German submarine U-243
 U-243 under attack by a Sunderland of No. 10 Squadron RAAF | |
| Career (Nazi Germany) |  |
|---|---|
| Name: | U-243 |
| Ordered: | 10 April 1941[1] |
| Builder: | Germaniawerft, Kiel[2] |
| Yard number: | 677[2] |
| Laid down: | 28 October 1942[2] |
| Launched: | 2 September 1943[3] |
| Commissioned: | 2 October 1943[3] |
| Fate: | Sunk in July 1944 in the Bay of Biscay[3] |
| General characteristics [4] | |
| Class and 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 |
| Height: | 9.60 m (31 ft 6 in) |
| Draft: | 4.72 m (15 ft 6 in) |
| Propulsion: | 2 × supercharged Germaniawerft 6-cylinder, 4-stroke F46 diesel engines totalling 2,800–3,200 hp (2,100–2,400 kW). Max rpm: 470-490 |
| Speed: | 17.7 knots (32.8 km/h; 20.4 mph) surfaced 7.6 knots (14.1 km/h; 8.7 mph) submerged |
| Range: | 8,500 nmi (15,700 km; 9,800 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) surfaced 80 nmi (150 km; 92 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph) submerged |
| Test depth: | 230 m (750 ft) Calculated crush depth: 250–295 m (820–968 ft) |
| Complement: | 44-52 officers and ratings |
| Armament: |
|
| Service record[2] | |
|---|---|
| Part of: |
5th U-boat Flotilla (2 October 1943–31 May 1944) 1st U-boat Flotilla (1 June 1943–8 July 1944) |
| Commanders: |
Oblt.z.S. Hans Märtens (2 October 1943–8 July 1944) |
| Operations: | None |
| Victories: | None |
German submarine U-243 was a Type VIIC U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II.
An order was placed for U-243 on 10 April 1941 and construction began on 28 October 1942 at Friedrich Krupp Germaniawerft, Kiel, as yard number 677. She was launched the following year on 2 September 1943 and commissioned on 2 October under the command of Oberleutnant zur See Hans Märtens.[2] Three days into her only patrol, she shot a German aircraft down.
She was sunk in the Bay of Biscay in July 1944
Service record
Her only patrol was preceded by a short voyage from Kiel to Flekkefjord in southern Norway in May 1944. On 11 June, she mistakenly shot a German JU 88 down 40 nautical miles (74 km; 46 mi) southwest of Bergen while making for that city.[5]
She passed through the gap between Iceland and the Faroe Islands and steamed south, heading for the French Atlantic ports.
She was attacked and sunk by a Sunderland flying boat of No. 10 Squadron RAAF in the Bay of Biscay on 8 July 1944. Eleven men died; there were 38 survivors.
See also
- Battle of the Atlantic (1939–1945)
References
- ↑ "U-243 Type VIIC". ubootwaffe.net. Retrieved 29 July 2012.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type VIIC boat U-243". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Kemp 1999, pp. 202-3.
- ↑ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Type VIIC". U-Boat War in World War II- Uboat.net. Retrieved 29 July 2012.
- ↑ 12 oclock high
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.
- Williamson, Gordon; Ian Palmer (2002). Kriegsmarine U-boats 1939-45: Vol 2. Osprey Publishing. ISBN 1-84176-364-0.
- Kemp, Paul (1999). U-Boats Destroyed - German Submarine Losses in the World Wars. London: Arms & Armour. ISBN 1-85409-515-3.
External links
- Hofmann, Markus. "U 243". Deutsche U-Boote 1935-1945 - u-boot-archiv.de (in German). Retrieved 26 December 2014.
- Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type VIIC boat U-243". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 26 December 2014.