German submarine U-549

Coordinates: 31°13′N 23°03′W / 31.217°N 23.050°W / 31.217; -23.050
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
History
Nazi Germany
NameU-549
Ordered5 June 1941
BuilderDeutsche Werft, Hamburg
Yard number370
Laid down28 September 1942
Launched28 April 1943
Commissioned14 July 1943
FateSunk on 29 May 1944[1]
General characteristics
Class and type
Type IXC/40 submarine
Displacement
  • 1,144 t (1,126 long tons) surfaced
  • 1,257 t (1,237 long tons) submerged
Length
  • 76.76 m (251 ft 10 in)
    o/a
  • 58.75 m (192 ft 9 in)
    pressure hull
Beam
  • 6.86 m (22 ft 6 in) o/a
  • 4.44 m (14 ft 7 in) pressure hull
Height9.60 m (31 ft 6 in)
Draught4.67 m (15 ft 4 in)
Installed power
  • 4,400 PS (3,200 kW; 4,300 bhp) (diesels)
  • 1,000 PS (740 kW; 990 shp) (electric)
Propulsion
Speed
  • 18.3 knots (33.9 km/h; 21.1 mph) surfaced
  • 7.3 knots (13.5 km/h; 8.4 mph) submerged
Range
  • 13,850 nmi (25,650 km; 15,940 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) surfaced
  • 63 nmi (117 km; 72 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph) submerged
Test depth230 m (750 ft)
Complement4 officers, 44 enlisted
Armament
Service record[2][3]
Part of:
Identification codes: M 53 434
Commanders:
  • Kptlt.
     Detlev Krankenhagen
  • 14 July 1943 – 29 May 1944
Operations:
  • 2 patrols:
  • 1st patrol:
  • 11 January – 26 March 1944
  • 2nd patrol:
  • 14 – 29 May 1944
Victories:
  • 1 warship sunk
    (9,393 tons)
  • 1 warship damaged
    (1,300 tons)

German submarine U-549 was a

Stettin, the U-boat was transferred to the 10th U-boat Flotilla for front-line service on 1 January 1944.[2]

Design

supercharged four-stroke, nine-cylinder diesel engines producing a total of 4,400 metric horsepower (3,240 kW; 4,340 shp) for use while surfaced, two Siemens-Schuckert 2 GU 345/34 double-acting electric motors producing a total of 1,000 shaft horsepower (1,010 PS; 750 kW) for use while submerged. She had two shafts and two 1.92 m (6 ft) propellers. The boat was capable of operating at depths of up to 230 metres (750 ft).[4]

The submarine had a maximum surface speed of 18.3 knots (33.9 km/h; 21.1 mph) and a maximum submerged speed of 7.3 knots (13.5 km/h; 8.4 mph).

2 cm (0.79 in) C/30 anti-aircraft gun. The boat had a complement of forty-eight.[4]

Service history

First patrol

U-549 departed Kiel on 11 January 1944, and sailed out into the mid-Atlantic, via the gap between Iceland and the Faroe Islands, but had no success. The U-boat arrived at Lorient in occupied France on 26 March after 76 days at sea.[5]

Second patrol and loss

The U-boat left Lorient on 14 May 1944 and sailed to the waters north-west of the Canary Islands.[6] At 20:13 on 29 May 1944, U-549 slipped through the anti-submarine screen of the hunter-killer group TG 21.11, and fired three T-3 torpedoes at the escort carrier USS Block Island, hitting her with two, and severely damaging the ship which later sank.[7] At 20.40 hours the U-boat fired a salvo of T-5 acoustic torpedoes, badly damaging the destroyer escort Barr (DE-576), and missing the Eugene E. Elmore (DE-686).[8] A counter-attack with depth charges was launched by Ahrens (DE-575) and Eugene E. Elmore which sank the U-boat, in position 31°13′N 23°03′W / 31.217°N 23.050°W / 31.217; -23.050. All 57 hands were lost.[2]

Wolfpacks

U-549 took part in three wolfpacks, namely:

  • Igel 1 (3 – 17 February 1944)
  • Hai 1 (17 – 22 February 1944)
  • Preussen (22 February – 22 March 1944)

Summary of raiding history

Date Ship Name Nationality Tonnage[Note 1] Fate[9]
29 May 1944 USS Barr  United States Navy 1,300 Damaged
29 May 1944 USS Block Island  United States Navy 9,393 Sunk

References

Notes

  1. gross register tons. Military vessels are listed by tons displacement
    .

Citations

  1. ^ Kemp 1999, p. 192.
  2. ^ a b c Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type IXC/40 boat U-549 - German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 1 March 2010.
  3. ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "War Patrols by German U-boat U-549 - Boats - uboat.net". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 1 March 2010.
  4. ^ a b c d Gröner 1991, p. 68.
  5. ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Patrol of U-boat U-549 from 11 Jan 1944 to 26 Mar 1944 - U-boat patrols - uboat.net". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 1 March 2010.
  6. ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Patrol of U-boat U-549 from 14 May 1944 to 29 May 1944 - U-boat patrols - uboat.net". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 1 March 2010.
  7. ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "USS Block Island (CVE 21) (Escort carrier) - Ships hit by U-boats - uboat.net". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 1 March 2010.
  8. ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "USS Barr (DE 576) (Destroyer escort) - Ships hit by U-boats - uboat.net". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 1 March 2010.
  9. ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit by U-549". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 30 January 2014.

Bibliography

External links

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