German submarine U-401
History | |
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Nazi Germany | |
Name | U-401 |
Ordered | 23 September 1939 |
Builder | Danzig |
Yard number | 102 |
Laid down | 8 April 1940 |
Launched | 16 December 1940 |
Commissioned | 10 April 1941 |
Fate | Sunk in mid-Atlantic on 3 August 1941 by Allied warships[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 41 587 |
Commanders: |
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Operations: |
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Victories: | None |
German submarine U-401 was a
.She carried out one patrol. She sank or damaged no ships.
She was sunk in mid-Atlantic on 3 August 1941 by Allied warships.
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 1st U-boat Flotilla from 10 April 1941 (training) and stayed with that organization from 1 July until her loss.
The boat's only patrol was preceded by the short journey from Königsberg (Kaliningrad) to Trondheim.
Patrol and loss
U-401 departed Trondheim on 9 July 1941. On 3 August she was sunk by depth charges dropped from the British destroyer HMS Wanderer, the Norwegian-crewed destroyer HMS St. Albans and the British corvette HMS Hydrangea.
Forty-five men died in U-401; there were no survivors.
References
- ^ Kemp 1999, p. 71.
- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type VIIC boat U-401". German U-boats of WWII – uboat.net. Retrieved 10 September 2012.
- ^ a b c d Gröner 1991, pp. 43–46.
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.
- 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-401". German U-boats of WWII – uboat.net. Retrieved 26 December 2014.