German submarine U-711
| Career (Nazi Germany) |  |
|---|---|
| Name: | U-711 |
| Operator: | Kriegsmarine |
| Ordered: | 7 December 1940 |
| Builder: | H. C. Stülcken Sohn, Hamburg |
| Yard number: | 777 |
| Laid down: | 31 July 1941 |
| Launched: | 25 June 1942 |
| Commissioned: | 2 September 1942 |
| Fate: | Sunk 4 May 1945 at 68°48′N 16°38′E / 68.800°N 16.633°ECoordinates: 68°48′N 16°38′E / 68.800°N 16.633°E |
| 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) |
| Installed power: | 2 × supercharged Germania-Werft 6 cylinder, four-stroke F46 diesel engines 2 × GL RP 137/c electric motors |
| Propulsion: | 2 × shafts 2 × 1.23 m (4 ft 0 in) propellers |
| 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 nautical miles (15,700 km; 9,800 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) |
| Test depth: | 230 m (750 ft) Crush depth: 250–295 m (820–968 ft) |
| Complement: | 44–60 officers & ratings |
| Armament: |
|
German submarine U-711 was a Type VIIC U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II.
Ordered 7 December 1940, she was laid down 31 July 1941 and launched 25 June 1942. She had a relatively brief career from 2 September 1942 till 1 April 1943 as part of a training flottila, and then went on to active service from 1 April 1943 till 24 April 1943. During this time she was commanded by Oberleutnant zur See Hans-Günther Lange (who was awarded the Knights Cross).
Patrol History
During her active service career, U-711 sunk or damaged three ships, 1 ship sunk 10 GRT, 1 warship sunk, total tonnage 925 tons 1 ship damaged, total tonnage 20 GRT.
U-711 attacked and sank the British corvette HMS Bluebell on 17 February 1945.
On 4 May 1945 the U boat was sunk during the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm Operation Judgement, which was actually aimed at the depot ships Black Watch and Senja lying at Kilbotn, south of Harstad, Norway. Bombs from Avenger aircraft, operating off HMS Trumpeter and HMS Queen, destroyed her, leaving 40 dead and 12 survivors. She sank after attempts by Hans-Günther Lange and ten other crew members to sparate her from the Black Watch and to keep her afloat. The rest of the crew had already gone on board the Black Watch and were killed as she went down.
Only a few hours earlier the captain had received the signal from Germany ordering all U-boats to cease attacks on allied shipping.[2]
Wolfpacks
U-711 took part in nine wolfpacks, namely.
- Wiking (1 August - 20 September 1943)
- Blitz (24 March - 5 April 1944)
- Keil (11–14 April 1944)
- Donner & Keil (24 April - 3 May 1944)
- Grimm (31 May - 6 June 1944)
- Trutz (8 June - 7 July 1944)
- Greif (3–18 August 1944)
- Rasmus (9–13 February 1945)
- Hagen (15–21 March 1945)
Summary of raiding career
| Date | Ship Name | Nationality | Tonnage (GRT) | Fate[3] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 April 1944 | Solvoll |  Norway |
10 | Sunk |
| 17 February 1945 | HMS Bluebell |  Royal Navy |
925 | Sunk |
| 22 March 1945 | BPS-5 |  Soviet Navy |
20 | Damaged |
References
- ↑ Gröner 1985, pp. 72-74.
- ↑ Harald Isachsen (2009), Operation Judgement: Angrepet på <<Black Watch>>, Kilbotn 4 Mai 1945, ISBN 978-82-998024-2-0
- ↑ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit by U-711". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 10 February 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.
External links
- Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type VIIC boat U-711". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
- Hofmann, Markus. "U 711". Deutsche U-Boote 1935-1945 - u-boot-archiv.de (in German). Retrieved 29 December 2014.