German submarine U-244
| Career (Nazi Germany) |  |
|---|---|
| Name: | U-244 |
| Ordered: | 10 April 1941 |
| Builder: | Germaniawerft, Kiel |
| Yard number: | 678 |
| Laid down: | 14 May 1942 |
| Launched: | 2 September 1943 |
| Commissioned: | 9 October 1943 |
| Fate: | Sunk 14 May 1945 north of Northern Ireland |
| General characteristics [1] | |
| 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: | 9.6 m (31 ft 6 in) |
| 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: | 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) Crush depth: 250–295 m (820–968 ft) |
| Complement: | 44–52 officers and ratings |
| Armament: |
|
| Service record[2][3] | |
|---|---|
| Part of: |
5th U-boat Flotilla (9 October 1943–31 July 1944) 9th U-boat Flotilla (1 August–31 October 1944) 11th U-boat Flotilla (1 November 1944–8 May 1945) |
| Commanders: |
Kptlt. Ruprecht Fischer (9 October 1943–9 April 1945) Oblt.z.S. Hans-Peter Mackeprang (10 April–14 May 1945) |
| Operations: |
Four patrols: 9 August–10 October 1944 12 December–23 December 1944 9 January–13 March 1945 15 April–14 May 1945 |
| Victories: | None |
German submarine U-244 was a Type VIIC U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II. The submarine was laid down on 24 October 1942 at the Friedrich Krupp Germaniawerft yard at Kiel as yard number 678, launched on 2 September 1943 and commissioned on 9 September under the command of Oberleutnant zur See Ruprecht Fischer.[2]
In four patrols, she sank no ships.
She surrendered to the Allies in May 1945.
Service history
After training with the 5th U-boat Flotilla at Kiel, U-244 was transferred to the 9th flotilla for front-line service on 1 August 1944. She was reassigned to the 11th flotilla on 1 November.[2]
1st patrol
The boat's first patrol was preceded by short trips between Kiel, Horten in Norway and Bergen, also in Norway. It was while she was travelling between these latter two places that she was attacked by two Norwegian Mosquito aircraft of No. 333 Squadron RAF on 25 July 1944. One man was killed, seven others were wounded.
The patrol proper began with U-244 's departure from Bergen on 9 August 1944. Her route took her south of Iceland. She returned to Bergen on 1 November.
2nd and 3rd patrols
More short voyages followed, between Bergen and Stavanger, but they were not listed as patrols. The boat's second sortie in December 1944, passed without incident.
Her third foray saw her reach as far as the English Channel, off Worthing. At 64 days, it was her longest patrol.
4th patrol
The submarine surrendered at Loch Eriboll in Scotland on 14 May 1945. Later that same day, she was being towed to scuttling grounds as part of Operation Deadlight when the tow parted; the boat was then sunk with gunfire from the Polish destroyer Piorun.
References
- ↑ Gröner 1985, pp. 72-74.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type VIIC boat U-244". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 29 July 2012.
- ↑ Helgason, Guðmundur. "War Patrols by German U-boat U-244". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 29 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.
- 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
- Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type VIIC boat U-244". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 26 December 2014.
- U-244 at ubootwaffe.net
- Hofmann, Markus. "U 244". Deutsche U-Boote 1935-1945 - u-boot-archiv.de (in German). Retrieved 26 December 2014.