German submarine U-321
Career | |
---|---|
Name: | U-321 |
Ordered: | 14 October 1942 |
Builder: | Flender Werke, Lübeck |
Yard number: | 321 |
Laid down: | 21 January 1943 |
Launched: | 27 November 1943 |
Commissioned: | 20 April 1944 |
Fate: | Sunk by a Polish aircraft, southwest of Ireland, April 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 × 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: |
15,725 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][3] | |
---|---|
Part of: |
4th U-boat Flotilla (20 January–28 February 1944) 11th U-boat Flotilla (1 March–2 April 1945) |
Commanders: |
Kplt. Ulrich Drews (20 January–August 1944) Oblt.z.S. Fritz Berends (August 1944–2 April 1945) |
Operations: |
Two patrols: 1–9 March 1945 15 March–2 April 1945 |
Victories: | None |
German submarine U-321 was a Type VIIC/41 U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II.
She carried out two patrols, but did not sink any ships.
The boat was sunk in April 1945 by a Polish aircraft in the Atlantic Ocean.[4]
Service history
The submarine was laid down on 21 January 1943 by the Flender Werke yard at Lübeck as 'werk' 321, launched on 27 November 1943 and commissioned on 20 January 1944 under the command of Kapitänleutnant Ulrich Drews.
She served with the 4th U-boat Flotilla for training, from 20 January 1944 to 28 February 1945 and the 11th flotilla for operations until her sinking on 2 April 1945.
1st patrol
U-320 departed Kiel on 1 March 1945 and arrived in Horten (south of Oslo), on the 9th.
2nd patrol and loss
The boat left Horten on 15 March 1945. On 2 April she was sunk by a Polish Vickers Wellington of No. 304 Squadron RAF southwest of Ireland.[4]
Forty-one men died; there were no survivors.
References
- Notes
- ↑ Kemp, Paul: U-Boats Destroyed - German Submarine Losses in the World Wars, 1997, Arms & Armour, ISBN 1-85409-515-3, p. 243
- ↑ "The Type VIIC/41 boat U-321 - German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net". www.uboat.net. Retrieved 19 August 2012.
- ↑ "War Patrols by German U-boat U-321 - Boats - uboat.net". www.uboat.net. Retrieved 19 August 2012.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Kemp, p. 243
- Bibliography
External links
- U-321 at u-boot-archiv.de (German)
See also
- List of German U-boats
- Battle of the Atlantic (1939-1945)
- Kriegsmarine
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