German submarine U-107 (1940)
For other ships of the same name, see German submarine U-107.
U-107 at Lorient in November 1941 | |
Career (Nazi Germany) | |
---|---|
Name: | U-107 |
Ordered: | 24 May 1938 |
Builder: | DeSchiMAG AG Weser, Bremen |
Yard number: | 970 |
Laid down: | 6 December 1939 |
Launched: | 2 July 1940 |
Commissioned: | 8 October 1940 |
Homeport: | Lorient, France |
Fate: | Sunk, 18 August 1944[1] |
General characteristics [2] | |
Class and type: | Type IXB U-boat |
Displacement: | 1,051 t (1,034 long tons) surfaced 1,178 t (1,159 long tons) submerged |
Length: | 76.5 m (251 ft) o/a 58.75 m (192 ft 9 in) pressure hull |
Beam: | 6.76 m (22 ft 2 in) o/a 4.4 m (14 ft 5 in) pressure hull |
Draught: | 4.7 m (15 ft 5 in) |
Propulsion: | Diesel/Electric 2 × MAN M 9 V 40/46 supercharged 9 cylinder diesel engines, 4,400 hp (3,300kW) 2 × SSW 2 GU 345/34 double acting electric motors, 1000 hp (740kW) |
Speed: | 18.2 kn (33.7 km/h; 20.9 mph) surfaced 7.3 kn (13.5 km/h; 8.4 mph) submerged |
Range: | 12,000 nmi (22,000 km; 14,000 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) surfaced 64 nmi (119 km; 74 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph) submerged |
Test depth: | 230 m (750 ft) |
Complement: | 48 to 56 officers and ratings |
Armament: |
|
Service record | |
---|---|
Part of: |
Kriegsmarine: 2nd U-boat Flotilla |
Commanders: |
|
Operations: | 16 patrols |
Victories: |
37 ships sunk for a total of 207,375 gross register tons (GRT) Two auxiliary warships sunk for a total of 10,411 GRT Three ships damaged for a total of 17,392 GRT One auxiliary warship (USS Rapidan) of 8,246 GRT damaged |
German submarine U-107 was a Type IXB U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine that operated during World War II. Between January 1941 and August 1944, it sailed on 16 active patrols at a time when a U-boat averaged a lifespan of seven to 10 patrols. During that time, U-107 sank 39 Allied ships, in addition to damaging another four ships. It was launched on 2 July 1940, based at the U-boat port of Lorient, with a crew of 53 under the initial command of Günther Hessler. It was later commanded, in order, by Harald Gelhaus, Valker Simmermacher and its final commander, Karl Heinz Fritz.[3]
Combat actions
First patrol
Date | Name | Flag | Tonnage (GRT) | Convoy | Position |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
3 February 1941 | Empire Citizen | UK | 4,683 | Convoy OB 279 | 58°12′N 23°22′W / 58.200°N 23.367°W |
3 February 1941 | Crispin | Royal Navy | 5,051 | Convoy OB 279 | 56°38′N 20°05′W / 56.633°N 20.083°W |
6 February 1941 | Maplecourt | Canada | 3,388 | Convoy SC 20 | 57°33′N 17°24′W / 57.550°N 17.400°W |
23 February 1941 | SS Manistee | Royal Navy | 5,360 | Convoy OB 288 | 58°13′N 21°33′W / 58.217°N 21.550°W |
Second patrol and most successful period
Third patrol
Date | Name | Flag | Tonnage (GRT) | Convoy | Position |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
24 September 1941 | Dixcove | UK | 3,790 | Convoy SL 87 | 31°12′N 23°41′W / 31.200°N 23.683°W |
24 September 1941 | Lafian | UK | 4,876 | Convoy SL 87 | 31°12′N 23°32′W / 31.200°N 23.533°W |
24 September 1941 | John Holt | UK | 4,975 | Convoy SL 87 | 31°12′N 23°32′W / 31.200°N 23.533°W |
Fifth patrol
Date | Name | Flag | Tonnage (GRT) | Convoy | Position |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
31 January 1942 | San Arcadio | UK | 7,419 | 38°10′N 63°50′W / 38.167°N 63.833°W | |
6 February 1942 | Major Wheeler | USA | 3,431 | E of Cape Hatteras | |
21 February 1942 | Egda | Norway | 10,068 | Convoy ON 65 | 41°12′N 52°55′W / 41.200°N 52.917°W Damaged |
Sixth patrol
Date | Name | Flag | Tonnage (GRT) | Convoy | Position |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
29 May 1942 | Western Head | UK | 2,599 | 19°57′N 74°18′W / 19.950°N 74.300°W | |
1 June 1942 | Bushranger | Panama | 4,536 | 18°15′N 81°25′W / 18.250°N 81.417°W | |
7 June 1942 | Castilla | Honduras | 3,910 | 20°15′N 83°18′W / 20.250°N 83.300°W | |
8 June 1942 | Suwied | USA | 3,249 | 20°00′N 84°48′W / 20.000°N 84.800°W | |
10 June 1942 | Merrimack | USA | 2,606 | 19°47′N 85°55′W / 19.783°N 85.917°W | |
19 June 1942 | Cheerio | USA | 35 | 18°02′N 67°40′W / 18.033°N 67.667°W | |
26 June 1942 | Jagersfontein | Netherlands | 10,083 | 31°56′N 54°48′W / 31.933°N 54.800°W | |
Eighth patrol
Date | Name | Flag | Tonnage (GRT) | Convoy | Position |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
3 September 1942 | Hollinside | UK | 4,172 | 38°00′N 09°00′W / 38.000°N 9.000°W | |
3 September 1942 | Penrose | UK | 4,393 | 38°00′N 09°00′W / 38.000°N 9.000°W | |
7 October 1942 | Andalucia Star | UK | 14,943 | 06°38′N 15°46′W / 6.633°N 15.767°W | |
Ninth patrol
- 4 March 1943, came under attack from an unidentified Allied aircraft.
- Moderately damaged by the attack.
- 22 March 1943 at 14:35 it came under attack from another unidentified Allied aircraft
- Undamaged
Date | Name | Flag | Tonnage (GRT) | Convoy | Position |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
22 February 1943 | Roxborough Castle | UK | 7,801 | 38°12′N 26°22′W / 38.200°N 26.367°W | |
13 March 1943 | Oporto | UK | 2,352 | Convoy OS 44 | 42°45′N 13°31′W / 42.750°N 13.517°W |
13 March 1943 | Marcella | UK | 4,592 | Convoy OS 44 | 42°45′N 13°31′W / 42.750°N 13.517°W |
13 March 1943 | Sembilangan | Netherlands | 4,990 | Convoy OS 44 | 42°45′N 13°31′W / 42.750°N 13.517°W |
13 March 1943 | SS Clan Alpine | UK | 5,442 | Convoy OS 44 | 42°45′N 13°31′W / 42.750°N 13.517°W |
Tenth patrol
Date | Name | Flag | Tonnage (GRT) | Convoy | Position |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 May 1943 | Port Victor | UK | 12,411 | 47°49′N 22°02′W / 47.817°N 22.033°W | |
Eleventh patrol
Date | Name | Flag | Tonnage (GRT) | Convoy | Position |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
28 August 1943 | Albert Gallatin | USA | 7,176 | Off Savannah, Georgia Damaged | |
11 September 1943 | USS Rapidan | US Navy | 8,246 | Convoy NG 385 | 32°39′N 79°43′W / 32.650°N 79.717°W Damaged |
Fifteenth patrol
Date | Name | Flag | Tonnage (GRT) | Convoy | Position |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
13 June 1944 | Lark | USA | 148 | 43°00′N 65°12′W / 43.000°N 65.200°W Damaged | |
Sixteenth and final patrol
- On 16 August 1944, U-107 departed Lorient on a transport run to La Pallice.[4] It was intercepted on 18 August in the Bay of Biscay, west of La Rochelle, in position 46°46′N 03°49′W / 46.767°N 3.817°WCoordinates: 46°46′N 03°49′W / 46.767°N 3.817°W, by Allied forces, and was sunk by depth charges from Short Sunderland EJ150 (coded NS-W) of No. 201 Squadron, Royal Air Force. All 58 hands were lost.[5][6]
Wolfpacks
U-107 took part in 15 wolfpacks, namely.
- Störtebecker (5–7 November 1941)
- Seeräuber (14–23 December 1941)
- Blücher (23–28 August 1942)
- Iltis (6–23 September 1942)
- Hartherz (3–7 February 1943)
- Delphin (11–14 February 1943)
- Robbe (16 February - 13 March 1943)
- Amsel 2 (4–6 May 1943)
- Elbe (7–10 May 1943)
- Elbe 2 (10–14 May 1943)
- Weddigen (24 November - 7 December 1943)
- Coronel (7–8 December 1943)
- Coronel 2 (8–14 December 1943)
- Coronel 3 (14–17 December 1943)
- Borkum (18–30 December 1943)
References
- ↑ Kemp 1999, p. 210.
- ↑ Gröner 1985, pp. 105-6.
- ↑
- ↑ Busch & Röll 1997, p. 447.
- ↑ Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type IXB boat U-107". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 22 February 2010.
- ↑ Landers, Brian. "Caught on the Surface". Aeroplane (Cudham: Kelsey Publishing) (April 2012): 16–22. ISSN 0143-7240.
Bibliography
- Busch, Rainer; Röll, Hans-Joachim (1999). Deutsche U-Boot-Verluste von September 1939 bis Mai 1945. Der U-Boot-Krieg (in German) IV (Hamburg, Berlin, Bonn: Mittler). ISBN 3-8132-0514-2.
- Gröner, Erich (1985). U-Boote, Hilfskreuzer, Minenschiffe, Netzleger, Sperrbrecher. Die deutschen Kriegsschiffe 1815-1945 (in German) III (Koblenz: Bernard & Graefe). ISBN 3-7637-4802-4.
- Kemp, Paul (1999). U-Boats Destroyed - German Submarine Losses in the World Wars. London: Arms & Armour. ISBN 1-85409-515-3.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to U-107. |
- Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type IXB boat U-107". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
|