German submarine U-143 (1940)
| Career (Nazi Germany) |  |
|---|---|
| Name: | U-143 |
| Ordered: | 25 September 1939 |
| Builder: | Deutsche Werke, Kiel |
| Yard number: | 272 |
| Laid down: | 3 January 1940 |
| Launched: | 16 August 1940 |
| Commissioned: | 18 September 1940 |
| Fate: |
Surrendered on 2 May 1945 at Heligoland. Sunk on 22 December 1945 as part of Operation Deadlight |
| General characteristics [1] | |
| Class and type: | IID |
| Type: | Coastal submarine |
| Displacement: | 314 t (309 long tons) surfaced 364 t (358 long tons) submerged |
| Length: | 43.97 m (144 ft 3 in) |
| Beam: | 4.92 m (16 ft 2 in) |
| Draft: | 3.93 m (12 ft 11 in) |
| Propulsion: | 2 × propeller shafts 2 × MWM four-stroke diesel engines, 700 shp (520 kW) 2 × Siemens-Schuckert electric motor, 410 shp (310 kW) |
| Speed: | 12.7 knots (23.5 km/h; 14.6 mph) surfaced 7.4 knots (13.7 km/h; 8.5 mph) submerged |
| Range: | 3,450 nautical miles (6,390 km; 3,970 mi) at 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph) surfaced 56 nmi (104 km; 64 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph) submerged |
| Test depth: | 80 m (260 ft) |
| Complement: | 3 officers, 22 men |
| Armament: |
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| Service record[2][3] | |
|---|---|
| Part of: |
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| Commanders: |
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| Operations: |
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| Victories: | One ship sunk |
German submarine U-143 was a Type IID U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II. Her keel was laid down on 3 January 1940 by Deutsche Werke in Kiel as yard number 272. She was launched on 10 August 1940 and commissioned on 18 September under Kapitänleutnant Ernst Mengerson.
U-143 began her service life with the 1st U-boat Flotilla. She was then assigned to the 24th flotilla and subsequently to the 22nd flotilla where she conducted four patrols, sinking one ship of 1,409 gross register tons (GRT). She spent the rest of the war as a training vessel.
Operational career
1st patrol
U-143 's first patrol took her along the Norwegian coast, before crossing the North Sea and passing through the gap between the Faroe and Shetland Islands towards Iceland.
2nd and 3rd patrols
Following a transit voyage from Bergen in Norway, she left Kiel on 9 June 1941, travelling to much the same area as on her first sortie.
Her third foray was equally uneventful.
4th patrol and Fate
On her fourth patrol, the boat sank the Inger on 23 August 1941 about 30 nmi (56 km; 35 mi) northwest of the Butt of Lewis (in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland).
She surrendered on 2 May 1945 in Heligoland, was transferred to Wilhelmshaven and then to Loch Ryan for Operation Deadlight. She was sunk on 22 December at 55°58′N 9°35′W / 55.967°N 9.583°WCoordinates: 55°58′N 9°35′W / 55.967°N 9.583°W.
Summary of raiding career
| Date | Ship | Nationality | Tonnage | Fate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23 August 1941 | Inger |  Norway |
1,409 | Sunk |
References
- ↑ Gröner 1985, p. 67.
- ↑ Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type IID boat U-143". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 14 July 2012.
- ↑ Helgason, Guðmundur. "War Patrols by German U-boat U-143". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 14 July 2012.
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.
- Blair, Clay (1996). Hitler's U-Boat War: The Hunters 1939–1942. New York: Random House. ISBN 0-394-58839-8.
- 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.
External links
- Hofmann, Markus. "U 143". Deutsche U-Boote 1935-1945 - u-boot-archiv.de (in German). Retrieved 30 January 2015.
- Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type IID boat U-143". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
- U-143 at ubootwaffe.net
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