German submarine U-482
| Career (Nazi Germany) |  |
|---|---|
| Name: | U-482 |
| Ordered: | 5 June 1941 |
| Builder: | Deutsche Werke, Kiel |
| Yard number: | 317 |
| Laid down: | 13 February 1942 |
| Launched: | 25 September 1943 |
| Commissioned: | 1 December 1943 |
| Fate: | Sunk by HMS Ascension on 25 November 1944. |
| 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 and ratings |
| Armament: |
|
| Service record[2][3] | |
|---|---|
| Part of: |
5th U-boat Flotilla (1 December 1943–31 July 1944) 9th U-boat Flotilla (1 August–30 September 1944) 11th U-boat Flotilla (1 October–25 November 1944) |
| Commanders: | Kptlt. Hartmut von Matuschka |
| Operations: |
1st patrol: 16 August–26 September 1944 2nd patrol: 18–25 November 1944 |
| Victories: |
4 commercial ships sunk (31,611 GRT) 1 warship sunk (1,010 GRT) |
German submarine U-482 was a Type VIIC U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II. She was laid down on 13 February 1942 at Deutsche Werke in Kiel as yard number 317 and went into service on 1 December 1943 under the command of Hartmut von Matuschka.[2]
U-482 began her service by training with the 5th U-boat Flotilla. She then transferred to the 9th, followed by the 11th flotillas.
Career
U-482 carried out two war patrols from Bergen in Norway, having sailed briefly to Horten (also in Norway), both under Matuschka's command. The first, which began on 14 August 1944, took U-482 off the coast of Ireland. Over a nine-day period, she sank two freighters, the two tankers Jacksonville and Empire Heritage as well as the British corvette HMS Hurst Castle for a total of 32,621 gross register tons (GRT). It was the single most successful war patrol by a Type VII U-boat in 1944.[3][4]
U-482 mounted a second patrol beginning 18 November, but was sunk with all hands a week later by the British frigate HMS Ascension
Fate
During the war it was thought that the U-482 was not sunk until 16 January 1945, and that she had damaged the escort carrier HMS Thane (later determined to be the work of U-1172). Credit for her sinking was given to the ships of British Support Group 22. In the 1990s the British Admiralty revised that assessment and declared that U-482 had possibly struck a mine in the North Channel, off Malin Head, in early December 1944.[4] In 2005 U-boat researcher Axel Niestlé determined that U-482 was probably sunk by the British frigate HMS Ascension west of the Shetland Islands.[2]
Summary of raiding career
Between August and November 1944 U-482 sailed on two combat patrols, sinking four merchant ships totalling 31,611 GRT and the 1,010 GRT Castle-class corvette HMS Hurst Castle.
| Date | Ship | Nationality | Tons | Convoy | Fate and location |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 August 1944 | Jacksonville |  United States |
10,448 | CU-36 | Sunk at 55°30′N 07°38′W / 55.500°N 7.633°W |
| 1 September 1944 | HMS Hurst Castle |  Royal Navy |
1,010 | Sunk at 55°27′N 08°12′W / 55.450°N 8.200°W | |
| 3 September 1944 | Fjordheim |  Norway |
4,115 | ONF-251 | Sunk at 55°55′N 09°28′W / 55.917°N 9.467°W |
| 8 September 1944 | Empire Heritage |  United Kingdom |
15,702 | HX-305 | Sunk at 55°27′N 08°01′W / 55.450°N 8.017°W |
| 8 September 1944 | Pinto | United Kingdom |
1,346 | HX-305 | Sunk at 55°27′N 08°01′W / 55.450°N 8.017°W |
References
- ↑ Gröner 1985, pp. 72-74.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type VIIC boat U-482". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 2010-12-12.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Helgason, Guðmundur. "War Patrols by German U-boat U-482". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 2010-12-12.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Blair (2000), 630-631.
- ↑ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit by U-482". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 12 December 2010.
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.
- Blair, Clay (2000). Hitler's U-Boat War: The Hunted 1942–1945. New York: Modern Library. ISBN 0-679-64033-9.
- John Petersen: Darkest Before Dawn: U-482 and the Sinking of Empire Heritage 1944. The History Press, 2011. ISBN 978-0752458830
External links
- Hofmann, Markus. "U 482". Deutsche U-Boote 1935-1945 - u-boot-archiv.de (in German). Retrieved 28 December 2014.
- Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type VIIC boat U-482". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
- U-482 at ubootwaffe.net