German submarine U-435
| Career (Nazi Germany) |  |
|---|---|
| Name: | U-435 |
| Ordered: | 16 October 1939 |
| Builder: | F Schichau GmbH, Danzig |
| Yard number: | 1477 |
| Laid down: | 11 April 1940 |
| Launched: | 31 May 1941 |
| Commissioned: | 30 August 1941 |
| Fate: | Sunk by depth charges on 9 July 1943 west of Figueira, Portugal at position 39°48′N 14°22′W / 39.800°N 14.367°W by a RAF Wellington bomber of 179 Squadron operating out of Gibraltar. |
| 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[3] | |
|---|---|
| Part of: |
5th U-boat Flotilla (30 August 1941 - 31 December 1941) 1st U-boat Flotilla (1 January 1942 - 30 June 1942) 11th U-boat Flotilla (1 July 1942 - 31 January 1943) 1st U-boat Flotilla (1 February 1943 - 9 July 1943) |
| Commanders: |
K.Kapt. Siegfried Strelow (30 August 1941 - 9 July 1943) |
| Operations: |
1st patrol: 20 January 1942 - 16 February 1942 2nd patrol: 16 March 1942 - 5 April 1942 3rd patrol: 7 April 1942 - 26 April 1942 4th patrol: 25 July 1942 - 31 August 1942 5th patrol: 16 September 1942 - 28 September 1942 6th patrol: 30 November 1942 - 10 January 1943 7th patrol: 18 February 1943 - 25 March 1943 8th patrol: 20 May 1943 - 9 July 1943 |
| Victories: |
9 merchant ships sunk (53,712 GRT) 4 warships sunk (3,311 tons) |
German submarine U-435 was a Type VIIC U-boat built for Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine for service during World War II. She was laid down on 11 April 1940 by F Schichau GmbH in Danzig as yard number 1477, launched on 31 May 1941 and commissioned on 30 August 1941 under Korvettenkapitän Siegfried Strelow (Knight’s Cross).
The boat's service began on 30 August 1941 with training as part of the 5th U-boat Flotilla. She was transferred to the 1st flotilla on 1 January 1942 for active service and then to the 11th flotilla on 1 July 1942. She returned to the 1st flotilla on 1 February 1943.
Service History
In 8 patrols she sank 13 ships for a total of 53,712 GRT, plus 3 warships and 1 auxiliary warship.
U-456 attacked and damaged the American freighter Effingham straggling the convoy. U-435 then finished off the abandoned vessel.
U-435 was more successful in April sinking both the Panamanian freighter El Occidente and British steamer Harpalion. The straggler Harpalion was finished off after being abandoned having been previously heavily damaged by Luftwaffe Ju 88 dive bombers.
U-435 had even more success when she was part of a combined attack on Arctic Convoy QP 14. She sank 4 vessels, comprising the minesweeper HMS Leda, RFA fleet oiler Grey Ranger, British Liberty ship Ocean Voice and American freighter Bellingham.
- Convoy ONS 154
U-435 continued her earlier successes sinking 5 vessels in total namely the CAM ship Empire Shackleton, Norse King, the special service vessel and former freighter HMS Fidelity, HMS LCV-752 and HMS LCV-754; although the two landing craft were being carried as deck cargo when HMS Fidelity was sunk.
Wolfpacks
She took part in eleven wolfpacks, namely,
- Hecht (27 January – 4 February 1942)
- Umbau (4 – 16 February 1942)
- Eiswolf (28 – 31 March 1942)
- Robbenschlag (7 – 13 April 1942)
- Nebelkönig (27 July – 14 August 1942)
- Ungestüm (11 – 30 December 1942)
- Burggraf (24 February – 5 March 1943)
- Raubgraf (7 – 19 March 1943)
- Trutz (1 – 16 June 1943)
- Trutz 3 (16 – 29 June 1942)
- Geier 2 (30 June – 9 July 1943)
Fate
She was depth charged and sunk by on 9 July 1943 at position 39°48′N 14°22′W / 39.800°N 14.367°W west of Figueira, Portugal by a RAF Wellington bomber from 179 Squadron.
Summary of raiding career
| Date | Name | Nationality | Tonnage (GRT) |
Fate[4] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 March 1942 | Effingham |  United States |
6,421 | Sunk |
| 13 April 1942 | El Occidente |  Panama |
6,008 | Sunk |
| 13 April 1942 | Harpalion |  United Kingdom |
5,486 | Sunk |
| 20 September 1942 | HMS Leda |  Royal Navy |
835 | Sunk |
| 22 September 1942 | Bellingham | United Kingdom |
5,345 | Sunk |
| 22 September 1942 | RFA Grey Ranger |  Royal Fleet Auxiliary |
3,313 | Sunk |
| 22 September 1942 | Ocean Voice | United Kingdom |
7,174 | Sunk |
| 29 December 1942 | Empire Shackleton | United Kingdom |
7,068 | Sunk |
| 29 December 1942 | Norse King |  Norway |
5,701 | Sunk |
| 30 December 1942 | HMS Fidelity | Royal Navy |
2,456 | Sunk |
| 30 December 1942 | HMS LCV-752 | Royal Navy |
10 | Sunk |
| 30 December 1942 | HMS LCV-754 | Royal Navy |
10 | Sunk |
| 17 March 1943 | William Eustis | United States |
7,196 | Sunk |
References
- ↑ Gröner 1985, pp. 72-74.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Gröner 1985, p. 67.
- ↑ Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type VIIC boat U-435". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 18 April 2014.
- ↑ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit by U-435". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 18 April 2014.
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.
- Edwards, Bernard (1996). Dönitz and the Wolf Packs – The U-Boats at War. London, UK: Cassell Military Classics. pp. 138, 139. ISBN 0-304-35203-9.
External links
- Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type VIIC boat U-435". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 26 December 2014.