German submarine U-198
| History | |
|---|---|
 Nazi Germany | |
| Name | U-198 |
| Ordered | 4 November 1940 |
| Builder | |
| Yard number | 1044 |
| Laid down | 1 August 1941 |
| Launched | 15 June 1942 |
| Commissioned | 3 November 1942 |
| Fate | Sunk on 12 August 1944 near the Seychelles, by depth charges from British and Indian warships |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Type IXD2 submarine |
| Displacement | |
| Length |
|
| Beam |
|
| Height | 10.20 m (33 ft 6 in) |
| Draught | 5.40 m (17 ft 9 in) |
| Installed power |
|
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed |
|
| Range |
|
| Test depth | Calculated crush depth: 230 m (750 ft) |
| Complement | 55-64 |
| Armament |
|
| Service record[1][2] | |
| Part of: |
|
| Identification codes: | M 49 158 |
| Commanders: |
|
| Operations: |
|
| Victories: |
11 merchant ships sunk (59,690 GRT) |
German submarine U-198, was a
The boat was sunk on 12 August 1944 near the Seychelles, by depth charges from a British frigate and an Indian sloop. The submarine is credited with sinking eleven ships, for a total of 59,690 gross register tons (GRT).
Design
The submarine had a maximum surface speed of 20.8 knots (38.5 km/h; 23.9 mph) and a maximum submerged speed of 6.9 knots (12.8 km/h; 7.9 mph).
Service history
First patrol
U-198 began her first active war patrol on 9 March 1943, departing Kiel under the command of Fregattenkapitän Werner Hartmann. The new submarine headed south around South Africa to hunt the waters between Madagascar and the African mainland.
Her first taste of combat arrived on 5 April 1943 northeast of the
A little over two months after departing Kiel, U-198 scored her first success of the war, torpedoing and sinking the 4,392 GRT British steam merchant ship Northmoor northeast of Durban on 17 May. Two anti-submarine trawlers and an escorting aircraft retaliated furiously, dropping about 55 depth charges but U-198 escaped without damage. Two days later, the submarine was spotted and attacked by a British PBY Catalina aircraft. The U-boat was not damaged, but effective anti-aircraft fire hit the flying boat, forcing it to return to base on one engine.
POWs
On the evening of 29 May 1943, U-198 torpedoed the unescorted British motor merchantman Hopetarn about 450 nmi (830 km; 520 mi) east of Durban. 37 souls survived this attack, although the second officer was taken prisoner by the submarine crew. At the end of the patrol he was sent to the
While tracking a small convoy on 31 May, U-198 was sighted by the escorts. Attacks from one of the corvettes drove the submarine deep but caused no serious damage. A little while later, the submarine drove off an approaching British Catalina with gunfire and then crash-dived to escape, losing the convoy in the process.
The morning of 5 June 1943 found U-198 stalking her next victim, the unescorted British motor merchant vessel Dumra. Two torpedoes at 07.50 hours destroyed the merchant ship's bow, but she remained afloat. A coup de grâce ten minutes later hit amidships, causing her to sink immediately. This final torpedo killed the ship's master (who was blown overboard by the blast) and 24 men in a lifeboat that had already abandoned the sinking freighter. The chief engineer, Henry Townsend Graham, was taken prisoner.
At 13.18 hours the U-boat hit the American
A month passed before U-198 encountered her next victim, the 4,476 GRT Greek steam merchantman Hydraios. A single torpedo followed by a coup de grâce fifteen minutes later sealed her fate. All 40 men aboard survived, although after questioning the survivors, the Germans confiscated the ship's papers and a cashbox containing 682 Egyptian pounds.
Early the next day, U-198 located the British steam merchantman Leana. The submarine shelled the vessel with 147 rounds from her deck gun before finishing the job with a coup de grâce torpedo a little over an hour after the shelling began. Two men were killed by the submarine's gunfire, the master, (Joseph Crosthwaite), was taken prisoner. When the patrol ended, he was sent to Milag Nord.
The final kill of this patrol occurred on 1 August 1943. U-198 fired two torpedoes at the Dutch steam merchant vessel Mangkalihat which was traveling with
Second Patrol
Oberleutnant zur See Burkhard Heusinger von Waldegg took command on 21 January 1944 and the submarine was transferred from Bordeaux to La Pallice. U-198 began her second and final patrol on 20 April 1944, sailing again around South Africa and into the Indian Ocean. En route, she was attacked by two Ventura patrol aircraft. Effective anti-aircraft fire drove the attackers off; U-198 received only slight damage in return and continued south to her assigned patrol area.
16 June brought the U-boat crew their first success of the patrol. The unescorted South African steam merchant ship Columbine was hit on the port side by one torpedo. The crew began to abandon ship and were still in the process of doing so when a coup de grâce struck eight minutes after the first hit, causing the ship to sink very rapidly. 23 men died, including the ship's master.
About a month later, on 15 July, U-198 torpedoed the British steam merchant vessel Director in the Mozambique channel (between the African mainland and Madagascar). One man died, the remaining 56 were picked up by the Portuguese
Ranging farther up the east coast of Africa, U-198 sighted
Loss
On 12 August 1944, U-198 was depth charged and sunk by the British frigate HMS Findhorn and the Indian Black Swan-class sloop HMIS Godavari in position 03°35′S 52°49′E / 3.583°S 52.817°E (near the Seychelles). The entire crew of the submarine was killed, as well as the first officer of Empire Day, a total of 66 men.[4]
Summary of raiding history
| Date | Name | Nationality | Tonnage (GRT) |
Fate[5] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 May 1943 | Northmoor |  United Kingdom
|
4,392 | Sunk |
| 29 May 1943 | Hopetarn | United Kingdom
|
5,231 | Sunk |
| 5 June 1943 | Dumra | United Kingdom
|
2,304 | Sunk |
| 6 June 1943 | William King |  United States
|
7,176 | Sunk |
| 6 July 1943 | Hydraios |  Greece
|
4,476 | Sunk |
| 7 July 1943 | Leana | United Kingdom
|
4,742 | Sunk |
| 1 August 1943 | Mangkalihat |  Netherlands
|
8,457 | Sunk |
| 16 June 1944 | Columbine |  South Africa
|
3,268 | Sunk |
| 15 July 1944 | Director | United Kingdom
|
5,107 | Sunk |
| 6 August 1944 | Empire City | United Kingdom
|
7,295 | Sunk |
| 7 August 1944 | Empire Day | United Kingdom
|
7,242 | Sunk |
References
- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type IXD2 boat U-198". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 28 January 2013.
- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "War Patrols by German U-boat U-198". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 28 January 2013.
- ^ a b c d Gröner, Jung & Maass 1991, pp. 74–75.
- ^ Kemp 1999, p. 209.
- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit by U-198". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net.
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). U-boats and Mine Warfare Vessels. German Warships 1815–1945. Vol. 2. Translated by Thomas, Keith; Magowan, Rachel. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-593-4.
- Kemp, Paul (1999). U-Boats Destroyed - German Submarine Losses in the World Wars. London: Arms & Armour. ISBN 1-85409-515-3.
External links
- Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type IXD boat U-198". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 7 December 2014.
- Hofmann, Markus. "U 198". Deutsche U-Boote 1935-1945 - u-boot-archiv.de (in German). Retrieved 7 December 2014.
