German submarine U-3519
History | |
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Name | U-3519 |
Ordered | 6 November 1943 |
Builder | Danzig |
Yard number | 1664 |
Laid down | 19 September 1944 |
Launched | 23 November 1944 |
Commissioned | 6 January 1945 |
Fate | Sunk by mine on 2 March 1945 |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Type XXI submarine |
Displacement | |
Length | 76.70 m (251 ft 8 in) ( o/a ) |
Beam | 8 m (26 ft 3 in) |
Height | 11.30 m (37 ft 1 in) |
Draught | 6.32 m (20 ft 9 in) |
Propulsion |
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Speed |
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Range |
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Test depth | 240 m (790 ft) |
Complement | 5 officers, 52 enlisted |
Sensors and processing systems |
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Armament |
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Service record[1] | |
Part of: |
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Identification codes: | M 49 699 |
Commanders: |
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Operations: | None |
Victories: | None |
German submarine U-3519 was a
U-3519 was a brand new, high technology electric boat which could run constantly submerged rather than having to surface to recharge her batteries every day the way submarines until that point had had to do. However, these advanced vessels were introduced to the Kriegsmarine only late in 1944, much too late to influence the Battle of the Atlantic, and too late for many of them to serve in an offensive capacity at all.
With the end of the war near, training on U-boats had dropped to a minimum due to lack of fuel, falling morale and the effectiveness of allied attacks on U-boat construction and preparation. The exception to this were the new Type XXI boats, which continued to train in the Baltic Sea. To prevent this, the Royal Air Force dropped thousands of sea mines into German territorial waters, in the hope that submarines entering or leaving harbour or training in shallow waters would be lost on them. This is what destroyed U-3519 on 2 March 1945, when she ran afoul of an air-dropped mine near Warnemünde, in position 54°11′N 12°05′E / 54.183°N 12.083°E and sank to the bottom taking all 65 of her crew with her.
Design
Like all
The submarine had a maximum surface speed of 15.6 knots (28.9 km/h; 18.0 mph) and a submerged speed of 17.2 knots (31.9 km/h; 19.8 mph). When running on silent motors the boat could operate at a speed of 6.1 knots (11.3 km/h; 7.0 mph). When submerged, the boat could operate at 5 knots (9.3 km/h; 5.8 mph) for 340 nautical miles (630 km; 390 mi); when surfaced, she could travel 15,500 nautical miles (28,700 km; 17,800 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph).
References
- ^ a b Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type XXI boat U-3519". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 23 March 2010.
- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Richard von Harpe (German Cross in Gold)". German U-boats of World War II - Uboat.net. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
- ^ a b c d Gröner 1991, p. 85.
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, 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 (1997). U-Boats Destroyed - German Submarine Losses in the World Wars. London: Arms and Armour Press. p. 235. ISBN 1-85409-321-5.
- Sharpe, Peter (1998). U-Boat Fact File. Great Britain: Midland Publishing. ISBN 1-85780-072-9.
External links
- Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type XXI boat U-3519". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 6 December 2014.