^ "Sulby (Steam trawler) - Ships hit by U-boats - uboat.net". www.uboat.net. http://www.uboat.net/allies/merchants/ships/110.html. Retrieved 2009-12-19. 
  8. ^ "William Humphries (Steam trawler) - Ships hit by U-boats - uboat.net". www.uboat.net. http://www.uboat.net/allies/merchants/ships/109.html. Retrieved 2009-12-19. 
  9. ^ "HMS Gleaner 1940 Halcyon Class Minesweeper". www.halcyon-class.co.uk. http://www.halcyon-class.co.uk/gleaner/gleaner_1940.htm. Retrieved 2009-12-19. 
Bibliography

External links

See also