German submarine U-855
| Career (Nazi Germany) |  |
|---|---|
| Name: | U-855 |
| Ordered: | 5 June 1941 |
| Builder: | DeSchiMAG AG Weser, Bremen |
| Yard number: | 1061 |
| Laid down: | 21 October 1942 |
| Launched: | 17 April 1943 |
| Commissioned: | 2 August 1943 |
| Fate: | probably sunk by mine in position 63°10′N 12°30′W / 63.167°N 12.500°WCoordinates: 63°10′N 12°30′W / 63.167°N 12.500°W on 17/18 September 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: |
|
| Service record | |
|---|---|
| Identification codes: | M 53 689 |
| Commanders: |
Kptlt. Albert Sürenhagen Oblt.z.S. Prosper Ohlsen |
| Operations: | 2 patrols |
German submarine U-855 was a Type IXC/40 U-boat built for Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II.
U-855 was ordered in June 1941 from DeSchiMAG AG Weser in Bremen under the yard number 710. Her keel was laid down on 21 October 1942 and the U-boat was launched the following year on 17 April 1943. She was commissioned into service under the command of Kapitänleutnant Albert Sürenhagen (Crew 36) in 4th U-boat Flotilla.
In April 1944 Sürenhagen handed over command to Oberleutnant zur See Prosper Ohlsen (Crew 36). U-855 transferred to the 10th U-boat Flotilla for front-line service and left Kiel for operations in the North Atlantic on 22 June 1944, but experienced engine problems which forced her to return to Kiel. The U-boat left Kiel again on 1 July and served as a weather boat in the North Atlantic until September 1944.
An attack on an unescorted freighter on 6 September 1944 was not successful. The next day U-855 met with 516 and supplied her with provisions for twelve days. The following day, 9 September, she refuelled U-516 before making for port. Her last transmission was received on 11 September 1944, after that the U-boat was missing.[2]
Since U-855 would have had to pass through known mine barrages about a week into her return voyage. Since she failed to report the successful passage, as other U-boats would do, she was probably sunk by a mine on 17 October. That day another U-boat in the vicinity, U-804 reported hearing an explosion of a mine. The previous assumption that U-855 was attacked and sunk by a British aircraft, Liberator 'A' of No. 224 Squadron RAF, on 24 September is not correct as this attack damaged U-763.[2]
References
- ↑ Gröner 1985, pp. 105-7.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Busch & Röll 1999, p. 291.
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 IXC/40 boat U-855". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 2 February 2015.
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