German submarine U-457

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Career

Name:	U-457
Ordered:	16 January 1940
Builder:	Deutsche Werke, Kiel
Yard number:	288
Laid down:	26 October 1940
Launched:	4 October 1941
Commissioned:	5 November 1941
Fate:	Sunk northeast of the North Cape by a British warship, September 1942^[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 × 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 kn (19 km/h) surfaced 150 km (81 nmi) at 4 kn (7.4 km/h) 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]
Part of:	6th U-boat Flotilla (5 November 1941–30 June 1942) 11th U-boat Flotilla (1 July–16 September 1942)
Commanders:	KrvKpt. Karl Brandenburg (5 November 1941–16 September 1942)
Operations:	1st patrol: 28 June–16 July 1942 2nd patrol: 8 August–7 September 1942 3rd patrol: 10–16 September 1942
Victories:	Two ships sunk, 15,593 GRT; one ship damaged, 8,939 GRT

German submarine U-457 was a Type VIIC U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II.

She carried out three patrols. She sank two ships and damaged one more.

She was a member of two wolfpacks.

She was sunk northeast of the North Cape by a British warship, in September 1942.^[3]

Service history

The submarine was laid down on 26 October 1941 in the Deutsche Werke, Kiel as 'werk' 288, launched on 4 October 1941 and commissioned on 5 November under the command of Korvetten Kapitän Karl Brandenburg.

She served with the 6th U-boat Flotilla from 5 November 1941 for training and the 11th flotilla from 1 July 1942 for operations.

1st patrol

U-457's first patrol was preceded by two short journeys from Kiel in Germany to Trondheim in Norway. The patrol itself commenced with her departure from Trondheim on 28 June 1942.

She sank the Christopher Newport 35 nautical miles (65 km; 40 mi) east of Bear Island on 4 July. The ship, from the ill-fated convoy PQ-17, had already been hit by an aerial torpedo in the Barents Sea. A 'coup de gráce' torpedo from the British submarine P-614 failed to sink the ship; but one from U-457 succeeded.

The boat then went on to sink the Aldersdale on 7 July 1942; after the merchantman, also a member of PQ-17, had been bombed. U-457 came across the abandoned tanker and after firing 75 rounds from her deck gun, finished the wreck off with a single torpedo.

2nd patrol

Her second foray was relatively uneventful - starting in Narvik on 8 August 1942 and finishing in Trondheim on 7 September.

3rd patrol and loss

The submarine damaged the Atheltemplar on 14 September 1942 south of Spitsbergen (Svalbard),^[4] but was sunk on the 16th by depth charges from the British destroyer HMS Impulsive.

Forty-five men died in U-457; there were no survivors.

Summary of raiding history

Date	Name	Nationality	Tonnage (GRT)	Fate^[5]
4 July 1942	Christopher Newport	United States	7,191	Sunk
7 July 1942	Aldersdale	Royal Fleet Auxiliary	8,402	Sunk
14 September 1942	Atheltemplar	United Kingdom	8,939	Damaged

References

Notes

↑ Kemp, Paul: U-Boats Destroyed - German Submarine Losses in the World Wars, 1997, Arms & Armour, ISBN 1-85409-515-3, p. 90
↑ "The Type VIIC boat U-457 - German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net". www.uboat.net. Retrieved 24 September 2012.
↑ Kemp, p. 90
↑ The Times Atlas of the World - Third edition, revised 1995, ISBN 0 7230 0809 4, p. 24
↑ http://uboat.net/boats/successes/u454/html

Bibliography

German Type VII submarines

Type VIIA

U-27 U-28 U-29 U-30 U-31 U-32 U-33 U-34 U-35 U-36

Type VIIB

U-45 U-46 U-47 U-48 U-49 U-50 U-51 U-52 U-53 U-54 U-55 U-73 U-74 U-75 U-76 U-83 U-84 U-85 U-86 U-87 U-99 U-100 U-101 U-102

Type VIIC

U-69
U-70
U-71
U-72
U-77
U-78
U-79
U-80
U-81
U-82
U-88
U-89
U-90
U-91
U-92
U-93
U-94
U-95
U-96
U-97
U-98
U-132
U-133
U-134
U-135
U-136
U-201
U-202
U-203
U-204
U-205
U-206
U-207
U-208
U-209
U-210
U-211
U-212
U-221
U-222
U-223
U-224
U-225
U-226
U-227
U-228
U-229
U-230
U-231
U-232
U-235
U-236
U-237
U-238
U-239
U-240
U-241
U-242
U-243
U-244
U-245
U-246
U-247
U-248
U-249
U-250
U-251
U-252
U-253
U-254
U-255
U-256
U-257
U-258
U-259
U-260
U-261
U-262
U-263
U-264
U-265
U-266
U-267
U-268
U-269
U-270
U-271
U-272
U-273
U-274
U-275
U-276
U-277
U-278
U-279
U-280
U-281
U-282
U-283
U-284
U-285
U-286
U-287
U-288
U-289
U-290
U-291
U-301
U-302
U-303
U-304
U-305
U-306
U-307
U-308
U-309
U-310
U-311
U-312
U-313
U-314
U-315
U-316
U-331
U-332
U-333
U-334
U-335
U-336
U-337
U-338
U-339
U-340
U-341
U-342
U-343
U-344
U-345
U-346
U-347
U-348
U-349
U-350
U-351
U-352
U-353
U-354
U-355
U-356
U-357
U-358
U-359
U-360
U-361
U-362
U-363
U-364
U-365
U-366
U-367
U-368
U-369
U-370
U-371
U-372
U-373
U-374
U-375
U-376
U-377
U-378
U-379
U-380
U-381
U-382
U-383
U-384
U-385
U-386
U-387
U-388
U-389
U-390
U-391
U-392
U-393
U-394
U-396
U-397
U-398
U-399
U-400
U-401
U-402
U-403
U-404
U-405
U-406
U-407
U-408
U-409
U-410
U-411
U-412
U-413
U-414
U-415
U-416
U-417
U-418
U-419
U-420
U-421
U-422
U-423
U-424
U-425
U-426
U-427
U-428
U-429
U-430
U-431
U-432
U-433
U-434
U-435
U-436
U-437
U-438
U-439
U-440
U-441
U-442
U-443
U-444
U-445
U-446
U-447
U-448
U-449
U-450
U-451
U-452
U-453
U-454
U-455
U-456
U-457
U-458
U-465
U-466
U-467
U-468
U-469
U-470
U-471
U-472
U-473
U-475
U-476
U-477
U-478
U-479
U-480
U-481
U-482
U-483
U-484
U-485
U-486
U-551
U-552
U-553
U-554
U-555
U-556
U-557
U-558
U-559
U-560
U-561
U-562
U-563
U-564
U-565
U-566
U-567
U-568
U-569
U-570
U-571
U-572
U-573
U-574
U-575
U-576
U-577
U-578
U-579
U-580
U-581
U-582
U-583
U-584
U-585
U-586
U-587
U-588
U-589
U-590
U-591
U-592
U-593
U-594
U-595
U-596
U-597
U-598
U-599
U-600
U-601
U-602
U-603
U-604
U-605
U-606
U-607
U-608
U-609
U-610
U-611
U-612
U-613
U-614
U-615
U-616
U-617
U-618
U-619
U-620
U-621
U-622
U-623
U-624
U-625
U-626
U-627
U-628
U-629
U-630
U-631
U-632
U-633
U-634
U-635
U-636
U-637
U-638
U-639
U-640
U-641
U-642
U-643
U-644
U-645
U-646
U-647
U-648
U-649
U-650
U-651
U-652
U-653
U-654
U-655
U-656
U-657
U-658
U-659
U-660
U-661
U-662
U-663
U-664
U-665
U-666
U-667
U-668
U-669
U-670
U-671
U-672
U-673
U-674
U-675
U-676
U-677
U-678
U-679
U-680
U-681
U-682
U-683
U-701
U-702
U-703
U-704
U-705
U-706
U-707
U-708
U-709
U-710
U-711
U-712
U-713
U-714
U-715
U-716
U-717
U-718
U-719
U-720
U-721
U-722
U-731
U-732
U-733
U-734
U-735
U-736
U-737
U-738
U-739
U-740
U-741
U-742
U-743
U-744
U-745
U-746
U-747
U-748
U-749
U-750
U-751
U-752
U-753
U-754
U-755
U-756
U-757
U-758
U-759
U-760
U-761
U-762
U-763
U-764
U-765
U-766
U-767
U-768
U-771
U-772
U-773
U-774
U-775
U-776
U-777
U-778
U-779
U-821
U-822
U-825
U-826
U-901
U-903
U-904
U-905
U-907
U-921
U-922
U-923
U-924
U-925
U-926
U-927
U-928
U-951
U-952
U-953
U-954
U-955
U-956
U-957
U-958
U-959
U-960
U-961
U-962
U-963
U-964
U-965
U-966
U-967
U-968
U-969
U-970
U-971
U-972
U-973
U-974
U-975
U-976
U-977
U-978
U-979
U-980
U-981
U-982
U-983
U-984
U-985
U-986
U-987
U-988
U-989
U-990
U-991
U-992
U-993
U-994
U-1051
U-1052
U-1053
U-1054
U-1055
U-1056
U-1057
U-1058
U-1101
U-1102
U-1131
U-1132
U-1161
U-1162
U-1191
U-1192
U-1193
U-1194
U-1195
U-1196
U-1197
U-1198
U-1199
U-1200
U-1201
U-1202
U-1203
U-1204
U-1205
U-1206
U-1207
U-1208
U-1209
U-1210

Type VIIC/41

U-292
U-293
U-294
U-295
U-296
U-297
U-298
U-299
U-300
U-317
U-318
U-319
U-320
U-321
U-322
U-323
U-324
U-325
U-326
U-327
U-328
U-827
U-828
U-929
U-930
U-995
U-997
U-998
U-999
U-1000
U-1001
U-1002
U-1003
U-1004
U-1005
U-1006
U-1007
U-1008
U-1009
U-1010
U-1013
U-1014
U-1015
U-1016
U-1017
U-1018
U-1019
U-1020
U-1021
U-1022
U-1023
U-1024
U-1025
U-1063
U-1064
U-1065
U-1103
U-1104
U-1105
U-1106
U-1107
U-1108
U-1109
U-1110
U-1163
U-1164
U-1165
U-1166
U-1167
U-1168
U-1169
U-1170
U-1171
U-1172
U-1271
U-1272
U-1273
U-1274
U-1275
U-1276
U-1277
U-1278
U-1279
U-1301
U-1302
U-1303
U-1304
U-1305
U-1306
U-1307
U-1308

Type VIID

U-213 U-214 U-215 U-216 U-217 U-218

Type VIIF

U-1059 U-1060 U-1061 U-1062

Preceded by: Type II
Followed by: Type IX

List of U-boat types

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