German submarine U-456
| Career (Nazi Germany) |  |
|---|---|
| Name: | U-456 |
| Ordered: | 16 January 1940 |
| Builder: | Deutsche Werke, Kiel |
| Yard number: | 287 |
| Laid down: | 3 September 1940 |
| Launched: | 21 June 1941 |
| Commissioned: | 18 September 1941 |
| Fate: | Sunk, after being depth charged, on 12 May 1943 at position 46°39′N 26°54′W / 46.650°N 26.900°W by HMS Opportune and a RAF Liberator bomber of 86 Squadron, operating out 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 & ratings |
| Armament: |
|
| Service record[2] | |
|---|---|
| Part of: |
6th U-boat Flotilla (28 September 1941 - 1 January 1942) - Training 6th U-boat Flotilla (1 January 1942 - 30 June 1942) 11th U-boat Flotilla (1 July 1942 - 30 November 1942) 1st U-boat Flotilla (1 December 1942 - 12 May 1943) |
| Commanders: |
Kptlt. Max-Martin Teichert (18 September 1941 - 12 May 1943) |
| Operations: |
1st patrol: 31 January 1942 - 15 February 1942 2nd patrol: 24 February 1942 - 22 March 1942 3rd patrol: 29 March 1942 - 2 April 1942 4th patrol: 7 April 1942 - 20 April 1942 5th patrol: 29 April 1942 - 4 May 1942 6th patrol: 7 May 1942 - 12 May 1942 7th patrol: 25 June 1942 - 6 July 1942 8th patrol: 4 August 1942 - 10 August 1942 9th patrol: 15 August 1942 - 19 September 1942 10th patrol: 14 January 1943 - 26 February 1943 11th patrol: 24 April 1943 - 12 May 1943 |
| Victories: |
6 merchant ships sunk (31,528 GRT) 1 merchant ship damaged (6,421 GRT) 1 warship damaged (11,500 tons) |
German submarine U-456 was a Type VIIC U-boat built for Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine for service during World War II. She was laid down on 3 September 1940 by Deutsche Werke in Kiel as yard number 287, launched on 21 June 1941 and commissioned on 18 September 1941 under Kapitänleutnant Max-Martin Teichert (Knight’s Cross).
Service History
The boat's service began on 28 September 1941 with training as part of the 6th U-boat Flotilla. She was transferred to the 11th flotilla on 1 July 1942 and then to the 1st flotilla on 1 December 1942.
In 11 patrols she sank 6 ships for a total of 31,528 GRT, plus 2 ships damaged.
HMS Edinburgh
In the late afternoon of 30 April 1942, during the attack on the Arctic Convoy QP 11, two of her torpedoes struck and crippled the Royal Navy light cruiser HMS Edinburgh. At the time HMS Edinburgh was carrying many tons of gold bullion destined for Russia.
Wolfpacks
She took part in ten wolfpacks, namely,
- Umbau (4 – 15 February 1942)
- Umhang (10 – 16 March 1942)
- Eiswolf (29 – 31 March 1942)
- Robbenschlag (7 – 14 April 1942)
- Blutrausch (15 – 19 April 1942)
- Strauchritter (29 April – 3 May 1942)
- Eisteufel (27 June – 5 July 1942)
- Boreas (27 – 30 November 1942)
- Landsknecht (19 – 28 January 1943)
- Dressel (29 April – 12 May 1943)
Fate
In the early morning light U-456 was caught on the surface by a RAF Liberator bomber of 86 Squadron, operating out of Northern Ireland, as she circled ahead of convoy HX 237. U-456 dived at once, but not before the aircraft had launched the new American Fido acoustic homing torpedo at the submerged submarine. The aircraft, low on fuel, was unable to press home the attack. U-456 was badly damaged and forced to re-surface. On the following day she was depth charged and sunk on 12 May 1943 at position 46°39′N 26°54′W / 46.650°N 26.900°WCoordinates: 46°39′N 26°54′W / 46.650°N 26.900°W by HMS Opportune.
Summary of raiding career
| Date | Name | Nationality | Tonnage (GRT) |
Fate[3] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 March 1942 | Effingham |  United States |
6,421 | Damaged |
| 30 April 1942 | HMS Edinburgh |  Royal Navy |
11,500 | Damaged |
| 5 July 1942 | Honomu |  United Kingdom |
6,977 | Sunk |
| 22 August 1942 | Chalka |  Soviet Union |
80 | Sunk |
| 2 February 1943 | Jeremiah Van Rensselaer | United States |
7,177 | Sunk |
| 3 February 1943 | Inverilen | United Kingdom |
9,456 | Sunk |
| 23 February 1943 | Kyleclare |  Ireland |
700 | Sunk |
| 12 May 1943 | Fort Concord | United Kingdom |
7,138 | Sunk |
References
- ↑ Gröner 1985, pp. 72-74.
- ↑ Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type VIIC boat U-456". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 28 April 2014.
- ↑ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit by U-456". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 28 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. 141, 208, 210, 211. ISBN 0-304-35203-9.
External links
- Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type VIIC boat U-456". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 27 December 2014.