German submarine U-429

Career
Name: U-429
Ordered: 25 August 1941
Builder: Danziger Werft, Danzig
Yard number: 130
Laid down: 14 September 1942
Launched: 30 March 1943
Commissioned: 14 July 1943
Fate: Destroyed by bombing, 30 March 1945
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 × torpedoes or 26 TMA mines
• 1 × C35 88mm gun/L45 deck gun (220 rounds)
• Various AA guns
Service record[1]
Part of: 8th U-boat Flotilla
(14 July–31 August 1943)
23rd U-boat Flotilla
(1 September 1943–28 February 1945)
31st U-boat Flotilla
(1–30 March 1945)
Commanders: Kptlt. Ernst-August Racky
(27 October 1943–15 October 1944)
Kptlt. Martin Kuttkat
(16 October 1944–30 March 1945)
Operations: None
Victories: None

German submarine U-429 was a Type VIIC U-boat of the German Kriegsmarine originally built for the Italian Regia Marina during World War II. Her keel was laid down on 14 September 1942 by Danziger Werft of Danzig. She was then commissioned as S-4 on 14 July 1943 under the command of an Italian captain.[1]

Following the Italian armistice on 8 September 1943, the Kriegsmarine took possession of the U-429, which was still in German waters, along with the U-428 and U-430. These boats were not deemed advanced or useful enough for full war service and on 27 October 1943 they were turned over to training flotillas for service in the Baltic Sea, training up submarine crews for despatch to operating boats, mainly based in France. After a very uneventful service life, the U-429 was caught in an open dock during a U.S. Eighth Air Force raid on the city of Wilhelmshaven on 30 March 1945, and destroyed by bombing, although her crew were not on board at the time of the attack.

Modern dramatisation

The 2003 film In Enemy Hands features a fictional U-429, which captures the crew of a fictional version of USS Swordfish.[2]

References

Notes
  1. ^ a b "The Type VIIC boat U-429 - German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net". www.uboat.net. http://www.uboat.net/boats/u429.htm. Retrieved 2009-08-25. 
  2. ^ "In Enemy Hands (2004)". www.imdb.com. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0316824/. Retrieved 2009-08-25. 
Bibliography

See also