German submarine U-355

Career
Name: U-355
Ordered: 26 October 1939
Builder: Flensburger Schiffbau-Gesellschaft, Flensburg
Yard number: 474
Laid down: 4 May 1940
Launched: 5 July 1941
Commissioned: 29 October 1941
Fate: Unknown
Status: Listed as missing, 4 April 1944
General characteristics
Type: Type VIIC submarine
Displacement: 769 tonnes (757 long tons) surfaced
871 t (857 long tons) submerged
Length: 67.1 m (220 ft 2 in) o/a
50.5 m (165 ft 8 in) pressure hull
Beam: 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: 2 × supercharged Germaniawerft 6-cylinder 4-stroke M6V 40/46 diesel engines, totalling 2,800–3,200 bhp (2,100–2,400 kW). Max rpm: 470-490
2 × electric motors, totalling 750 shp (560 kW) and max rpm: 296.
Speed: 17.7 knots (20.4 mph; 32.8 km/h) surfaced
7.6 knots (8.7 mph; 14.1 km/h) submerged
Range: 15,170 km (8,190 nmi) at 10 kn (19 km/h) surfaced
150 km (81 nmi) at 4 kn (7.4 km/h) submerged
Test depth: 230 m (750 ft)
Crush depth: 250–295 m (820–968 ft)
Complement: 44–52 officers & ratings
Armament: • 5 × 533 mm (21 in) torpedo tubes (4 bow, 1 stern)
• 14 × G7e torpedoes or 26 TMA mines
• 1 × C35 88mm/L45 deck gun (220 rounds)
• Various AA guns
Service record[1][2]
Part of: 5th U-boat Flotilla
(29 October 1941–30 June 1942)
11th U-boat Flotilla
(1 July 1942–4 April 1944)
Commanders: KrvKpt. Günter La Baume
(29 October 1941–4 April 1944)
Operations: 1st patrol: 16 June–12 July 1942
2nd patrol: 25 July–24 August 1942
3rd patrol: 2 February–6 March 1943
4th patrol: 17 March–17 April 1943
5th patrol: 6 July–5 August 1943
6th patrol: 16 August–5 September 1943
7th patrol: 6–9 September 1943
8th patrol: 2–25 October 1943
9th patrol: 25 March–4 April 1944
Victories: 1 commercial ship sunk (5,082 GRT)

German submarine U-355 was a Type VIIC U-boat of the German Kriegsmarine during World War II. The submarine was laid down on 4 May 1940 at the Flensburger Schiffbau-Gesellschaft yard at Flensburg, launched on 5 July 1941, and commissioned on 29 October 1941 under the command of Kapitänleutnant Günter La Baume. After training with 5th U-boat Flotilla, U-355 was transferred to 11th U-boat Flotilla, based at Bergen, Norway, for front-line service from 1 July 1942.[1] The ship went missing on 1 April 1944 while on patrol, and was never heard from again.

Contents

Construction and Design

Main article: German Type VII submarine

U-355 was ordered by the Kriegsmarine on 26 October 1939. She was laid down about 6 months later at the Flensburger Schiffbau-Gesellschaft yard at Flensburg, on 4 May 1940. Just over a year and a month later, U-355 was launched from Flensburg on 5 July 1941. She was formally commissioned later that year on 29 October 1941. U-355 carried 5 × 533 mm (21 in) torpedo tubes (4 located in the bow, 1 in the stern) and had one C35 88mm/L45 deck gun with 220 rounds. She could also carry 14 G7e torpedoes or 26 TMA mines and had a crew of 44-52 men.[1]

Service history

Patrols

U-355 sailed from Kiel on 1 June 1942, arriving at Skjomenfjord, near Narvik, six days later.[2] She sailed on her first combat patrol ten days later, on 16 June, and headed out into the Barents Sea.[3]

There, on 7 July 1942, she sank the 5,082 ton British merchant ship SS Hartlebury, dispersed from Convoy PQ 17, en route to Arkhangelsk, carrying 6 vehicles, 36 tanks, 7 aircraft and 2,409 tons of military stores. The ship, hit by three torpedoes, sank within 10 minutes around 17 miles west of Novaya Zemlya. Of the crew, 29 men, seven gunners, and two naval signalmen were killed. The master and 12 men landed at Pomorski Bay, Novaya Zemlya. Another seven survivors took shelter on the American merchant ship SS Winston-Salem, also of PQ 17, which had run aground and been abandoned on North Gusini Shoal, Novaya Zemlya, and were later rescued by a Soviet survey ship.[4] The U-boat arrived back at Narvik on 12 July after 27 days at sea.[2]

This was U-355's only success despite sailing on another eight patrols operating against the Arctic convoys between July 1942 and April 1944, totaling 187 days at sea.[2]

Loss

On 1 April 1944, during her ninth patrol, U-355 reported from approximate position while in pursuit of Convoy JW 58. She was never heard from again, and was listed as missing, together with her 52 hands on board, on 4 April 1944.[1] Post-war analysis led the Admiralty to credit her destruction to HMS Beagle and aircraft from HMS Tracker.[5] Other sources dispute this, claiming U-355 was lost due to an unknown cause.[6]

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d "U-355". Uboat.net. http://uboat.net/boats/u355.htm/. Retrieved 3 June 2010. 
  2. ^ a b c d "Patrols byU-355". Uboat.net. http://uboat.net/boats/patrols/u355.html. Retrieved 3 June 2010. 
  3. ^ "Patrol info for U-355 (First patrol)". Uboat.net. http://uboat.net/boats/patrols/patrol_5045.html. Retrieved 3 June 2010. 
  4. ^ "Hartlebury". Uboat.net. http://uboat.net/allies/merchants/ships/1903.html. Retrieved 3 June 2010. 
  5. ^ Kemp p180
  6. ^ Neistle p57, 226

References

External links

See also