German submarine U-653
History | |
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Nazi Germany | |
Name | U-653 |
Ordered | 9 October 1939 |
Builder | Howaldtswerke, Hamburg |
Yard number | 802 |
Laid down | 9 April 1940 |
Launched | 22 March 1941 |
Commissioned | 25 May 1941 |
Fate | Sunk on 15 March 1944 in the North Atlantic in position 53°46′N 24°35′W / 53.767°N 24.583°W, by depth charges from Fleet Air Arm Swordfish, HMS Starling and HMS Wild Goose . |
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 44 257 |
Commanders: | |
Operations: |
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Victories: |
German submarine U-653 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 1st U-boat Flotilla on 25 May 1941, followed by active service on 1 December 1941 as part of the 1st Flotilla for the remainder of her service.
In nine patrols she sank three merchant ships, for a total of 14,983 gross register tons (GRT), and one warship of 840 tons.
Convoy ON 166
In a determined attack, between 22:00 on 23 February 1943 and daybreak the following morning, U-653, together with U-92, U-600 and U-628, came in one after the other against Convoy ON 166.
U-653 fired seven torpedoes at, and missed, the British freighter Delilian, but succeeded in striking the 9,382-GRT Dutch motor vessel Madoera. Against the odds, Madoera stayed afloat and reached
Fate
U-653 was sunk on 15 March 1944 in the
Wolfpacks
U-653 took part in 16 wolfpacks, namely:
- Pfadfinder (21 – 27 May 1942)
- Blücher (14 – 18 August 1942)
- Natter (2 – 8 November 1942)
- Westwall (8 November – 16 December 1942)
- Hartherz (3 – 7 February 1943)
- Ritter (11 – 26 February 1943)
- Burggraf (4 – 5 March 1943)
- Raubgraf(7 – 15 March 1943)
- Coronel (4 – 8 December 1943)
- Coronel 1 (8 – 14 December 1943)
- Coronel 2 (14 – 17 December 1943)
- Föhr (18 – 23 December 1943)
- Rügen 6 (23 – 28 December 1943)
- Rügen 7 (28 December 1943 – 2 January 1944)
- Rügen 6 (2 – 5 January 1944)
- Preussen (4 – 15 March 1944)
Summary of raiding history
Date | Ship Name | Nationality | Tonnage[Note 1] | Fate[3] |
---|---|---|---|---|
28 February 1942 | Leif | Norway | 1,582 | Sunk |
17 May 1942 | Peisander | United Kingdom | 6,225 | Sunk |
7 June 1942 | USS Gannet | United States Navy | 840 | Sunk |
24 February 1943 | Madoera | Netherlands | 9,382 | Damaged |
12 March 1943 | Thomas Hooker | United States | 7,176 | Sunk |
References
Notes
- gross register tons. Military vessels are listed by tons displacement.
Citations
- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type VIIC boat U-653". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
- ^ a b c d Gröner 1991, pp. 43–46.
- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit by U-653". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 7 August 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.
- Busch, Rainer; Röll, Hans-Joachim (1999). Der U-Boot-Krieg, 1939-1945: Deutsche U-Boot-Verluste von September 1939 bis Mai 1945 [German U-boat losses from September 1939 to May 1945] (in German). Vol. IV. Hamburg, Berlin, Bonn: Mittler. ISBN 3-8132-0514-2.
- Edwards, Bernard (1996). Dönitz and the Wolf Packs - The U-boats at War. Cassell. pp. 105–107, 117, 123, 124, 189. ISBN 0-304-35203-9.
- Gröner, Eric; Jung, Dieter; Maass, Martin (1991). German Warships 1815-1945: U-boats and Mine Warfare Vessels. Vol. 2. Translated by Thomas, Keith; Magowan, Rachel. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-593-4.
- Sharpe, Peter (1998). U-Boat Fact File, 1935-1945. Great Britain: Midland Publishing. ISBN 1-85780-072-9.
External links
- Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type VIIC boat U-653". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 29 December 2014.