German submarine U-257
| Career (Nazi Germany) |  |
|---|---|
| Name: | U-257 |
| Ordered: | 23 December 1939 |
| Builder: | Bremer Vulkan, Bremen-Vegesack |
| Yard number: | 22 |
| Laid down: | 22 February 1941 |
| Launched: | 19 November 1941 |
| Commissioned: | 14 January 1942 |
| Fate: | Sunk in February 1944[1] |
| General characteristics [2] | |
| 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[3][4] | |
|---|---|
| Part of: |
5th U-boat Flotilla (14 January–30 September 1942) 3rd U-boat Flotilla (1 October 1942–24 February 1944) |
| Commanders: |
Kptlt. Heinz Rahe (14 January 1942–24 February 1944) |
| Operations: |
1st patrol: 21 September–18 October 1942 2nd patrol: 7 December–14 December 1942 3rd patrol:br> <22 December 1942–12 February 1943 4th patrol: 14 March–7 May 1943 5th patrol: 12 June–14 September 1943 6th patrol: 2 January–24 February 1944 |
| Victories: | None |
German submarine U-257 was a Type VIIC U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II. She was laid down at the Bremer Vulkan yard at Bremen-Vegesack on 22 February 1941 as yard number 22. She was launched on 19 November and commissioned on 14 January 1942 under the command of Kapitänleutnant Heinz Rahe.
U-257 was assigned to the 5th U-Boat Flotilla for training, then transferred to the 3rd U-boat Flotilla for operational service.
She was sunk by Allied warships in mid-Atlantic in February 1944.
Service history
The boat carried out six patrols, but did not sink or damage any ships. She was a member of seven wolfpacks.
1st patrol
U-257 's first patrol began on 21 September 1942 from Bergen in Norway. Her route took her across the North Sea, through the gap between the Faroe and Shetland Islands and into the Atlantic Ocean. She docked at La Pallice in occupied France, on 18 October.
2nd, 3rd and 4th patrols
These sorties passed without major incident.
5th patrol
The boat was attacked from the air twice in one day. U-257, in the company of U-600 and U-615 was transitting the Bay of Biscay, outbound on 14 June 1943, when a Sunderland flying boat of 228 Squadron RAF unsuccessfully depth charged the three boats. In the afternoon, it was much the same story, but this time a Whitley from No. 10 OTU was involved. One man from the U-boat's crew was wounded. A second Whitley from the same unit arrived, but could only exchange fire with the submarine as it had expended all its depth charges in a previous engagement, the boat escaped.
6th patrol and loss
The submarine had moved to St. Nazaire; she departed from this French Atlantic port on 2 January 1944. On 24 February, she was attacked and sunk in mid-Atlantic by the Canadian frigate HMCS Waskesiu, assisted by HMS Nene. (A former crew member from Waskesiu has stated that Nene merely picked survivors up). Thirty men died in the sinking, there were nineteen survivors.
Wolfpacks
U-257 took part in seven wolfpacks, namely.
- Luchs (27 September - 6 October 1942)
- Falke (28 December 1942 - 19 January 1943)
- Landsknecht (19–28 January 1943)
- Seewolf (25–30 March 1943)
- Adler (7–13 April 1943)
- Meise (13–20 April 1943)
- Specht (21–25 April 1943)
References
- ↑ Kemp 1999, p. 171.
- ↑ Gröner 1985, pp. 72-74.
- ↑ Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type VIIC boat U-257". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 31 July 2012.
- ↑ Helgason, Guðmundur. "War Patrols by German U-boat U-257". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 31 July 2012.
Bibliography
- Bishop, Chris (2006). Kriegsmarine U-Boats, 1939-45. London: Amber Books. ISBN 978-1-904687-96-2.
- 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.
- Williamson, Gordon (2005). Wolf-Pack: The Story of the U-boat in World War II. Osprey.
External links
- Hofmann, Markus. "U 257". Deutsche U-Boote 1935-1945 - u-boot-archiv.de (in German). Retrieved 26 December 2014.
- Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type VIIC boat U-257". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 26 December 2014.
- U-257 at ubootwaffe.net