German submarine U-386
History | |
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Name | U-386 |
Ordered | 15 August 1940 |
Builder | Howaldtswerke, Kiel |
Yard number | 17 |
Laid down | 16 May 1941 |
Launched | 19 August 1942 |
Commissioned | 10 October 1942 |
Fate | Sunk by a British warship on 19 February 1944[1] |
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[2] | |
Part of: |
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Identification codes: | M 50 010 |
Commanders: |
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Operations: |
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Victories: |
1 merchant ship sunk (1,997 GRT) |
German submarine U-386 was a
.She carried out four patrols. She sank one ship.
She was a member of five wolfpacks.
She was sunk by a British warship in mid-Atlantic on 19 February 1944.[2]
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
The submarine was
She served with the 5th U-boat Flotilla from 10 October 1942 and the 6th flotilla from 1 May 1943 until her loss.
1st patrol
U-386's first patrol took her from Kiel in Germany to
. She sank the Rosenborg which went down in 30 seconds. Two survivors were picked up.The boat was attacked by the escorts of Convoy ON (S) 5 on 28 April 1943. Severe damage was caused.
2nd and 3rd patrols
The submarine's second sortie was relatively uneventful, but her third, which commenced on 29 August 1943, included a surprise attack by an unidentified aircraft off Cape Finisterre on 6 September. The boat was caught unaware due to the malfunctioning of the Wanze detector. Wanze means 'bug' in German.
She was also attacked by a British
U-386 was forced into breaking off an attack a day later after being heavily depth charged.
4th patrol and loss
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/53/U-boat_Warfare_1939-1945_A22150.jpg/220px-U-boat_Warfare_1939-1945_A22150.jpg)
The boat had departed St. Nazaire on 26 December 1943. Exactly a month later (26 January 1944), she was off the west coast of Scotland, north of the island of Islay.[4] She was sunk by depth charges dropped by the British frigate HMS Spey on 19 February 1944.
Thirty-three men died from the U-boat; there were 16 survivors.[2]
Wolfpacks
U-386 took part in five wolfpacks, namely:
- Star (27 – 30 April 1943)
- Leuthen (15 – 21 September 1943)
- Stürmer(26 January – 3 February 1944)
- Igel 1 (3 – 17 February 1944)
- Hai 1 (17 – 19 February 1944)
Summary of raiding history
Date | Ship Name | Nationality | Tonnage (GRT) |
Fate[5] |
---|---|---|---|---|
25 April 1943 | Rosenborg | ![]() |
1,997 | Sunk |
References
- ^ Kemp 1999, pp. 170–1.
- ^ a b c Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type VIIC boat U-386". German U-boats of WWII – uboat.net. Retrieved 7 September 2012.
- ^ a b c d Gröner 1991, pp. 43–46.
- ISBN 0 7230 0809 4, p. 8.
- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit by U-386". 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). 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.
- Edwards, Bernard (1996). Dönitz and the Wolf Packs – The U-boats at War. Cassell Military Classics. pp. 193, 217. ISBN 0-304-35203-9.
- 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 (1999). U-Boats Destroyed – German Submarine Losses in the World Wars. London: Arms & Armour. ISBN 1-85409-515-3.
External links
- Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type VIIC boat U-386". German U-boats of WWII – uboat.net. Retrieved 26 December 2014.