German submarine U-201
 U-123 and U-201 departing Lorient on 8 June 1941 | |
| Career |  |
|---|---|
| Name: | U-201 |
| Ordered: | 23 September 1939 |
| Builder: | Friedrich Krupp Germaniawerft, Kiel |
| Yard number: | 630 |
| Laid down: | 20 January 1940 |
| Launched: | 7 December 1940 |
| Commissioned: | 25 January 1941 |
| Fate: | Sunk by depth charges from a British warship east of Newfoundland, 17 February 1943 |
| 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 F46 diesel engines, totalling 2,800–3,200 bhp (2,100–2,400 kW). Max rpm: 470-490 2 × AEG electric motors, totalling 750 shp (560 kW) and max rpm: 296. |
| Speed: |
17.7 knots (32.8 km/h; 20.4 mph) surfaced 7.6 knots (14.1 km/h; 8.7 mph) submerged |
| Range: |
8,500 nmi (15,700 km) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) surfaced 80 nmi (150 km) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph) submerged |
| Test depth: |
230 m (750 ft) Crush depth: 250–295 m (820–968 ft) |
| Complement: | 44–52 officers and ratings |
| Armament: |
• 5 × 53.3 cm (21 in) torpedo tubes (four bow, one stern) • 14 × G7e torpedoes or 26 TMA mines • 1 × 8.8 cm (3.46 in) deck gun (220 rounds) • Various AA guns |
| Service record[1][2] | |
|---|---|
| Part of: |
1st U-boat Flotilla, Training (25 January–1 April 1941) 1st U-boat Flotilla, Front Boat (1 April 1941–17 February 1943) |
| Commanders: |
Kptlt. Adalbert Schnee, Knight's Cross (25 January 1941—24 August 1942) Kptlt. Günther Rosenberg (25 August 1942—17 February 1943) |
| Operations: |
Nine patrols 1st patrol: 22 April–18 May 1941 2nd patrol: 8 June–19 July 1941 3rd patrol:<br 14–25 August 1941 4th patrol: 14–30 September 1941 5th patrol: 29 October–9 December 1941 6th patrol: 24 March–21 May 1942 7th patrol: 27 June–26 October 1942 8th patrol: 6 September–26 October 1942 9th patrol: 3 January–17 February 1943 |
| Victories: |
22 commercial ships sunk (103,355 GRT) two auxiliary warships sunk (5,700 GRT) Two commercials ships damaged (13,386 GRT) |
German submarine U-201 was a Type VIIC U-boat of the Kriegsmarine in World War II.
The submarine was laid down on 20 January 1940 by Friedrich Krupp Germaniawerft yard at Kielv as 'werk' 630, launched on 7 December 1940, and commissioned on 25 January 1941 under the command of Kapitänleutnant Adalbert Schnee. Attached to the 1st U-boat Flotilla, she made nine successful patrols in the North Atlantic, the last two under the command of Kptlt. Günther Rosenberg. She was a member of eight wolfpacks.
She was sunk on 17 February 1943 in the North Atlantic, by depth charges from a British warship. All 49 hands were lost.[1]
Operational career
1st patrol
U-201 departed Kiel for her first patrol on 22 April 1941. Her route took her across the North Sea, through the 'gap' separating Iceland and the Faroe Islands and into the Atlantic Ocean. Her first 'kill' was the Capulet which she sank on 2 May south of Iceland. The ship had already been torpedoed by U-552 ; her back was broken, she had caught fire and been abandoned.
Moving east of Greenland, she sank the Greglia on 9 May and damaged the Empire Cloud on the same day.
She was attacked over five hours by three escorts from Convoy OB-318. A total of 99 depth charges were dropped, severely damaging the boat, but she escaped. She docked at Lorient in occupied France on 18 May.
2nd patrol
The submarine's second foray passed without major incident: starting on 8 June 1942, finishing on 19 July but in Brest. (For the rest of her career she would be based in this French Atlantic port).
3rd patrol
U-201's third sortie began from Brest on 14 August 1941. On the 19th in mid-Atlantic she took part in a wolfpack attack on Convoy OG 71. Firing one spread of four torpedoes she hit the cargo ship Ciscar and passenger liner Aguila, which was carrying the Convoy Commodore and 86 other Royal Navy personnel. Both ships sank, and Aguila's sinking killed 152 of the 168 people aboard, including all but one of the naval staff.
U-201 continued with the concerted attack on OG 71, sinking the Irish Clonlara on 22 August and British merchants Aldergrove and Stork northwest of Lisbon on the 23rd, before returning to Brest on the 25th.
4th patrol
Success continued to accompany U-201. Having departed Brest on 14 September 1941 she sank the Runa, the Lissa and the Rhineland, all on 21 September.
She then sank the Cervantes on 27 September. This ship had four survivors from the Ciscar on board. She also accounted for HMS Springbank, a Fighter catapult ship about 430 nmi (800 km) west southwest of Cape Clear, southern Ireland on the same date. One torpedo was seen to pass between Springbank and Leadgate, but two others sealed the British vessel's fate.
The submarine's final victim on this patrol was the Margareta, which went down southwest of Cape Clear.
U-201 returned to Brest on 30 September.
5th patrol
The gods of fate showed how fickle they could be on U-201's fifth sortie; she failed to find any targets.
6th patrol
U-201 commenced her sixth and longest patrol on 24 March 1942. Having departed Brest and crossed the Atlantic, she damaged the Argentinian and neutral Victoria about 300 nmi (560 km) east of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina on 18 April. The crew, realizing that the ship, despite the torpedo strike, was not settling, decided to stay on board. The U-boat men only saw the neutrality markings after a second torpedo was fired and the submarine had surfaced. Victoria's complement then abandoned their vessel; U-201 reported their mistake to the BdU (U-boat headquarters) who ordered them to clear the area, which they did.
USS Owl, an American minesweeper towing the barge YOG-38, picked-up Victoria's distress signals and sent a boarding party across to the tanker to effect repairs. The ship reached New York on 21 April and after much legal wrangling, was repaired and requisitioned by the US government and returned to service in July. She survived the war.
Three more ships went to the bottom on this patrol - the Bris on 21 April, the San Jacinto and the Derryheen, both on 22 April.
The boat returned to Brest on 21 May.
7th patrol
Patrol number seven was in tonnage terms, the boat's most successful. Departing Brest on 27 June 1942, she operated in the eastern north Atlantic, sinking the Avita Star 90 nmi (170 km) east of San Miguel in the Azores on 6 July. The death toll was increased when a torpedo exploded under a lifeboat as it was being lowered from the stricken ship.
Another victim, the Cortuna, was sunk about 383 nmi (709 km) west of Madeira on 12 July after U-116 had already hit her. The Siris went down on the same day after a torpedo and 100 rounds from the deck gun.
Three more ships met watery ends before the submarine returned to Brest on 26 October.
8th patrol
So it went on; this time in the waters off South America. Another three ships met their end. One, the John Carter Rose was sunk about 620 nmi (1,150 km) east of Trinidad only after a chase lasting 32 hours, 290 nmi (540 km) and seven torpedoes on 8 October 1942. Also involved was U-202.
Another, the Flensburg, went down the following day about 500 nmi (930 km) from Suriname. The 48 survivors were spotted by a Yugoslavian merchant ship, but when they learned of the prospect of an unescorted Atlantic crossing to Durban, opted to remain in their lifeboats until they reached the mouth of the River Marowijine.
9th patrol and loss
The boat left Brest for the last time on 3 January 1943 and headed for the eastern coast of Canada. She was sunk in position 50°50′N 40°50′W / 50.833°N 40.833°WCoordinates: 50°50′N 40°50′W / 50.833°N 40.833°W by depth charges from the British destroyer HMS Viscount east of Newfoundland.
49 men died; there were no survivors.
Previously recorded fate
U-201 was sunk by depth charges from the British destroyer HMS Fame east of Newfoundland on 17 February 1942. This attack sank U-69.
Summary of Raiding Career
| Date | Ship Name | Type | Nationality | Tonnage (GRT) | Position | Convoy | Deaths |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 May 1941 | Capulet | Motor Tanker |  United Kingdom |
8,190 | 60°00′N 16°00′W / 60.000°N 16.000°W | HX-121 | 9 |
| 9 May 1941 | Empire Cloud* | Merchant steamship | United Kingdom |
5,969 | 61°00′N 32°30′W / 61.000°N 32.500°W | OB-318 | 0 |
| 9 May 1941 | Gregalia | Merchant steamship | United Kingdom |
5,802 | 60°24′N 32°37′W / 60.400°N 32.617°W | OB-318 | 0 |
| 19 August 1941 | Aguila | Passenger steamship | United Kingdom |
3,255 | 49°23′N 17°56′W / 49.383°N 17.933°W | OG-71 | 152 |
| 19 August 1941 | Ciscar | Merchant steamship | United Kingdom |
1,809 | 49°10′N 17°40′W / 49.167°N 17.667°W | OG-71 | 13 |
| 23 August 1941 | Aldergrove | Merchant steamship | United Kingdom |
1,974 | 40°43′N 11°39′W / 40.717°N 11.650°W | OG-71 | 1 |
| 23 August 1941 | Stork | Motor Merchant ship | United Kingdom |
787 | 40°43′N 11°39′W / 40.717°N 11.650°W | OG-71 | 19 |
| 21 September 1941 | Lissa | Merchant steamship | United Kingdom |
1,511 | 47°00′N 22°00′W / 47.000°N 22.000°W | OG-74 | 26 |
| 21 September 1941 | Rhineland | Merchant steamship | United Kingdom |
1,381 | 47°00′N 22°00′W / 47.000°N 22.000°W | OG-74 | 26 |
| 21 September 1941 | Runa | Merchant steamship | United Kingdom |
1,575 | 46°20′N 22°23′W / 46.333°N 22.383°W | OG-74 | 14 |
| 27 September 1941 | Cervantes | Merchant steamship | United Kingdom |
1,810 | 48°37′N 20°01′W / 48.617°N 20.017°W | HG-73 | 8 |
| 27 September 1941 | HMS Springbank | Pegasus-class Fighter catapult ship |  Royal Navy |
5,155 | 49°09′N 20°10′W / 49.150°N 20.167°W | HG-73 | 32 |
| 27 September 1941 | Margareta | Merchant steamship | United Kingdom |
3,103 | 50°15′N 17°27′W / 50.250°N 17.450°W | HG-73 | 0 |
| 18 April 1942 | Victoria** | Motor Tanker |  Argentina |
7,417 | 36°41′N 68°48′W / 36.683°N 68.800°W | 0 | |
| 21 April 1942 | Bris | Merchant steamship |  Norway |
2,027 | 33°35′N 69°38′W / 33.583°N 69.633°W | 5 | |
| 22 April 1942 | Derryheen | Merchant steamship | United Kingdom |
7,217 | 31°20′N 70°35′W / 31.333°N 70.583°W | 0 | |
| 22 April 1942 | San Jacinto | Passenger steamship |  United States |
6,069 | 31°10′N 70°45′W / 31.167°N 70.750°W | 14 | |
| 6 July 1942 | Avila Star | Passenger steamship | United Kingdom |
14,443 | 38°04′N 22°48′W / 38.067°N 22.800°W | 84 | |
| 12 July 1942 | Cortona | Merchant steamship | United Kingdom |
7,093 | 32°45′N 24°45′W / 32.750°N 24.750°W | OS-33 | 31 |
| 12 July 1942 | Siris | Merchant steamship | United Kingdom |
5,242 | 31°20′N 24°48′W / 31.333°N 24.800°W | OS-33 | 3 |
| 13 July 1942 | Sithonia | Merchant steamship | United Kingdom |
6,723 | 29°00′N 25°00′W / 29.000°N 25.000°W | OS-33 | 7 |
| 15 July 1942 | British Yeoman | Steam Tanker | United Kingdom |
6,990 | 26°42′N 24°20′W / 26.700°N 24.333°W | 43 | |
| 25 July 1942 | HMS Laertes | MS Trawler | Royal Navy |
545 | 06°00′N 14°17′W / 6.000°N 14.283°W | 19 | |
| 2 October 1942 | Alcoa Transport | Merchant steamship | United States |
2,084 | 09°03′N 60°10′W / 9.050°N 60.167°W | 6 | |
| 8 October 1942 | John Carter Rose | Merchant steamship (Liberty Ship) | United States |
7,191 | 10°27′N 45°37′W / 10.450°N 45.617°W | TRIN-15 | 8 |
| 9 October 1942 | Flensburg | Merchant steamship |  Netherlands |
6,421 | 10°45′N 46°48′W / 10.750°N 46.800°W | 0 |
*Damaged. Later sunk by U-564 **Damaged
See also
- List of German U-boats
References
- Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "The Type VIIC boat U-201 - German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net". uboat.net. Retrieved 19 February 2010.
- ↑ "War Patrols by German U-boat U-201 - Boats - uboat.net". uboat.net. Retrieved 19 February 2010.
- Bibliography
External links
- U-201 at u-boot-archiv.de (German)
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