German submarine U-475
| Career |  |
|---|---|
| Name: | U-475 |
| Ordered: | 10 April 1941 |
| Builder: | Deutsche Werke, Kiel |
| Yard number: | 306 |
| Laid down: | 5 September 1942 |
| Launched: | 28 May 1943 |
| Commissioned: | 7 July 1943 |
| Fate: | Scuttled, May 1945. Broken up, 1947 |
| 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[1] | |
|---|---|
| Part of: |
5th U-boat Flotilla (7 July 1943–31 July 1944) 8th U-boat Flotilla (1 August 1944–15 February 1945) 4th U-boat Flotilla (16 February–3 May 1945) |
| Commanders: |
Kptlt. Otto Stoeffler (7 July 1943–3 May 1945) |
| Operations: |
1st patrol: a. 11–29 July 1944 b. 31 July–5 August 1944 c. 16–21 August 1944 d. 25–31 August 1944 2nd patrol: 14 October–17 November 1944 3rd patrol: 22 November–4 December 1944 4th patrol: 23 January–17 March 1945 |
| Victories: |
One warship sunk, 720 tons; one warship damaged, 56 tons |
German submarine U-475 was a Type VIIC U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II.
She carried out four patrols. She sank one warship and damaged another.
She was scuttled in May 1945 and broken up in 1947.
Service history
The submarine was laid down on 5 September 1942 in the Deutsche Werke, Kiel as 'werk' 306, launched on 28 May 1943 and commissioned on 7 July under the command of Kapitänleutnant Otto Stoeffler.
She served with the 5th U-boat Flotilla from 7 July 1941 for training and was transferred to the 8th flotilla from 1 August 1944 for operations. She was reassigned to the 4th flotilla on 16 February 1945.
1st patrol
U-475's first patrol was preceded by a short journey from Kiel in Germany to Helsinki in Finland. The patrol itself, split into four parts, commenced with her departure from Helsinki on 11 July 1944. On the 28th she damaged the Soviet patrol craft MO-107 in Viborg Bay.
2nd patrol
Her second foray was relatively uneventful - starting in Danzig (now Gdansk), on 14 October 1944 and finishing there on 17 November.
3rd patrol
The submarine steamed as far north as a point east of Stockholm before returning to Danzig (on 4 December 1944).
4th patrol
The boat's fourth sortie also started and finished in Danzig and at 54 days duration, was her longest.
Fate
U-475 had moved from Danzig to Kiel in March 1945. She was scuttled on 3 May 1945 at Kiel-Wik. The wreck was broken up in 1947.
Summary of Raiding Career
| Date | Name | Nationality | Tonnage (GRT) |
Fate[2] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 28 July 1944 | MO-107 |  Soviet Navy |
56 | Damaged |
| 31 October 1944 | SB-2 | Soviet Navy |
720 | Sunk |
See also
- List of German U-boats
References
- Notes
- ↑ "The Type VIIC boat U-475 - German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net". www.uboat.net. Retrieved 25 September 2012.
- ↑ http://uboat.net/boats/successes/u475/html
- Bibliography
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