German submarine U-845

Career (Nazi Germany)
Name: U-845
Ordered: 20 January 1941
Builder: DeSchiMAG AG Weser, Bremen
Yard number: 1051
Laid down: 20 June 1942
Launched: 18 January 1943
Commissioned: 1 May 1943
Fate: scuttled in position 48°20′N 20°33′W / 48.333°N 20.550°WCoordinates: 48°20′N 20°33′W / 48.333°N 20.550°W on 10 March 1944
General characteristics [1]
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 nmi (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:
  • 6 × torpedo tubes (four bow, two stern)
  • 22 × 53.3 cm (21 in) torpedoes
  • anti-aircraft guns
Service record
Commanders:
Operations: 2 patrols

German submarine U-845 was a Type IXC/40 U-boat built for Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II.

U-845 was ordered in January 1941 from DeSchiMAG AG Weser in Bremen under the yard number 1051. Her keel was laid down on 20 June 1942. The U-boat was launched the following year on 18 January 1943. she was commissioned into service under the command of Kapitänleutnant Udo Behrens (Crew 30) in 4th U-boat Flotilla on 1 May 1943.

On 10 July 1943 Rudolf Hoffmann (Crew 36) took over command. On her way to Gotenhafen U-845 assisted U-490 which was unable to dive and escorted her to port where they arrived on 24 July. Hoffmann handed over command to Werner Weber (Crew 25) in early October 1943. On 1 January 1944 U-845, which had been transferred to the 10th U-boat Flotilla, left for operations in the North Atlantic. Via Kristiansand, Stavanger and Bergen she reached her assigned operation area off Newfoundland in February 1944. A first attack on an unescorted freighter on 6 February 1944 failed, but three days later a British steamer, Kelmscott (7,039 GRT), fell victim to U-845 '​s torpedo. On 14 February the U-boat was spotted by an aircraft. In the subsequent attack one crew member died and two others were wounded. An attack on another unescorted freighter the next day failed to sink the ship. On 10 March 1944, U-845 made contact with convoy SC 154, but was picked up by an escort, HMCS St. Laurent, in the late afternoon and depth-charged. When the U-boat surfaced late at night, she was attacked by St. Laurent and three other escorts of 9th Excort Group, HMCS Swansea, HMCS Owen Sound and HMS Forester, with artillery, killing Weber and the bridge crew as well as the crew servicing the AA guns. The rest of the crew survived the attack and was picked up by the escorts. Swansea picked up 23, Forester 17, and St. Laurent five men.[2]

References

  1. Gröner 1985, p. 105-7.
  2. Busch & Röll 1999, p. 203-4.

Bibliography

External links