| Career | |
|---|---|
| Name: | U-111 |
| Ordered: | 8 August 1939[1] |
| Builder: | AG Weser, Bremen |
| Yard number: | 976[1] |
| Laid down: | 20 February 1940[1] |
| Launched: | 15 September 1940[1] |
| Commissioned: | 19 December 1940[1] |
| Fate: | Sunk 4 October 1941 southwest of Tenerife, by depth charges from the British anti-submarine trawler HMS Lady Shirley. 8 dead and 44 survivors.[2] |
| General characteristics [3][4] | |
| Displacement: | 1,051 t (1,034 long tons) surfaced 1,178 t (1,159 long tons) submerged |
| Length: | 76.5 m (251 ft 0 in) overall 58.7 m (192 ft 7 in) pressure hull |
| Beam: | 6.8 m (22 ft 4 in) overall 4.4 m (14 ft 5 in) pressure hull |
| Height: | 9.6 m (31 ft 6 in) |
| Draft: | 4.7 m (15 ft 5 in) |
| Speed: | 18.3 knots (33.9 km/h) surfaced 7.3 knots (13.5 km/h) submerged |
| Range: | 22,200 nmi (41,100 km) at 10 knots (19 km/h) surfaced 118 nmi (219 km) at 4 kn (7.4 km/h) submerged |
| Service record[2][5] | |
| Part of: | 2nd U-boat Flotilla (19 December 1940 – 30 April 1941) 2nd U-boat Flotilla (1 May 1941–4 October 1941) |
| Commanders: | Kapitänleutnant Wilhelm Kleinschmidt (19 December 1940 – 4 October 1941) |
German submarine U-111 was a Type IXB U-boat of the German Kriegsmarine during World War II. U-111 was ordered by the Kriegsmarine on 8 August 1939 in violation of the Treaty of Versailles and as part of the German naval rearmament program known as Plan Z. Her keel was laid down by AG Weser in Bremen on 20 February 1940. Following about seven months of construction, she was launched on 15 September 1940 and formally commissioned into the Kriegsmarine on 19 December under the command of Kapitänleutnant Wilhelm Kleinschmidt.
U-111 had a short career and sank only four enemy vessels and damaged a further one. These victories took place over a period of two war patrols. During her first patrol, U-111 sank two enemy vessels and damaged a further one; on her second patrol, U-111 sank two more enemy ships before she herself was sunk on 4 October 1941 southwest of Tenerife, by depth charges from the British anti-submarine warship HMS Lady Shirley. Out of a crew of 52 men and officers, 8 died in the attack and 44 survived.
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U-111 was ordered to be built by the German Kriegsmarine on 8 August 1939 (as part of Plan Z and in violation of the Treaty of Versailles). Her keel was laid down on 20 February 1940 by AG Weser in Bremen as Werk 976. U-111 was launched on 15 September 1940 and commissioned on 19 December under the command of Kapitänleutnant Wilhelm Kleinschmidt.[2]
Like all Type IXB submarines, U-111 had a total output of 1,000 hp (746 kW) while submerged and 4,400 hp (3,281 kW) when surfaced. As a result, she could travel at 18.3 knots (33.9 km/h) while surfaced and 7.3 knots (13.5 km/h) submerged. U-111 had a range of 22,200 nmi (41,100 km) at 10 knots (19 km/h) while on the surface and 118 nmi (219 km) at 4 kn (7.4 km/h) while submerged. She was equipped with 6 torpedo tubes (4 in the bow, 2 in the stern) and carried a total of 22 533 mm (21 in) torpedoes. The submarine was also equipped with 44 TMA mines. U-111's main deck gun was a Utof 105 mm/45 with a magazine of 110 rounds. U-111 was also equipped with the standard 2 cm FlaK 30 anti-aircraft guns. She had a crew of 52 men and could carry up to 56 crew members at any given time. After being commissioned and deployed, U-111 was stationed in the German port city of Wilhelmshaven.[3][4]
U-111 went to sea on a war patrol for the first time on 5 May 1941. For a period of 64 days, U-111 roamed the North Sea and eventually the North Atlantic as far west as Nova Scotia in search of any Allied convoys heading to Great Britain. During that time she encountered three enemy vessels.[6] The first encounter took place on 13 May 1941, just 8 days after leaving port, when U-111 came across the British merchant vessel Somersby and sank her just south of Iceland.[7] On 20 May, U-111 came across the tanker San Felix and fired a torpedo at her, causing damage to her hull but failing to sink her. Two days later, U-111 sank her second and last enemy vessel of her patrol, the Barnby, south of Greenland. After these victories, U-111 returned to port. However, instead of returning to Wilhelmshaven, she entered the occupied French port of Lorient on 7 July 1941.[6]
U-111's second patrol was much less successful than her first patrol, with the U-boat herself being sunk in the middle of it. U-111 left Lorient on 14 August 1941 and traveled south off Africa and into the South Atlantic. She then turned west towards the eastern coast of Brazil. It was in these waters that U-111 sank her last two enemy merchant ships.[8] The first ship to be sunk was the Dutch Motor merchant Marken. She was torpedoed on 10 September 1941 just north of Ceará. All of her crew survived the attack and boarded life boats. They were questioned by the crew of U-111, given food and released. Marken's crew were later safely picked up by a Spanish merchant vessel.[7] Ten days later, U-111 sank her fourth and last enemy vessel, the British motor merchant Cingalese Prince off of Brazil as well. On 28 September she was involved in an action in Tarafal Bay, in the Cape Verde islands, having been ordered to rendezvous there with two other U-boats, U-67 and U-68. Following this, U-111 headed for home. On 4 October 1941, U-111 was hunted down and sunk by depth charges from the British anti-submarine trawler HMS Lady Shirley. She sank southwest of Tenerife, and of a crew of 52 men, 8 died and 44 survived.[2][8] The survivors were later interrogated; it was the first time prisoners of war were captured from a U-boat operating in the South Atlantic[9].
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