German submarine U-305
| Career |  |
|---|---|
| Name: | U-305 |
| Ordered: | 20 January 1941 |
| Builder: | Flender Werke, Lübeck |
| Yard number: | 305 |
| Laid down: | 30 August 1941 |
| Launched: | 25 July 1942 |
| Commissioned: | 17 September 1942 |
| Fate: | Sunk, January 1944, in mid-Atlantic, probably by one of her own torpedoes |
| 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 × GL RP 137/c 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[1][2] | |
|---|---|
| Part of: |
8th U-boat Flotilla (17 September 1942–28 February 1943) 1st U-boat Flotilla (1 March 1943–16 January 1944) |
| Commanders: |
Oblt.z.S. Rudolf Bahr (17 September 1942–16 January 1944) |
| Operations: |
1st patrol: 27 February–12 April 1943 2nd patrol: 12 May–1 June 1943 3rd patrol: 23 August–22 October 1943 4th patrol: 8 December–16 January 1944 |
| Victories: | Two ships sunk, total tonnage 13,045 GRT. Two warships sunk, total tonnage 2,560 tons. |
German submarine U-305 was a Type VIIC U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II. The submarine was laid down on 30 August 1941 at the Flender Werke yard at Lübeck as 'werk' 305, launched on 25 July 1942 and commissioned on 17 September under the command of Oberleutnant zur See Rudolf Bahr.
During her career, the U-boat sailed on four combat patrols, sinking four ships, before she was sunk in January 1944 in mid-Atlantic, southwest of Ireland in position 49°00′N 18°00′W / 49.000°N 18.000°WCoordinates: 49°00′N 18°00′W / 49.000°N 18.000°W.[1]
She was a member of eight wolfpacks.
Service history
The boat's service life began with training with the 8th U-boat Flotilla in September 1942. She was then transferred to the 1st flotilla for operations on 1 March.
1st patrol
The submarine's first patrol began with her departure from Kiel on 27 February 1943. She passed through the 'gap' between Iceland and the Faroe Islands and into the north Atlantic Ocean. On 17 March she sank the Port Auckland and the Zouave southeast of Cape Farewell (Greenland), the latter foundering in five minutes. The boat arrived in Brest in occupied France, on 12 April 1943.
2nd and 3rd patrols
U-305's second foray was relatively uneventful, starting and finishing in Brest, as would all her remaining patrols, on 12 May and 1 June 1943.
On her third sortie, she sank HMCS St. Croix on 20 September 1943. The Canadian warship was one of the first victims of a GNAT acoustic torpedo.
4th patrol and loss
The boat's final patrol commenced on 8 December 1943. She successfully attacked HMS Tweed southwest of Ireland. This ship sank even faster than the Zouave (see above), going down in just two minutes.
U-305 was lost on 16 January 1944, probably a victim of one of her own torpedoes.[citation needed]
Fifty-one men died; there were no survivors.
U-305 was originally thought to have been sunk by the British destroyer HMS Wanderer and the frigate HMS Glenarm on 17 January 1944.[3]
Summary of raiding career
| Date | Ship Name | Nationality | Displacement | Fate[4] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 March 1943 | Port Auckland |  United Kingdom |
8,789 | Sunk |
| 17 March 1943 | Zouave | United Kingdom |
4,256 | Sunk |
| 20 September 1943 | HMCS St. Croix |  Royal Canadian Navy |
1,190 | Sunk |
| 7 January 1943 | HMS Tweed |  Royal Navy |
1,370 | Sunk |
See also
- List of German U-boats
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type VIIC boat U-305". uboat.net. Retrieved 15 August 2012.
- ↑ Helgason, Guðmundur. "War Patrols by German U-boat U-305". uboat.net. Retrieved 15 August 2012.
- ↑ Whinney 1986, p.11-18
- ↑ http://uboat.net/boats/successes/u305.html
Further reading
- U-305 at uboat.net
- U-305 at u-boot-archiv.de (German)
- Whinney, Bob. The U-Boat Peril: a fight for survival. Cassell Military Classics, London, 1998. ISBN 0-304-35132-6. Originally published by Poole in 1986.
- Bercuson, David J. (with H. Holger). Deadly Seas: The Story of the St.Croix, the U305 and the Battle of the Atlantic. Random House of Canada, Toronto, 1997. ISBN 978-0679309277.
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