German submarine U-525
| Career (Nazi Germany) |  |
|---|---|
| Name: | U-525 |
| Ordered: | 15 August 1940 |
| Builder: | Deutsche Werft, Hamburg |
| Yard number: | 340 |
| Laid down: | 10 September 1941 |
| Launched: | 20 May 1942[1] |
| Commissioned: | 30 July 1942[1] |
| Fate: | Sunk by US aircraft, northwest of the Azores, August 1943[2] |
| General characteristics [3] | |
| Class and type: | Type IXC/40 submarine |
| Displacement: | 1,144 t (1,126 long tons) surfaced 1,257 t (1,237 long tons) submerged |
| Length: | 76.76 m (251 ft 10 in) o/a 58.75 m (192 ft 9 in) pressure hull |
| Beam: | 6.86 m (22 ft 6 in) o/a 4.44 m (14 ft 7 in) pressure hull |
| Height: | 9.6 m (31 ft 6 in) |
| Draft: | 4.67 m (15 ft 4 in) |
| Propulsion: | 2 × MAN M 9 V 40/46 supercharged 9-cylinder diesel engines, 4,400 hp (3,281 kW) 2 × SSW GU 345/34 double-acting electric motors, 1,000 hp (746 kW) |
| Speed: | 19 knots (35 km/h; 22 mph) surfaced 7.3 knots (13.5 km/h; 8.4 mph) submerged |
| Range: | 13,850 nmi (25,650 km; 15,940 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) surfaced 63 nautical miles (117 km; 72 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph) submerged |
| Test depth: | 230 m (750 ft) |
| Complement: | 4 officers, 44 enlisted |
| Armament: |
|
| Service record[4] | |
|---|---|
| Part of: |
Kriegsmarine 4th U-boat Flotilla (30 July–31 December 1942) 10th U-boat Flotilla (1 January–11 August 1943) |
| Commanders: |
Kptlt. Hans-Joachim Drewitz (30 July 1942–11 August 1943) |
| Operations: |
15 December 1942–3 March 1943 15 April–26 May 1943 27 July–11 August 1943 |
| Victories: | One ship sunk, 3,454 gross register tons (GRT) |
German submarine U-525 was a Type IXC/40 U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine built for service during World War II.
Her keel was laid down on 10 September 1941 by the Deutsche Werft in Hamburg as yard number 340. She was launched on 20 May 1942 and commissioned on 30 July with Kapitänleutnant Hans-Joachim Drewitz in command.
The U-boat's service began with training as part of the 4th U-boat Flotilla on 30 July 1942. She then moved to the 10th flotilla on 1 January 1943 for operations.
She was a member of six wolfpacks.
She carried out three patrols and sank one ship of 3,454 GRT.
She was sunk by US aircraft, northwest of the Azores, in August 1943
Operational career
1st patrol
The submarine's first patrol took her from Kiel on 15 December 1942, across the North Sea and into the Atlantic Ocean through the gap between Iceland and the Faroe Islands. She sank Radhurst on 22 February 1943. The ship went down in three minutes.
She arrived at Lorient in occupied France, on 3 March.
2nd patrol
Her second foray was relatively uneventful.
3rd patrol and loss
Her third sortie took her north and west of the Azores.
She was sunk by depth charges and aerial torpedoes from Avenger and Wildcat aircraft from the American carrier Card on 11 August 1943 north-west of the Azores.
Fifty-four men died; there were no survivors.
Wolfpacks
U-525 took part in six wolfpacks, namely.
- Falke (28 December 1942 – 19 January 1943)
- Haudegen (19 January – 15 February 1943)
- Amsel (22 April – 3 May 1943)
- Amsel 3 (3–6 May 1943)
- Rhein (7–10 May 1943)
- Elbe 1 (10–14 May 1943)
Summary of raiding career
| Date | Name | Nationality | Tonnage (GRT) |
Fate[5] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 February 1943 | Radhurst |  United Kingdom |
3,454 | Sunk |
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Kemp 1997, p. 141.
- ↑ Kemp 1997, pp. 141-142.
- ↑ Gröner 1985, p. 105-7.
- ↑ Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type IXC/40 boat U-525". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 30 September 2012.
- ↑ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit by U-525". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 30 January 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.
- Edwards, Bernard (1996). Dönitz and the Wolf Packs - The U-boats at War. Cassell Military Classics. p. 152. ISBN 0-304-35203-9.
- 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.
- Kemp, Paul (1997). U-Boats Destroyed - German Submarine Losses in the World Wars. Arms & Armour. ISBN 1-85409-515-3.
External links
- Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type IXC/40 boat U-525". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 7 December 2014.
- Hofmann, Markus. "U 525". Deutsche U-Boote 1935-1945 - u-boot-archiv.de (in German). Retrieved 1 February 2015.
- U-525 at ubootwaffe.net
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