German submarine U-268
History | |
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Name | U-268 |
Ordered | 20 January 1941 |
Builder | Bremer Vulkan, Bremen-Vegesack |
Yard number | 33 |
Laid down | 4 September 1941 |
Launched | 9 June 1942 |
Commissioned | 29 July 1942 |
Fate | Sunk by a British aircraft, 19 February 1943 |
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][2] | |
Part of: |
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Identification codes: | M 14 594 |
Commanders: |
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Operations: |
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Victories: |
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German submarine U-268 was a
.Commissioned on 29 July 1942, she served with the 8th U-boat Flotilla for training and later served with the 1st U-boat Flotilla from 1 to 19 February 1943.
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).
Service history
U-268 departed Bergen on 10 January 1943 on her first and only patrol. On 17 January she sank the 14,547 GRT Norwegian whale factory ship Vestfold, which was laden with 17,386 tons of fuel oil, and three British landing craft - HMS LCT-2239, LCT-2267 and LCT-2344 (each 291 tons) - as deck cargo. Before sinking, Vestfold, which had been abandoned with her engines still running, steamed in circles, almost colliding with another ship.[4]
Fate
On 19 February 1943 while returning to her new base in
Wolfpacks
U-268 took part in five wolfpacks, namely:
- Habicht (10 – 15 January 1943)
- Falke (15 – 19 January 1943)
- Haudegen (19 January – 2 February 1943)
- Nordsturm (2 – 9 February 1943)
- Haudegen (9 – 10 February 1943)
Summary of raiding history
Date | Ship Name | Nationality | Tonnage[Note 1] | Fate[5] |
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17 January 1943 | Vestfold | ![]() |
14,547 | Sunk |
17 January 1943 | HMS LCT-2239[Note 2] | ![]() |
291 | Sunk |
17 January 1943 | HMS LCT-2267[Note 2] | ![]() |
291 | Sunk |
17 January 1943 | HMS LCT-2344[Note 2] | ![]() |
291 | Sunk |
References
Notes
- gross register tons. Military vessels are listed by tons displacement.
- ^ a b c Carried by Vestfold.
Citations
- ^ a b Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type VIIC boat U-268". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 30 December 2009.
- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "War Patrols by German U-boat U-268". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 30 December 2009.
- ^ a b c d Gröner 1991, pp. 43–46.
- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Vestfold (Whale factory ship)". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 30 December 2009.
- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit by U-268". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 26 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). Der U-Boot-Krieg, 1939-1945: Deutsche U-Boot-Verluste von September 1939 bis Mai 1945 [German U-boat losses from September 1939 to May 1945] (in German). Vol. IV. Hamburg, Berlin, Bonn: Mittler. ISBN 3-8132-0514-2.
- Gröner, Eric; 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.
- Bishop, Chris (2006). Kriegsmarine U-Boats, 1939-45. London: Amber Books. ISBN 978-1-904687-96-2.
External links
- Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type VIIC boat U-268". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 26 December 2014.
- Hofmann, Markus. "U 268". Deutsche U-Boote 1935-1945 - u-boot-archiv.de (in German). Retrieved 26 December 2014.