German submarine U-444

Career (Nazi Germany)
Name: U-444
Ordered: 13 April 1940
Builder: Schichau-Werke, Danzig
Yard number: 1499
Laid down: 10 February 1941
Launched: 26 February 1942
Commissioned: 9 May 1942
Fate: Sunk by Allied warships in mid-Atlantic, March 1943[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]
Part of: 8th U-boat Flotilla
(9 May31 December 1942)
3rd U-boat Flotilla
(1 January11 March 1943)
Commanders: Oblt.z.S. Albert Langfeld
(9 May 194211 March 1943)
Operations: 1st patrol:
17 December 19423 February 1943
2nd patrol:
111 March 1943
Victories: None

German submarine U-444 was a Type VIIC U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II.

She carried out two patrols. She sank no ships.

She was a member of three wolfpacks.

She was sunk by Allied warships in mid-Atlantic in March 1943.[1]

Service history

The submarine was laid down on 10 February 1941 at Schichau-Werke in Danzig (now Gdansk) as yard number 1499, launched on 26 February 1942 and commissioned on 9 May under the command of Oberleutnant zur See Albert Langfeld.

She served with the 8th U-boat Flotilla from 9 May 1942 for training and the 3rd flotilla from 1 January 1943 for operations.

1st patrol

U-444 '​s first patrol began from Kiel in Germany on 17 December 1942. She headed for the Atlantic Ocean, via the gap separating the Faroe and Shetland Islands. She arrived at La Pallice in occupied France on 3 February 1943.

2nd patrol and loss

U-444 left La Pallice on 1 March 1943; on the 11th she was sunk in mid-Atlantic by a combination of depth charges and ramming by the British destroyer HMS Harvester and the Free French corvette Aconit.

Forty-one men went down with U-444; there were four survivors.[1][3]

Wolfpacks

U-444 took part in three wolfpacks, namely.

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Kemp 1999, p. 106.
  2. Gröner 1985, pp. 72-74.
  3. 3.0 3.1 Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type VIIC boat U-444". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 21 September 2012.

Bibliography

External links

Coordinates: 51°14′N 29°18′W / 51.233°N 29.300°W