German submarine U-344

Coordinates: 74°54′N 15°26′E / 74.900°N 15.433°E / 74.900; 15.433
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

History
Nazi Germany
NameU-344
Ordered20 January 1941
BuilderNordseewerke, Emden
Yard number216
Laid down7 May 1942
Launched29 January 1943
Commissioned26 March 1943
FateSunk by a British aircraft on 22 August 1944[1]
General characteristics
Class and type
Type VIIC submarine
Displacement
Length
  • 67.10 m (220 ft 2 in)
    o/a
  • 50.50 m (165 ft 8 in)
    pressure hull
Beam
  • 6.20 m (20 ft 4 in) o/a
  • 4.70 m (15 ft 5 in) pressure hull
Height9.60 m (31 ft 6 in)
Draught4.74 m (15 ft 7 in)
Installed power
  • 2,800–3,200 PS (2,100–2,400 kW; 2,800–3,200 bhp) (diesels)
  • 750 PS (550 kW; 740 shp) (electric)
Propulsion
Speed
  • 17.7 knots (32.8 km/h; 20.4 mph) surfaced
  • 7.6 knots (14.1 km/h; 8.7 mph) submerged
Range
  • 8,500 nmi (15,700 km; 9,800 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) surfaced
  • 80 nmi (150 km; 92 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph) submerged
Test depth
  • 230 m (750 ft)
  • Crush depth
    : 250–295 m (820–968 ft)
Complement4 officers, 40–56 enlisted
Armament
Service record[2][3]
Part of:
Identification codes: M 50 920
Commanders:
  • Kptlt.
     Ulrich Pietsch
  • 26 March 1943 – 22 August 1944
Operations:
  • 3 patrols:
  • 1st patrol:
  • 20 – 27 May 1944
  • 2nd patrol:
  • 31 May – 8 July 1944
  • 3rd patrol:
  • 3 – 22 August 1944
Victories: 1 warship sunk
(1,350 tons)

German submarine U-344 was a

Type VIIC U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II
.

She was a member of two wolfpacks.

She was on her third patrol when she was sunk by a British aircraft on 22 August 1944.

She sank one warship.

Design

supercharged diesel engines producing a total of 2,800 to 3,200 metric horsepower (2,060 to 2,350 kW; 2,760 to 3,160 shp) for use while surfaced, two AEG GU 460/8–27 double-acting electric motors producing a total of 750 metric horsepower (550 kW; 740 shp) for use while submerged. She had two shafts and two 1.23 m (4 ft) propellers. The boat was capable of operating at depths of up to 230 metres (750 ft).[4]

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).

anti-aircraft guns. The boat had a complement of between forty-four and sixty.[4]

Service history

The submarine was laid down on 7 May 1942 at the Nordseewerke yard at Emden as yard number 216, launched on 29 January 1943 and commissioned on 26 March under the command of Kapitänleutnant Ulrich Pietsch.

U-344 served with the 8th U-boat Flotilla, for training and the 3rd flotilla for operations from 1 April 1944. She was reassigned to the 11th flotilla on 1 June 1944.

First patrol

U-344 had sailed from Kiel in Germany to Flekkefjord (west of Kristiansand) and then Bergen in Norway in April and May 1944, but her first patrol began when she departed Bergen on 20 May and followed the Norwegian coastline. She arrived at Narvik on the 27th.

Second patrol

Her second foray involved criss-crossing the

Bogenbucht
(west of Narvik) on 8 July 1944.

Third patrol and loss

Having departed Bogenbucht on 3 August 1944, she sank the British sloop HMS Kite in the Barents Sea on the 21st. Of 226 crew, nine men survived the icy water. The next day, a British Fairey Swordfish of 825 Naval Air Squadron from HMS Vindex, dropped a pattern of depth charges on the U-boat, sinking her. Fifty men died in the sinking; there were no survivors.[5]

Previously recorded fate

U-344 was thought to have been sunk on 24 August 1944 in the Barents Sea off the North Cape by British warships: i.e. the sloops HMS Mermaid and Peacock, the frigate HMS Loch Dunvegan and the destroyer Keppel. U-354 was the victim.

Wolfpacks

U-344 took part in two wolfpacks, namely:

  • Trutz (2 June – 6 July 1944)
  • Trutz (17 – 22 August 1944)

Summary of raiding history

Date Ship Name Tonnage[Note 1] Nationality Fate[6]
21 August 1944 HMS Kite 1,350  Royal Navy Sunk

References

Notes

  1. gross register tons. Military vessels are listed by tons displacement
    .

Citations

  1. ^ Kemp 1999, pp. 214–5.
  2. ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type VIIC boat U-344". German U-boats of WWII – uboat.net. Retrieved 22 August 2012.
  3. ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "War Patrols by German U-boat U-344". German U-boats of WWII – uboat.net. Retrieved 22 August 2012.
  4. ^ a b c d Gröner 1991, pp. 43–46.
  5. ^ Hofmann, Markus. "U 344". Deutsche U-Boote 1935–1945 – u-boot-archiv.de (in German). Retrieved 26 December 2014.
  6. ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit by U-344". German U-boats of WWII – uboat.net. Retrieved 23 January 2014.

Bibliography

External links

74°54′N 15°26′E / 74.900°N 15.433°E / 74.900; 15.433

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