German submarine U-437
History | |
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Nazi Germany | |
Name | U-437 |
Ordered | 16 October 1939 |
Builder | Danzig |
Yard number | 1479 |
Laid down | 16 April 1940 |
Launched | 26 July 1941 |
Commissioned | 25 October 1941 |
Fate |
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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 36 400 |
Commanders: |
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Operations: |
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Victories: | None |
German submarine U-437 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
The submarine was
She served with the 6th U-boat Flotilla from 25 October 1941 for training and stayed with that organization from 1 April 1942 until 5 October 1944.
First patrol
U-436's first patrol was from
Second, third, fourth and fifth patrols
The boat's second sortie was as far as northwest of the Azores, but produced no results.
Her third foray took her to the Caribbean Sea and at 68 days, was her longest.
Patrol number four was relatively uneventful. It terminated at St. Nazaire on 15 November 1942.
U-436's fifth patrol was north of the Azores.
Sixth patrol
Her sixth effort was marked by an attack by a Leigh Light equipped Vickers Wellington of No. 172 Squadron RAF in the Bay of Biscay on 23 April 1943. Damage was extensive enough that U-437 was assisted back to base by U-455.
Seventh patrol
U-437's seventh patrol was divided into a series of short voyages, with the exception of the last part; but success continued to elude her.
Eighth patrol
It was a similar story for her eighth outing.
Ninth and tenth patrols
For the boat's ninth patrol, she did not leave the Bay of Biscay.
Following the Allied advance after
Eleventh patrol
Reversing the course of her first patrol, including the Iceland/Faroes 'gap', the submarine arrived at Bergen in Norway on 21 September 1944.
Fate
U-437 was damaged by British bombs in Bergen on 4 October 1944; she was stricken a day later. She was broken up in 1946.
Wolfpacks
U-437 took part in 16 wolfpacks, namely:
- Endrass (12 – 17 June 1942)
- Blitz (22 – 26 September 1942)
- Tiger (26 – 30 September 1942)
- Luchs (1 – 6 October 1942)
- Panther (6 – 12 October 1942)
- Leopard (12 – 19 October 1942)
- Veilchen (27 October – 4 November 1942)
- Robbe (16 – 20 February 1943)
- Rossbach (6 – 9 October 1943)
- Schlieffen (14 – 22 October 1943)
- Siegfried (22 – 27 October 1943)
- Siegfried 2 (27 – 30 October 1943)
- Jahn (30 October – 2 November 1943)
- Igel 2 (15 – 17 February 1944)
- Hai 1 (17 – 22 February 1944)
- Preussen (22 February – 22 March 1944
References
- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type VIIC boat U-437". German U-boats of WWII – uboat.net. Retrieved 20 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.
External links
- Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type VIIC boat U-437". German U-boats of WWII – uboat.net. Retrieved 26 December 2014.