German submarine U-264
| Career |  |
|---|---|
| Name: | U-264 |
| Ordered: | 15 August 1941 |
| Builder: | Bremer-Vulkan-Vegesacker Werft, Bremen |
| Yard number: | 29 |
| Laid down: | 21 June 1941 |
| Launched: | 2 April 1942 |
| Commissioned: | 22 May 1942 |
| Fate: | Sunk, in February 1944 in the Atlantic by British warships[1] |
| 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 (14.1 km/h; 8.7 mph) 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: |
8th U-boat Flotilla (22 May–31 October 1942) 1st U-boat Flotilla (1 November 1942–19 February 1944) |
| Commanders: |
Oblt.z.S. Hartwig Looks (22 May 1942–19 February 1942) |
| Operations: |
Five patrols: 3 November–4 December 1942 10 January–5 March 1943 8 April–1 June 1943 22 September–15 October 1943 5 February–19 February 1944 |
| Victories: | Three |
German submarine U-264 was a Type VIIC U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II. The submarine was laid down on 21 June 1941 at the Bremer-Vulkan-Vegesacker Werft (yard) in Bremen as 'werk' 29. She was launched on 2 April 1942 and commissioned on 22 May under the command of Oberleutnant zur See Hartwig Looks.[2]
In five patrols, she sank three ships of 16,843 GRT. She was a member of eleven wolf pack.
She was sunk on 19 February 1944 by British warships.
Service history
After training with the 8th U-boat Flotilla, the boat became operational on 1 November 1942 when she was transferred to the 6th flotilla.
1st and 2nd patrols
U-264's first patrol began when she departed Kiel on 3 November 1942. She entered the Atlantic Ocean after negotiating the 'gap' between the Faroe and the Shetland Islands. On 17 November, she sank the Mount Taurus. She was attacked by a Norwegian corvette, HNoMS Potentilla, on the 20th. No damage was sustained. She entered St. Nazaire in occupied France, on 4 December.
The boat's second sortie was relatively uneventful.
3rd patrol
On 26 February 1943 just off Cape Finisterre she fired a salvo of four torpedoes at HMS Sussex but all four missed; Sussex had just attacked and sunk the German Tanker Hohenfriedburg.[4] On 17 April 1943, she was in the process of attacking Convoy HX 233 when she was attacked by the escorts. The boat was badly damaged, but was repaired by the crew and the patrol continued. She then sank the Harperley and the West Maximus 500 nautical miles (930 km; 580 mi) south of Cape Farewell (Greenland) on 5 May. She docked at Lorient, on the French Atlantic coast, on 1 June.
There then followed a pair of short 'hops' between Lorient and St. Nazaire in August and September 1943.
4th patrol
While on her fourth patrol, U-264 and two other U-boats were re-fuelling from the supply submarine U-460 on 4 October 1943 when they were surprised by aircraft from the American carrier USS Card. The more nimble Type VIIs escaped, but the 'milch cow' was sunk by the Avengers. U-264 did not remain unscathed for long; later that day she was attacked, the damage inflicted forced a return to base.
5th patrol and loss
For her final sortie, she was again in the Atlantic. She was sunk by depth charges dropped by the British sloops HMS Woodpecker and HMS Starling on 19 February 1944.
There were no deaths, fifty-two men survived.
Summary of Raiding Career
| Date | Ship Name | Nationality | Displacement | Fate[5] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 November 1942 | Mount Taurus | .svg.png){kind=small} Greece |
6,696 | Sunk |
| 5 May 1943 | Harperley |  United Kingdom |
4,586 | Sunk |
| 5 May 1943 | West Maximus |  United States |
5,561 | Sunk |
See also
- List of German U-boats
References
- Notes
- ↑ http://uboat.net/boats/u264/htm
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "The Type VIIC boat U-264 - German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net". uboat.net. Retrieved 1 August 2012.
- ↑ "War Patrols by German U-boat U-264 - Boats - uboat.net". uboat.net. Retrieved 1 August 2012.
- ↑ Naval-history.net
- ↑ http://www.uboat.net/boats/successes/u264.html
- Bibliography
External links
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