German submarine U-206
History | |
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Nazi Germany | |
Name | U-206 |
Ordered | 16 October 1939 |
Builder | Germaniawerft, Kiel |
Yard number | 635 |
Laid down | 17 June 1940 |
Launched | 4 April 1941 |
Commissioned | 17 May 1941 |
Fate | Missing since 29 November 1941 in the Bay of Biscay. Possibly sunk around 30 November 1941 off St. Nazaire in British minefield Beech. |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Type VIIC 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 |
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Complement | 4 officers, 40–56 enlisted |
Armament |
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Service record[1] | |
Part of: |
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Identification codes: | M 41 306 |
Commanders: |
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Operations: |
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Victories: |
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German submarine U-206 was a
She was possibly sunk in November 1941 by a British-laid minefield.
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).
The partner city (Patenstadt) that sponsored the construction of the submarine was Reichenberg, and she bore the city's coat of arms.[3][4]
Service history
Part of the 3rd U-boat Flotilla, U-206 carried out three patrols in the North Atlantic:[5]
First patrol
U-206's first patrol began when she left Trondheim in Norway on 5 August 1941; she travelled through the gap between Iceland and the Faroe Islands and headed south, towards the west of Ireland. She sank the Ocean Victor on 9 August south of Iceland.
On 26 August, U-206 rescued (against the regulations[6]) from two rubber dinghies six British No. 612 Squadron RAF crew of the Armstrong Whitworth Whitley Mk. V, after its engine had failed during an anti-submarine patrol.[7] They were brought to St. Nazaire, and later to POW camps; soon after the rescue, the British were able to smuggle intelligence back to Britain, describing the submarine and the St. Nazaire port. She was the first submarine that brought British POWs to France.[6]
She arrived at
Second patrol
On her second foray, she sank HMS Fleur de Lys on 14 October 1941 55 nmi (102 km; 63 mi) west of Gibraltar and the Baron Kelvin, close to the Rock on the 19th.
Third patrol and loss
U-206 was posted missing from 29 November 1941. She is believed to have been the victim of a minefield laid by the
Wolfpacks
U-206 took part in four wolfpacks, namely:
- Grönland (10 – 23 August 1941)
- Kurfürst (23 August – 2 September 1941)
- Seewolf (2 – 7 September 1941)
- Breslau (2 – 23 October 1941)
Summary of raiding history
Date | Ship Name | Nationality | Tonnage[Note 1] | Fate[9] |
---|---|---|---|---|
9 August 1941 | Ocean Victor | United Kingdom | 202 | Sunk |
14 October 1941 | HMS Fleur de Lys | Royal Navy | 925 | Sunk |
19 October 1941 | Baron Kelvin | United Kingdom | 3,081 | Sunk |
Location
Since 2018, research to locate the submarine has been ongoing;[10] some twenty possible wrecks have been identified, and dives are planned for 2020.[11]
References
Notes
- gross register tons. Military vessels are listed by tons displacement.
Citations
- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type VIIC boat U-206". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
- ^ a b c d Gröner 1991, pp. 43–46.
- ISBN 978-3-7822-1002-7, p. 74.
- ^ "U-206 Emblem". uboat.net. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "War Patrols of German U-boat U-206". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
- ^ a b Louda, Jiří (May 2018). "Jen objevit ponorku? Nikoliv! Pátráme po příbězích ve třech státech, říká Rous". Jablonecký Deník.
- ^ "Patrol of German U-boat U-206 from 5 Aug 1941 to 10 Sep 1941 - Kriegsmarine U-boat patrols - uboat.net".
- ^ "Čtvrtletník Severočeského muzea v Liberci - IV/2018". 31 December 2018.
- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit by U-206". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
- ^ "Are you related to Ocean Victor victims of U-boat?". 10 May 2018.
- ^ "Liberecká ponorka potopila Brity jediným torpédem - Novinky.cz".
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.
External links
- Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type VIIC boat U-206". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
- Hofmann, Markus. "U 206". Deutsche U-Boote 1935-1945 - u-boot-archiv.de (in German). Retrieved 9 December 2014.