German submarine U-406
History | |
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Nazi Germany | |
Name | U-406 |
Ordered | 16 October 1939 |
Builder | Danzig |
Yard number | 107 |
Laid down | 6 September 1940 |
Launched | 16 June 1941 |
Commissioned | 22 October 1941 |
Fate | Sunk on 18 February 1944 in the North Atlantic in position 48°32′N 23°36′W / 48.533°N 23.600°W, by depth charges from HMS Spey . |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Type VIIC submarine |
Displacement | |
Length |
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Beam |
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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] | |
Part of: |
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Identification codes: | M 42 202 |
Commanders: |
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Operations: |
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Victories: |
German submarine U-406 was a
. She wasDesign
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 boat's career began with training at 8th U-boat Flotilla on 22 October 1941, followed by active service on 1 May 1942 as part of the 7th Flotilla for the remainder of her service.
During the attack of Convoy ON 92 on May 11 and May 12, 1942, U-406 would suffer from torpedo launch failures on two separate occasions thus failing to hit any ship.
In eight patrols she sank one merchant ship, for a total of 7,452 gross register tons (GRT), and damaged three merchant ships for a total of 13,285 GRT.
Wolfpacks
U-406 took part in eleven wolfpacks, namely:
- Hecht (8 May – 18 June 1942)
- Blücher (14 – 28 August 1942)
- Iltis (6 – 23 September 1942)
- Spitz (22 – 31 December 1942)
- Neuland (4 – 13 March 1943)
- Dränger(14 – 20 March 1943)
- Drossel (29 April – 5 May 1943)
- Rügen (14 – 26 January 1944)
- Stürmer(26 January – 3 February 1944)
- Igel 1 (3 – 17 February 1944)
- Hai 1 (17 – 18 February 1944)
Fate
U-406 was sunk on 18 February 1944 in the
Summary of raiding history
Date | Ship Name | Nationality | Tonnage (GRT) |
Fate[3] |
---|---|---|---|---|
19 August 1942 | City of Manila | United Kingdom | 7,452 | Sunk |
28 December 1942 | Baron Cochrane | United Kingdom | 3,385 | Damaged |
28 December 1942 | Lynton Grange | United Kingdom | 5,029 | Damaged |
28 December 1942 | Zarian | United Kingdom | 4,871 | Damaged |
Legacy
U-406 is mentioned in Wolfpack, a song released by the Power metal band Sabaton in their 2005 debut studio album Primo Victoria.
See also
References
- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type VIIC boat U-406". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
- ^ a b c d Gröner 1991, pp. 43–46.
- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit by U-406". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 5 November 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.
- Edwards, Bernard (1996). Dönitz and the Wolf Packs - The U-boats at War. Cassell. pp. 66, 137, 173. 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.
- Sharpe, Peter (1998). U-Boat Fact File. Great Britain: Midland Publishing. ISBN 1-85780-072-9.
External links
- Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type VIIC boat U-406". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 26 December 2014.
- Hofmann, Markus. "U 406". Deutsche U-Boote 1935-1945 - u-boot-archiv.de (in German). Retrieved 26 December 2014.