German submarine U-415
History | |
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Name | U-415 |
Ordered | 15 August 1940 |
Builder | Danziger Werft, Danzig |
Yard number | 116 |
Laid down | 12 July 1941 |
Launched | 9 May 1942 |
Commissioned | 5 August 1942[1] |
Fate | Sunk by a mine on 14 July 1944[2][3] |
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[1] | |
Part of: |
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Identification codes: | M 50 314 |
Commanders: |
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Operations: |
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Victories: |
German submarine U-415 was a
.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
U-415 was
Her first commanding officer was Kapitänleutnant Kurt Neide. He took her on five patrols between March 1943 and March 1944. Her second and last CO was Oberleutnant zur See Herbert Werner, who completed two patrols in her between April and July 1944. These patrols were preceded by a trip to Bergen in Norway in February and March 1943.
First, second and third patrols
Her first patrol saw her leave Bergen on 7 March 1943 and took her to an area south of Greenland where she torpedoed, but did not sink, the British ship Wanstead on 21 April. The ship was sailing in ballast, (the coup de grace was administered by U-413). U-415 then sailed for Brest in France, but was attacked west of the Bay of Biscay on 1 May; first by a Handley Page Halifax of No. 502 Squadron RAF and later that the same day by a Whitley from 612 squadron, also RAF. She was damaged, but managed to reach her destination on 5 May.
Her second sortie began in the company of U-159 and U-634. The small flotilla was detected by a RAF Whitley on 14 June 1943 off the northwest coast of Spain, but the aircraft only attacked when the trio dived. No damage was sustained. The boat was also attacked by a corvette off the coast of Trinidad on 24 July, while hunting a convoy.[1]
Her third patrol, beginning on 27 October 1943, was marred by the attack of a
Fourth and fifth patrols
Her fourth operational effort was rewarded by the sinking of the "H"-class destroyer HMS Hurricane. U-415 encountered the warship on Christmas Eve (24 December) 1943 northeast of the Azores. Hurricane was damaged by a GNAT acoustic torpedo. Her escorts elected to evacuate the crew and sink the ship the following day. On her return journey U-415 was attacked by a Halifax of 58 squadron, on 5 January 1944. The aircraft dropped six depth charges on the U-boat which returned fire before diving. The submarine reached her home port the following day.
U-415's fifth patrol came to a sudden halt in mid-Atlantic when she was attacked on 16 March 1944 by aircraft and ships escorting convoy CU 17. The boat was severely damaged and returned to Brest on 31 March.
Sixth and seventh patrols
On 17 April Neide handed over command to Oblt. Herbert Werner, U-415's second and final commander.[1]
After completing repairs U-415, with most other U-boats in French ports, was held back from offensive patrolling to form Group Landwirt, an anti-invasion force. U-415 remained idle for some 68 days before being called to action,[5] a not un-typical period for the Landwirt boats and which left the campaign against Allied shipping at a virtual standstill.[6]
U-415 and the Landwirt boats at Brest were finally mobilized on the night of 6/7 June 1944, the evening of the Normandy landings. Seven snorkel-equipped U-boats, and eight boats, including U-415 lacking snorkels, sailed from Brest in two waves. The eight non-snort boats, proceeding on the surface, came under sustained air attack in what was described as the “greatest air/submarine battle of the war”.[7] Four of the Brest boats were destroyed in air attacks over the 24 hours and three others damaged and forced to return to base; Four aircraft were also shot down. U-415 was attacked in the early hours of 7 June by a
Following this action
On 14 July, assigned to similar duty, U-415 struck an air-laid mine (minefield “Jellyfish 5”) off Brest. West of the ports defensive torpedo net at 48°22′N 04°29′W / 48.367°N 4.483°W. Two crewmen were killed.[2][14]
U-415 was raised on 21 July and put in Clemenceau dock, but was a constructive total loss. She was subsequently cannibalized for spare parts to keep other U-boats in service, and scuttled in August 1944 prior to the fall of “Fortress Brest” to the Allied armies. The hull was broken up in 1946.[2][15]
Wolfpacks
U-415 took part in seven wolfpacks, namely:
- Seeteufel (21 – 30 March 1943)
- Meise (11 – 24 April 1943)
- Coronel (4 – 8 December 1943)
- Coronel 2 (8 – 14 December 1943)
- Coronel 3 (14 – 17 December 1943)
- Borkum (18 – 26 December 1943)
- Preussen (7 – 17 March 1944)
Aftermath
Werner and some of the crew members from U-415 were moved to U-953. Werner survived the war and wrote the best-selling Iron Coffins.[3]
Summary of raiding history
Date | Ship Name | Nationality | Tonnage[Note 1] | Fate[16] |
---|---|---|---|---|
21 April 1943 | Ashantian | ![]() |
4,917 | Sunk |
21 April 1943 | Wanstead | ![]() |
5,486 | Damaged |
24 December 1943 | HMS Hurricane | ![]() |
1,340 | Damaged, sunk by escorts |
References
Notes
- gross register tons. Military vessels are listed by tons displacement.
Citations
- ^ a b c d Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type VIIC boat U-415". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 13 September 2012.
- ^ a b c Neistle p62
- ^ a b Kemp 1999, p. 203.
- ^ a b c d Gröner 1991, pp. 43–46.
- ^ Blair p582
- ^ Blair p479
- ^ Price p202
- ^ Werner p220-222
- ^ Blair p583 fn
- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "U-415s sixth patrol". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 26 December 2014.
- ^ Blair p583
- ^ Blair p602 fn
- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "U-415s seventh patrol". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 26 December 2014.
- ^ Blair p602
- ^ Rohwer, Jürgen; Gerhard Hümmelchen. "Seekrieg 1944, Juli". Württembergische Landesbibliothek Stuttgart (in German). Retrieved 5 September 2015.
- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit by U-415". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 1 September 2014.
Sources
- ISBN 0-304-35261-6.
- 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. London: Arms & Armour. ISBN 1-85409-515-3.
- Niestle, Axel (1998). German U-Boat Losses During World War II. Greenhill. ISBN 1-85367-352-8.
- Niestle, Axel (1998). German U-Boat Losses During World War II. Greenhill.
- Alfred Price :Aircraft versus Submarine in Two World Wars (1973, reprint 2004) ISBN 1 84415 091 7
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.
- Werner, Herbert A. (1969). Iron Coffins. Holt Rinehart Winston.
External links
- Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type VIIC boat U-415". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 26 December 2014.