German submarine U-331
History | |
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Nazi Germany | |
Name | U-331 |
Ordered | 23 September 1939 |
Builder | Nordseewerke, Emden |
Yard number | 203 |
Laid down | 26 January 1940 |
Launched | 20 December 1940 |
Commissioned | 31 March 1941 |
Fate | Sunk on 17 November 1942 |
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 37 182 |
Commanders: |
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Operations: |
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Victories: |
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German submarine U-331 was a
The submarine was laid down on 26 January 1940 at the Nordseewerke yard at Emden, launched on 20 December 1940, and commissioned on 31 March 1941 under the command of Oberleutnant zur See Hans-Diedrich Freiherr von Tiesenhausen. She was tracked by the RAF and crippled before being destroyed by the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm on 17 November 1942 with the loss of most of her crew.
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
First patrol
U-331's first patrol took her from Kiel in Germany on 2 July 1941, out into the mid-Atlantic, before arriving at Lorient in France on 19 August.[4]
Second patrol
She sailed from Lorient on 24 September and headed into the
Third patrol-HMS Barham
Sailing from Salamis on 12 November 1941, U-331 returned to the Egyptian coast. On 17 November she landed seven men of the Lehrregiment Brandenburg[6] east of Ras Gibeisa, on a mission to blow up a railway line near the coast, which failed.[7] On 25 November 1941, north of Sidi Barrani, U-331 fired three torpedoes into the British Queen Elizabeth-class battleship HMS Barham. As the ship rolled over, her magazines exploded and she quickly sank[8] with the loss of 861 men, while 395 were rescued.[9] U-331 returned to Salamis on 3 December, where her commander, Freiherr Hans-Diedrich von Tiesenhausen, was subsequently promoted to Kapitänleutnant and awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross.[10]
Fourth and fifth patrol
U-331 left Salamis on 14 January 1942 for another patrol off the Egyptian coast, this time with no success. She then sailed for La Spezia, Italy, arriving on 28 February.[11]
Her next patrol was the reverse of the previous one, she left La Spezia on 4 April, patrolled the enemy coast, then returned to Salamis on 19 April.[12]
Sixth to ninth patrol
Her next four patrols were similarly uneventful, operating from
Tenth patrol
U-331 departed La Spezia on her final voyage on 7 November 1942 to attack the massed ships of "Operation Torch".[13] Two days later, on 9 November, U-331 sighted the American 9,135 GRT troopship USS Leedstown (AP-73) off Algiers. The Leedstown had landed troops on the night of 7/8 November, and the next day had been hit by an aerial torpedo from a Ju 88 torpedo bomber of III./KG 26 destroying her steering gear and flooding the after section. U-331 fired a spread of four torpedoes at the ship hitting her with two. Leedstown settled by the bow with a heavy starboard list, and was abandoned, finally sinking two hours later.[14]
On 13 November U-331 was attacked by an escort ship and was slightly damaged when she dived too deep and hit the sea bed.[13]
Sinking
U-331 was sunk on 17 November, north of Algiers in position 37°05′N 2°27′E / 37.083°N 2.450°E.
Wolfpacks
U-331 took part in one wolfpack, namely:
- Goeben (24 – 30 September 1941)
Summary of raiding history
Date | Ship Name | Nationality | Tonnage[Note 1] | Fate[18] |
---|---|---|---|---|
10 October 1941 | HMS TLC-18 | Royal Navy | 372 | Damaged |
25 November 1941 | HMS Barham | Royal Navy | 31,100 | Sunk |
9 November 1942 | USS Leedstown | United States Navy | 9,135 | Sunk |
See also
- Mediterranean U-boat Campaign (World War II)
References
Notes
- gross register tons. Military vessels are listed by tons displacement.
Citations
- ^ a b Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type VIIC boat U-331". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 11 January 2010.
- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "War Patrols by German U-boat U-331". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 11 January 2010.
- ^ a b c d Gröner 1991, pp. 43–46.
- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Patrol of U-boat U-331 from 2 Jul 1941 to 19 Aug 1941". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 11 January 2010.
- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Patrol of U-boat U-331 from 24 Sep 1941 to 11 Oct 1941". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 11 January 2010.
- ^ "Report on the interrogation of survivors from U-331". www.uboatarchive.net. Archived from the original on 5 September 2009. Retrieved 12 January 2010.
- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Patrol of U-boat U-331 from 12 Nov 1941 to 3 Dec 1941". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 11 January 2010.
- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "HMS Barham (04) (Battleship)". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 11 January 2010.
- ^ Jason Stevenson. "The Barham Conspiracy". webatomics.com. Retrieved 11 January 2010.
- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Kapitänleutnant Freiherr Hans-Diedrich von Tiesenhausen". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 11 January 2010.
- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Patrol of U-boat U-331 from 14 Jan 1942 to 28 Feb 1942". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 11 January 2010.
- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Patrol of U-boat U-331 from 4 Apr 1942 to 19 Apr 1942". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 11 January 2010.
- ^ a b Helgason, Guðmundur. "Patrol of U-boat U-331 from 7 Nov1942 to 17 Nov 1942". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 11 January 2010.
- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "USS Leedstown (AP 73) (Troop transport)". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 11 January 2010.
- ^ a b Hodgson 1994, p. 12.
- ^ Hodgson 1994, pp. 13–14.
- ^ Hodgson 1994, p. 13.
- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit by U-331". 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.
- Frampton, Victor (2017). "Question 34/51: Manned Torpedo Attack on HMS Barham". Warship International. LIV (4): 288–289. ISSN 0043-0374.
- 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.
- Hodgson, Bill. "The Sinking of U-331". Aeroplane Monthly, March 1994, Vol 22 No 3. pp. 11–14.
External links
- Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type VIIC boat U-331". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 26 December 2014.
- Helgason, Guðmundur. "uboat.net - The Sinking of HMS Barham (photo gallery)". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Archived from the original on 21 December 2009. Retrieved 11 January 2010.
- Hofmann, Markus. "U 331". Deutsche U-Boote 1935-1945 - u-boot-archiv.de (in German). Retrieved 26 December 2014.
- "Report on the interrogation of survivors from U-331". www.uboatarchive.net. Archived from the original on 5 September 2009. Retrieved 12 January 2010.