German submarine U-102 (1940)
U-52, a typical Type VIIB boat
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History | |
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Nazi Germany | |
Name | U-102 |
Ordered | 15 December 1937 |
Builder | Germaniawerft, Kiel |
Yard number | 596 |
Laid down | 22 May 1939 |
Launched | 21 March 1940 |
Commissioned | 27 April 1940 |
Fate | Sunk south-west of Ireland on 1 July 1940, by HMS Vansittart |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Type VIIB submarine |
Displacement | |
Length |
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Beam |
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Height | 9.50 m (31 ft 2 in) |
Draught | 4.74 m (15 ft 7 in) |
Installed power |
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Propulsion |
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Speed |
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Range | |
Test depth |
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Complement | 4 officers, 40–56 enlisted |
Sensors and processing systems | Gruppenhorchgerät |
Armament |
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Service record | |
Part of: |
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Identification codes: | M 13 990 |
Commanders: |
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Operations: |
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Victories: |
1 merchant ship sunk (5,219 GRT) |
German submarine U-102 was a
.The U-boat was laid down on 22 May 1939 at the Friedrich Krupp Germaniawerft shipyard at Kiel as yard number 596, launched on 21 March 1940 and commissioned on 27 April under the command of Kapitänleutnant Harro von Klot-Heydenfeldt to serve with the 7th U-boat Flotilla from 27 April 1940 to 1 June for crew training and operationally until she was sunk on 1 July. She sank one Allied ship, claiming 5,219 gross register tons (GRT).
Design
The submarine had a maximum surface speed of 17.9 knots (33.2 km/h; 20.6 mph) and a maximum submerged speed of 8 knots (15 km/h; 9.2 mph).
Service history
U-102's first and only patrol began on 22 June 1940. Having sunk the Clearton about 180 nmi (330 km; 210 mi) west of Ushant (often known as Ouessant, an island in northwest France)[2] on 1 July, she was herself sunk on the same day as the latter ship by depth charges from a British destroyer, HMS Vansittart.[3]
43 men died with the submarine; there were no survivors.
After the U-boat's sinking, Vansittart rescued the 26 survivors from Clearton.
Previously Recorded Fate
U-102 was originally believed to have been sunk in the Bay of Biscay due to unknown causes on or after 30 June 1940.
Summary of raiding history
Date | Ship | Nationality | Tonnage (GRT) |
Fate[4] |
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1 July 1940 | Clearton | United Kingdom | 5,219 | Sunk |
References
- ^ a b c d Gröner 1991, pp. 43–44.
- ISBN 0 7230 0809 4, p. 14
- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type VII boat U-102". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit by U-102". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
Bibliography
- Busch, Rainer; Röll, Hans-Joachim (1999). German U-boat commanders of World War II : a biographical dictionary. Translated by Brooks, Geoffrey. London, Annapolis, Md: Greenhill Books, Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-186-6.
- Busch, Rainer; Röll, Hans-Joachim (1999). Deutsche U-Boot-Verluste von September 1939 bis Mai 1945 [German U-boat losses from September 1939 to May 1945]. Der U-Boot-Krieg (in German). Vol. IV. Hamburg, Berlin, Bonn: Mittler. ISBN 3-8132-0514-2.
- Gröner, Erich; Jung, Dieter; Maass, Martin (1991). German Warships 1815–1945, U-boats and Mine Warfare Vessels. Vol. 2. Translated by Thomas, Keith; Magowan, Rachel. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-593-4.
External links
- Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type VII boat U-102". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
- Hofmann, Markus. "U 102". Deutsche U-Boote 1935–1945 - u-boot-archiv.de (in German). Retrieved 30 January 2015.