German submarine U-429
| Career (Nazi Germany) |  |
|---|---|
| Name: | U-429 |
| Ordered: | 25 August 1941 |
| Builder: | Danziger Werft, Danzig |
| Yard number: | 130 |
| Laid down: | 14 September 1942 |
| Launched: | 30 March 1943 |
| Commissioned: | 14 July 1943 |
| Fate: | Destroyed by bombing, 30 March 1945 |
| 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 & ratings |
| Armament: |
|
| Service record[2] | |
|---|---|
| Part of: |
8th U-boat Flotilla (14 July–31 August 1943) 23rd U-boat Flotilla (1 September 1943–28 February 1945) 31st U-boat Flotilla (1–30 March 1945) |
| Commanders: |
Kptlt. Ernst-August Racky (27 October 1943–15 October 1944) Kptlt. Martin Kuttkat (16 October 1944–30 March 1945) |
| Operations: | None |
| Victories: | None |
German submarine U-429 was a Type VIIC U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine originally built for the Italian Regia Marina during World War II. Her keel was laid down on 14 September 1942 by Danziger Werft of Danzig. She was then commissioned as S-4 on 14 July 1943 under the command of an Italian captain.[2]
Following the Italian armistice on 8 September 1943, the Kriegsmarine took possession of the U-429, which was still in German waters, along with the U-428 and U-430. These boats were not deemed advanced or useful enough for full war service and on 27 October 1943 they were turned over to training flotillas for service in the Baltic Sea, training up submarine crews for despatch to operating boats, mainly based in France. After a very uneventful service life, the U-429 was caught in an open dock during a U.S. Eighth Air Force raid on the city of Wilhelmshaven on 30 March 1945, and destroyed by bombing, although her crew were not on board at the time of the attack.
Modern dramatisation
The 2003 film In Enemy Hands features a fictional U-429, which captures the crew of a fictional version of USS Swordfish.[3]
References
- ↑ Gröner 1985, pp. 72-74.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type VIIC boat U-429". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 2009-08-25.
- ↑ "In Enemy Hands (2004)". www.imdb.com. Retrieved 2009-08-25.
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.
- Sharpe, Peter (1998). U-Boat Fact File. Great Britain: Midland Publishing. ISBN 1-85780-072-9.
External links
- Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type VIIC boat U-429". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 26 December 2014.