German submarine U-108 (1940)
U-108 in Germany, winter 1940-1941, the man in white cap is korvetten-captain Klaus Scholtz
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History | |
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Nazi Germany | |
Name | U-108 |
Ordered | 24 May 1938 |
Builder | |
Yard number | 971 |
Laid down | 27 December 1938 |
Launched | 15 July 1940 |
Commissioned | 22 October 1940 |
Homeport | Lorient, France |
Fate | Sunk, 11 April 1944[1] |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Type IXB U-boat |
Displacement | |
Length |
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Beam |
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Height | 9.60 m (31 ft 6 in) |
Draught | 4.70 m (15 ft 5 in) |
Installed power |
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Propulsion |
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Speed |
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Range |
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Test depth | 230 m (750 ft) |
Complement | 48 to 56 officers and ratings |
Armament |
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Service record | |
Part of: |
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Identification codes: | M 27 968 |
Commanders: |
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Operations: |
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Victories: |
German submarine U-108 was a
Her service career began with training as part of the 2nd U-boat Flotilla; she went on to operations, first with the second flotilla, then with the 8th U-boat Flotilla.
Design
The submarine had a maximum surface speed of 18.2 knots (33.7 km/h; 20.9 mph) and a maximum submerged speed of 7.3 knots (13.5 km/h; 8.4 mph).
Service history
U-108 carried out eleven war patrols, during which she sank 25 ships, a total of 118,722 gross register tons (GRT) and one auxiliary warship of 16,644 GRT. She was a member of seven wolfpacks.
First, second and third patrols
The boat's first patrol began with her departure from Wilhelmshaven on 15 February 1941. She crossed the North Sea and entered the Atlantic via the gap between Iceland and the Faroe Islands, sinking Texelstroom on 22 February. She also sank Effna on the 28th; both ships met their end south of Iceland. She then docked at Lorient in occupied France on 12 March. She would be based there for most of the rest of her career.
Her second foray involved the sinking of HMS Rajputana, an armed merchant cruiser, west of Reykjavík on 13 April 1941. The Convoy Commodore, four officer and 35 ratings were lost. After this patrol the crew of U-108 made an image of a polar bear at conning tower.[3]
U-108 sank Michael E., a CAM ship or 'Catapult Armed Merchantman', on the submarine's third patrol on 2 June 1941 in mid-Atlantic. She went on to sink Baron Nairn west of Cape Race (eastern Newfoundland and Labrador) on the eighth; the Greek ship Dirphys 600 nautical miles (1,100 km; 690 mi) east of Newfoundland, also on 8 July; Christian Krohg on the tenth; Ellinco on the 25th; Nicholas Pateras on the same day and Toronto on 1 July. The latter was a weather ship situated about 500 nmi (930 km; 580 mi) north of the Azores.
Fourth, fifth and sixth patrols
Patrol number four saw the boat covering the 'gap' between South America and Africa. She departed Lorient on 19 August 1941 and returned on 21 October.
She sank Cassequel, a neutral vessel, on 14 December 1941, 160 nmi (300 km; 180 mi) southwest of Cape St. Vincent, Portugal and Ruckinge (convoy HG 76) on the 19th, west of Lisbon as part of her fifth sortie.
The boat's sixth patrol, as part of
She also sank Ramapo northwest of Bermuda on 16 February and Somme on the 18th.
Seventh, eighth and ninth patrols
The boat's seventh patrol was almost as successful as her sixth, sinking Modesta on 25 April 1942, Mobiloil on the 29th (which required a total of six torpedoes and many rounds from the 20mm and 37mm guns), Afoundria on 5 May, and Abgara a day later. On the return leg she encountered Norland on the 25th.
More success pennants were flown after her eighth patrol, which took her almost to the northern South American coast. She sank Tricula on 3 August 1942, Breňas on the seventh and Louisiana on the 17th.
The boat's ninth patrol was carried out in opposition to Operation Torch, (the Allied landings in North Africa). The submarine had not been off Morocco long before being attacked by a destroyer. The damage incurred was serious enough that the boat was obliged to return to France where effective repairs might be carried out.
Tenth and eleventh patrols
The U-boat was attacked by a
In her last operational patrol, she departed Lorient on 1 April 1943. On 19 April 1943 U-108 sank the American Robert Gray from Convoy HX 234. The Liberty ship had straggled behind the convoy. She was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean (50°57′N 40°35′W) with the loss of all 62 crew. U-108 was attacked by a destroyer on the 22nd but continued to shadow
Wolfpacks
U-108 took part in seven wolfpacks, namely.
- West (2 – 20 June 1941)
- Seeräuber (14 – 22 December 1941)
- Schlagetot (9 – 17 November 1942)
- Rochen (28 January - 11 February 1943)
- Adler (7 – 13 April 1943)
- Meise (13 – 27 April 1943)
- Specht (27 – 28 April 1943)
Summary of raiding history
Date | Ship | Nationality | Tonnage[Note 1] | Fate[6] |
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22 February 1941 | Texelstroom | Netherlands | 1,617 | Sunk |
28 February 1941 | Effna | United Kingdom | 6,461 | Sunk |
13 April 1941 | HMS Rajputana | Royal Navy | 16,644 | Sunk |
2 June 1941 | Michael E | United Kingdom | 7,628 | Sunk |
8 June 1941 | Baron Nairn | United Kingdom | 3,164 | Sunk |
8 June 1941 | Dirphys | Greece | 4,240 | Sunk |
10 June 1941 | Christian Krohg | Norway | 1,992 | Sunk |
25 June 1941 | Ellinco | Greece | 3,059 | Sunk |
25 June 1941 | Nicholas Pateras | Greece | 4,362 | Sunk |
1 July 1941 | Toronto City | United Kingdom | 2,486 | Sunk |
14 December 1941 | Cassequel | Portugal | 4,751 | Sunk |
19 December 1941 | Ruckinge | United Kingdom | 2,869 | Sunk |
2 February 1942 | Ocean Venture | United Kingdom | 7,174 | Sunk |
9 February 1942 | Tolosa | Norway | 1,974 | Sunk |
12 February 1942 | Blink | Norway | 2,701 | Sunk |
16 February 1942 | Ramapo | Panama | 2,968 | Sunk |
18 February 1942 | Somme | United Kingdom | 5,265 | Sunk |
25 April 1941 | Modesta | United Kingdom | 3,849 | Sunk |
29 April 1942 | Mobiloil | United States | 9,925 | Sunk |
5 May 1942 | Afoundria | United States | 5,010 | Sunk |
6 May 1942 | Abgara | Latvia | 4,422 | Sunk |
20 May 1942 | Norland | Norway | 8,134 | Sunk |
3 August 1942 | Tricula | United Kingdom | 6,221 | Sunk |
7 August 1942 | Breñas | Norway | 2,687 | Sunk |
17 August 1942 | Louisiana | United States | 8,587 | Sunk |
19 April 1943 | Robert Gray | United States | 7,176 | Sunk |
References
Notes
- gross register tons. Military vessels are listed by tons displacement.
Citations
- ^ Kemp 1997, p. 183.
- ^ a b c d Gröner 1991, p. 68.
- ^ dzen.ru // "Коронованная" подлодка: что за субмарина запечатлена на снимке? (in Russian)
- ISBN 0-06-016155-8, p. 202 .
- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type IXB boat U-108". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 19 June 2014.
- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit by U-108". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 19 June 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.
- Kemp, Paul (1997). U-Boats Destroyed, German Submarine Losses in the World Wars. Arms and Armour. ISBN 1-85409-515-3.
External links
- Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type IXB boat U-108". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 2 February 2015.
- Hofmann, Markus. "U 108". Deutsche U-Boote 1935-1945 - u-boot-archiv.de (in German). Retrieved 2 February 2015.