German submarine U-744
| Career (Nazi Germany) |  |
|---|---|
| Name: | U-744 |
| Ordered: | 5 June 1941 |
| Builder: | F Schichau GmbH, Danzig |
| Laid down: | 5 June 1942 |
| Launched: | 11 March 1943 |
| Commissioned: | 5 June 1943 |
| Fate: | Sunk on 6 March 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) |
| Draught: | 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). 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: |
|
German submarine U-744 was a type VIIC U-boat, launched on 11 March 1943, commanded by Heinz Blischke.[2]
Service History
She had two patrols, one from 5 June 1943 to 30 November 1943 and 1 December 1943 to 6 March 1944. She sank two ships in total, SS Empire Housman on 3 January 1944, and the landing ship tank LST 362 on 2 March 1944. The LST 324 was also damaged that day.[3]
U-744 was forced to surface on 6 March 1944, after a 31-hour pursuit by British and Canadian ships. She was depth-charged by HMS Icarus, causing her crew to abandon her. They were picked up by the corvette HMS Kenilworth Castle, the Canadian frigate HMCS St. Catharines, corvettes HMCS Fennel and HMCS Chilliwack and destroyers HMCS Chaudiere and HMCS Gatineau in the North Atlantic. U-744 was then boarded by allied sailors, who retrieved code books and other documents. Most of this was lost while being transferred between the U-Boat and the allied ships. After attempts to tow the submarine into port failed, U-744 was scuttled by the allied warships.[4]
Wolfpacks
U-744 took part in five wolfpacks, namely.
- Coronel 1 (15–17 December 1943)
- Sylt (18–23 December 1943)
- Rügen 2 (23–28 December 1943)
- Rügen 1 (28 December 1943 - 3 January 1944)
- Preussen (26 February - 6 March 1944)
Summary of raiding career
| Date | Name | Nationality | Tonnage (GRT) |
Fate[5] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 January 1944 | Empire Housman |  United Kingdom |
7,359 | Sunk |
| 2 March 1944 | HMS LST-324 |  Royal Navy |
1,625 | Damaged |
| 2 March 1944 | HMS LST-362 | Royal Navy |
1,625 | Sunk |
References
- ↑ Gröner 1985, pp. 72-74.
- ↑ "U-Boat Operations". Ubootwaffe.net. Retrieved 2011-12-02.
- ↑ Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type VIIC boat U-744". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 2011-12-02.
- ↑ "U-744 is boarded" U Boat Archive http://www.uboatarchive.net/U-257-U-744Photos.htm
- ↑ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit by U-744". 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.
- 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
- Hofmann, Markus. "U 744". Deutsche U-Boote 1935-1945 - u-boot-archiv.de (in German). Retrieved 29 December 2014.
Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type VIIC boat U-744". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 29 December 2014.