German submarine U-378
| Career |  |
|---|---|
| Name: | U-378 |
| Ordered: | 16 October 1939 |
| Builder: | Howaldtswerke, Kiel |
| Yard number: | 9 |
| Laid down: | 3 May 1940 |
| Launched: | 13 September 1941 |
| Commissioned: | 30 October 1941 |
| Fate: | Sunk in mid-Atlantic by US aircraft, 20 October 1943[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 × 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[2][3] | |
|---|---|
| Part of: |
8th U-boat Flotilla (30 October 1941–28 February 1942) 3rd U-boat Flotilla (1 March–30 June 1944) 11th U-boat Flotilla 1 July 1942–30 April 1943 3rd U-boat Flotilla 1 May–20 October 1943 |
| Commanders: |
Kptlt. Alfred Hoschatt (30 October 1941–11 October 1942) Oblt.z.S. Peter Schrewe (18 June–10 September 1942) Kptlt. Hans-Jürgen Zetzsche (10 September–11 October 1942)[deputizing] Kptlt.Erich Mäder (12 October 1942–20 October 1943) |
| Operations: |
1st patrol: a. 11–12 March 1942 b. 15 March–1 April 1942 2nd patrol: 7–20 April 1942 3rd patrol: 29 April–6 May 1942 4th patrol: 12–12 September 1942 5th patrol: 11 November–12 December 1942 6th patrol: 15 March–1 April 1943 7th patrol: 12 April–4 June 1943 8th patrol: 6 September–20 October 1943 |
| Victories: | One warship sunk; 1,920 tons |
German submarine U-378 was a Type VIIC U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II.
She carried out eight patrols before being sunk by US aircraft on 20 October 1943 in mid-Atlantic at position 47°40′N 28°27′W / 47.667°N 28.450°W.
She was a member of 16 wolfpacks.
She sank one warship.
Service history
The submarine was laid down on 3 May 1940 at the Howaldtswerke yard at Kiel as 'werk' 9, launched on 13 September 1941 and commissioned on 30 October under the command of Kapitänleutnant Alfred Hoschatt.
1st patrol
The boat's first patrol was in two parts and commenced with her departure from Kiel on 11 March 1942. The second part began from the German island of Helgoland (sometimes spelt 'Heligoland'). She was attacked northeast of Norway's North Cape by the British destroyer HMS Fury. No damage was sustained.
2nd - 6th patrols
U-378 continued to operate in northern waters such as the Barents, Greenland and Norwegian seas until April 1943 when her sphere of operations changed to the Atlantic Ocean.
7th patrol
This sortie saw the boat leave Trondheim on 12 April 1943, negotiate the 'gap' separating Iceland and the Faroe Islands and sail as far eastward as Newfoundland and Labrador. She then re-crossed the Atlantic, docking at La Pallice in occupied France on 4 June. At 54 days, this was easily the submarine's longest patrol.
8th patrol and loss
U-378 sank the Polish destroyer ORP Orkan on 8 October 1943. The Commander, ten officers, 166 ratings and seven British crew members were lost.
On the 13th, the boat was the target of a FIDO homing torpedo that had been dropped from a TBF Avenger, but the weapon missed.
The submarine was sunk by an Avenger / F4F Wildcat pair on 20 October in mid-Atlantic. The aircraft had flown from USS Core.
48 men died in the depth charge attack; there were no survivors.
Summary of Raiding Career
| Date | Name | Nationality | Tonnage (GRT) |
Fate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 October 1943 | ORP Orkan |  Polish Navy |
1,920 | Sunk |
References
- Notes
- ↑ Kemp, Paul: U-Boats Destroyed - German Submarine Losses in the World Wars, 1997, Arms & Armour, ISBN 1-85409-515-3, p. 152
- ↑ "The Type VIIC boat U-378 - German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net". www.uboat.net. Retrieved 5 September 2012.
- ↑ "War Patrols by German U-boat U-378 - Boats - uboat.net". www.uboat.net. Retrieved 5 September 2012.
- Bibliography
See also
- List of German U-boats
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