German submarine U-229
| Career |  |
|---|---|
| Name: | U-229 |
| Ordered: | 7 December 1940 |
| Builder: | Friedrich Krupp Germaniawerft, Kiel |
| Yard number: | 659 |
| Laid down: | 3 November 1941 |
| Launched: | 20 August 1942 |
| Commissioned: | 3 October 1942 |
| Fate: | Sunk, 22 September 1943[1] by a British warship |
| 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 × 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 (8.7 mph; 14.1 km/h) submerged |
| Range: |
15,170 km (8,190 nmi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) surfaced 150 km (81 nmi) 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[2][3] | |
|---|---|
| Part of: |
5th U-boat Flotilla (3 October 1942–28 February 1943) 6th U-boat Flotilla (1 March–22 September 1943) |
| Commanders: |
Oblt. Robert Schetelig (3 October 1942–22 September 1943) |
| Operations: |
Three: 1st patrol: 20 February–17 April 1943 2nd patrol: 11 May–7 June 1943 3rd patrol: 31 August–22 September 1943 |
| Victories: |
Two commercial ships sunk (8,352 GRT) One commercial ship damaged (3,670 GRT) |
German submarine U-229 was a Type VIIC U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II.
The submarine was laid down on 3 November 1941 at the Friedrich Krupp Germaniawerft yard at Kiel as 'werk' 659, launched on 20 August 1942, and commissioned on 3 October under the command of Oberleutnant zur See Robert Schetelig.[2]
After training with the 5th U-boat Flotilla at Kiel, U-229 was transferred to the 6th U-boat Flotilla, (which was based at Saint-Nazaire on the French Atlantic coast), on 1 March 1943, for front-line service. She was a member of four wolfpacks. In three war patrols the U-boat sank two merchant ships, totalling 8,352 gross register tons (GRT) and damaged another of 3,670 GRT.[2]
She was sunk by a British warship in September 1943.
Operational career
1st patrol
U-229 left Kiel on 20 February 1942. She crossed the North Sea, passed through the 'gap' between Iceland and the Faroe Islands and entered the Atlantic Ocean.
She sank the British freighter Nailsea Court - part of convoy SC-121 on 10 March 1943 southeast of Cape Farewell, Greenland. In the same attack she damaged the British freighter Coulmore (this ship was salvaged and returned to service in July 1943).
She then sank the Swedish Vaalaren in the same vicinity on 5 April. There were no survivors.
U-229 arrived at St. Nazaire on 17 April.
2nd patrol
The boat's second foray commenced with her departure from St. Nazaire on 11 May 1943. On the 17th, west of the Bay of Biscay, she was attacked by a Catalina flying boat of No. 190 Squadron RAF. The damage inflicted was such that she was forced to return to France, arriving in Bordeaux on 7 June.
3rd patrol
Having moved from Bordeaux to La Pallice in early August 1943, the boat departed the latter port on the 31st. She was sunk on 22 September south-east of Cape Farewell, in position 54°36′N 36°25′W / 54.600°N 36.417°WCoordinates: 54°36′N 36°25′W / 54.600°N 36.417°W, by depth charges, gunfire and ramming by the British destroyer HMS Keppel. All 50 hands were lost.[2]
Summary of Raiding History
| Date | Name | Nationality | Tonnage (GRT) |
Fate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 March 1943 | Coulmore |  United Kingdom | 3,670 | Damaged |
| 10 March 1943 | Nailsea Court | United Kingdom | 4,946 | Sunk |
| 5 April 1943 | Vaalaren |  Sweden | 3,406 | Sunk |
See also
- List of German U-boats
References
- Notes
- ↑ Kemp, Paul: U-Boats Destroyed - German Submarine Losses in the World Wars, 1999, Arms & Armour, ISBN 1-85409-515-3, pp. 146-147.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 "The Type VIIC boat U-229 - German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net". uboat.net. Retrieved 1 April 2013.
- ↑ "War Patrols by German U-boat U-229 - Boats - uboat.net". uboat.net. Retrieved 1 April 2013.
- Bibliography
External links
- U-229 at u-boot-archiv.de (German)
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