German submarine U-296

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Career
Name: U-296
Ordered: 14 October 1941
Builder: Bremer Vulkan Werft, Bremen-Vegesack
Yard number: 61
Laid down: 23 January 1943
Launched: 5 September 1943
Commissioned: 3 November 1943
Fate: Listed as missing, March 1945[1]
General characteristics
Type: Type VIIC/41 submarine
Displacement: 769 long tons (781 t) surfaced
871 long tons (885 t) submerged
Length: 67.23 m (220 ft 7 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: 15,725 km (8,491 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: 250 m (820 ft)
Crush depth: 275–325 m (902–1,066 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]
Part of: 8th U-boat Flotilla
(3 November 194331 July 1944)
9th U-boat Flotilla
(1 August30 September 1944)
11th U-boat Flotilla
(1 October12 March 1945)
Commanders: Oblt.z.S. Karl-Heinz Rasch
(3 November 194312 March 1945)
Operations: Three patrols:
16 August29 September 1944
4 November25 December 1944
28 February12 March 1945
Victories: None

German submarine U-296 was a Type VIIC/41 U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II.

She was laid down on 23 January 1943 by the Bremer Vulkan Werft (yard) at Bremen-Vegesack as 'werk' 61, launched on 5 September 1943 and commissioned on 3 November with Oberleutnant zur See Karl-Heinz Rasch in command.

In three patrols, she did not sink or damage any ships.

She was regarded as missing with all hands (42 men), in the approaches to the North Channel, (between Northern Ireland and mainland Great Britain), in March 1945.

Service history

The boat's service life began with training with the 8th U-boat Flotilla in November 1943. She was then transferred to the 9th flotilla for operations on 1 August 1944. She was reassigned to the 11th flotilla on 1 October.

She made the short journey from Kiel in Germany to Horten in Norway, arriving on 31 July 1944 and moving on to Bergen on 6 August.

1st patrol

U-296's first patrol between Bergen and Trondheim, took her through the 'gap' between the Shetland and Faroe Islands, both outbound and inbound.

2nd patrol

The boat's second sortie was similar to her first; starting in Trondheim and terminating in Stavanger. She reached northern Scotland, but this time she passed between Iceland and the Faroe Islands.

3rd patrol and fate

Having left Bergen in late February 1945, she was listed as missing on 12 March in the North Channel, a possible victim of a mine.[3][4][5]

Previously recorded fate

U-296 was originally thought to have been sunk by a torpedo from a British B-24 Liberator of No. 120 Squadron RAF.[3][4][5]

References

Notes
  1. Kemp, Paul: U-Boats Destroyed - German Submarine Losses in the World Wars, 1997, Arms & Armour, ISBN 1-85409-515-3, p. 235
  2. "The Type VIIC/41 boat U-296 - German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net". www.uboat.net. Retrieved 12 August 2012. 
  3. 3.0 3.1 http://uboat.net/boats/u296/htm
  4. 4.0 4.1 Kemp, p. 235
  5. 5.0 5.1 http://www.u-boot-archiv.de/dieboote/u0296html U-296 at u-boot-archiv.de
Bibliography

External links

See also

  • List of German U-boats
  • Battle of the Atlantic (1939-1945)
  • Kriegsmarine


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike; additional terms may apply for the media files.