German submarine U-270
| Career |  |
|---|---|
| Name: | U-270 |
| Ordered: | 20 January 1941 |
| Builder: | Bremer-Vulkan-Vegesacker Werft, Bremen |
| Yard number: | 35 |
| Laid down: | 15 October 1941 |
| Launched: | 11 July 1942 |
| Commissioned: | 5 September 1942 |
| Fate: | Sunk, in August 1944 in the Bay of Biscay, by an Australian aircraft[1] |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Type VIIC submarine |
| Displacement: |
769 metric tons (757 long tons; 848 short tons) surfaced 871 t (857 long tons; 960 short 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 (3.5 in) SL C/35 deck gun (220 rounds) Various AA guns |
| Service record[2][3] | |
|---|---|
| Part of: |
8th U-boat Flotilla (5 September 1942–31 March 1943) 6th U-boat Flotilla (1 April 1943–13 August 1944) |
| Commanders: |
Kptlt. Paul-Frederich Otto (5 September 1942–15 July 1944) Oblt.z.S. Heinrich Schreiber (16 July–13 August 1944) |
| Operations: |
Six patrols: 23 March–15 May 1943 26 June–2 July 1943 7 September–6 October 1943 8 December 1943–17 January 1944 6 June–17 June 1944 10 August–13 August 1944 |
| Victories: | One warship declared a total loss, 1,370 GRT |
German submarine U-270 was a Type VIIC U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II. The submarine was laid down on 15 October 1941 at the Bremer-Vulkan-Vegesacker Werft (yard) in Bremen as 'werk' 35. She was launched on 11 July 1942 and commissioned on 5 September under the command of Oberleutnant zur See Paul-Fredrich Otto.[2]
In six patrols, she caused one British warship of 1,370 gross register tons (GRT) to be declared a total loss. She was a member of seven wolf packs.
She was sunk in August 1943 in the Bay of Biscay by an Australian aircraft.
Service history
After training with the 8th U-boat Flotilla, the boat became operational on 1 April 1943 when she was transferred to the 6th flotilla.
1st and 2nd patrols
U-270's first patrol began when she departed Kiel on 23 March 1943. She entered the Atlantic Ocean after negotiating the 'gap' between Iceland and the Faroe Islands. Two crew members were injured in bad weather on 4 April. She then docked at the French Atlantic port of St. Nazaire on 15 May.
For her second sortie, the boat moved through the Atlantic waters off northwest Spain.
3rd and 4th patrols
She attacked the British frigate HMS Lagan which caused the warship to be declared a total loss. During an attack on a convoy in mid-Atlantic, the boat's pressure hull was cracked by depth charges dropped by the escorts; the submarine was forced to return to base.
U-270 was attacked by a British B-17 Flying Fortress on 6 January 1944 and succeeded in shooting the aircraft down, but not before sufficient damage was caused to force the U-boat to curtail the patrol.
5th patrol
The submarine was returning to base after being attacked and badly damaged by a Vickers Wellington of No. 172 Squadron RAF, when she was attacked by a second Fortress, this time from 53 Squadron. This B-17 was also shot down, but did not cause any further damage to the boat.
6th patrol and loss
U-270 departed Lorient for the last time on 10 August 1944. In the Bay of Biscay, she was attacked and sunk by an Australian Sunderland flying boat of No. 461 Squadron RAAF on the 13th.
There were no deaths; seventy-one men survived.
References
- Notes
- ↑ Kemp, Paul: U-Boats Destroyed - German Submarine Losses in the World Wars, 1997, Arms & Armour, ISBN 1-85409-515-3, p. 210
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "The Type VIIC boat U-270 - German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net". uboat.net. Retrieved 2 August 2012.
- ↑ "War Patrols by German U-boat U-270 - Boats - uboat.net". uboat.net. Retrieved 2 August 2012.
- Bibliography
External links
See also
- List of German U-boats
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