German submarine U-1105
U-995, last remaining Type VIIC U-boat, sister to U-1105
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History | |
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Nazi Germany | |
Name | U-1105 |
Ordered | 14 October 1941 |
Builder | Nordseewerke, Emden |
Yard number | 227 |
Laid down | 6 July 1943 |
Launched | 20 April 1944 |
Commissioned | 3 June 1944 |
Fate | Surrendered on 10 May 1945 |
United Kingdom | |
Name | N-16 |
Acquired | 10 May 1945 |
Commissioned | 29 June 1945 |
Out of service | 11 February 1946 |
Nickname(s) | Black Panther |
Fate | Transferred to the US Navy in 1946 |
United States | |
Name | U-1105 |
Acquired | 1946 |
Fate | Sunk on 19 September 1949 |
General characteristics | |
Type | Type VIIC/41 submarine |
Displacement | |
Length |
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Beam |
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Height | 9.60 m (31 ft 6 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 | 250 m (820 ft) |
Complement | 44-52 officers and enlisted men |
Armament |
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Service record (Kriegsmarine) | |
Part of: |
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Identification codes: | M 50 444 |
Commanders: |
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Operations: |
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Victories: |
1 warship total loss (1,300 tons) |
U-1105 BLACK Panther (Type VIIC German Submarine) | |
Nearest city | Piney Point, Maryland |
Coordinates | 38°8′10″N 76°33′10″W / 38.13611°N 76.55278°W |
Area | less than one acre |
Built | 1944 |
Architect | Nordseewerke Shipyard |
Architectural style | Submarine Type VIIC |
NRHP reference No. | 00001602[1] |
Added to NRHP | 11 January 2001 |
German submarine U-1105, a
Design
The submarine had a maximum surface speed of 17.7 knots (32.8 km/h; 20.4 mph) and a maximum submerged speed of 7.6 knots (14.1 km/h; 8.7 mph).[2] When submerged, the boat could operate for 80 nautical miles (150 km; 92 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph); when surfaced, she could travel 8,500 nautical miles (15,700 km; 9,800 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph). U-1105 was fitted with five 53.3 cm (21 in) torpedo tubes (four fitted at the bow and one at the stern), fourteen torpedoes, one 8.8 cm (3.46 in) SK C/35 naval gun, 220 rounds, and an anti-aircraft gun. The boat had a complement of between forty-four and sixty.[2]
Armament
FLAK weaponry
U-1105 was mounted with a single
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A single 3.7 cm Flak M42U gun on the LM 42U mount.
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2 cm Flak C38 in a M 43U Zwilling mount with short folding shield.
Sensors
Passive sonar
U-1105 was one of only ten Type VIIC's to be fitted with a Balkongerät (literally 'Balcony apparatus or equipment'). The Balkongerät was used on U-boats (
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The outside view of the German design of Balcongerät installed on Type VIIC's
Service history
Kriegsmarine
It was one of less than ten submarines that the Germans outfitted with experimental
After trials in the
On 4 May 1945, U-1105 received the last order from
Though still operated by her German crew, U-1105 was re-designated as the
In 1946, re-designated U-1105, the U-boat arrived in
USS Salvager and USS Windlass were assigned to tow U-1105 into Chesapeake Bay where she was temporarily sunk. Salvage and towing tests were conducted from 10 to 25 August 1946. Moored on 29 September 1946 to allow pontoons to be fixed to her sides, U-1105 underwent another series of salvage and towing tests until 18 November 1946, when she was sunk off Point No Point Light, Maryland and buoys were left to mark the spot.
In the summer of 1949 U-1105 was raised again, towed into the
The wreck
On 29 June 1985, the wreck of U-1105 was discovered by a team of sport divers led by Uwe Lovas, approximately one mile west of Piney Point, Maryland, at 38°08′10″N 76°33′10″W / 38.13611°N 76.55278°W. In November 1994, it was designated as Maryland's first historic shipwreck preserve. The program, the first of its kind in the state, was designed to promote the preservation of historic shipwreck sites while making them accessible to the general public.
At the wreck site, the conning tower rises to within 68 feet of the surface. The wood covered main deck fore and aft of the conning tower is occasionally exposed by the drifting silt beds. The wreck is well preserved, and largely intact. Seasonally, thick layers of marine growth appear and then disappear on the site, often covering structural features. Between April and December, a large blue and white mooring buoy is anchored about 70 feet (21 m) from the wreck, while a small, orange ball float is anchored to the stump of the forward (air-search) periscope.
The site is maintained for the Maryland Historical Trust by the Battle of the Atlantic Research and Expedition Group (BAREG.org), and was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2001.[1]
Summary of raiding history
Date | Ship Name | Nationality | Tonnage[Note 1] | Fate[9] |
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27 April 1945 | HMS Redmill | Royal Navy | 1,300 | Total loss |
References
Notes
- gross register tons. Military vessels are listed by tons displacement.
Citations
- ^ a b "National Register Information System – (#00001602)". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 9 July 2010.
- ^ a b c d Gröner 1991, pp. 43–46.
- ^ a b Base on war-time photographs.
- ^ "Hydrophones". U-boats Aces - uboataces.com. Retrieved 20 May 2016.
- ISBN 1-55750-860-7.
- ISBN 3-7637-6272-8
- ^ "Recubrimiento Anti-Sonar". u-historia.com. Retrieved 17 December 2010.
- ^ "1952 - 1046 - Flight Archive". Retrieved 20 March 2016.
- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit by U-1105". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 9 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 VIIC/41 boat U-1105". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
- Hofmann, Markus. "U 1105". Deutsche U-Boote 1935-1945 - u-boot-archiv.de (in German). Retrieved 30 January 2015.
- history.navy.mil: U-1105 Archived 14 October 2006 at the Wayback Machine
- Maryland Historical Trust U-1105
- U-1105 "Black Panther", Saint Mary's County, including undated photo, at Maryland Historical Trust
- Battle of the Atlantic Research and Expedition Group