German submarine U-662
History | |
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Name | U-662 |
Ordered | 9 October 1939 |
Builder | Deutsche Werft, Hamburg |
Yard number | 811 |
Laid down | 7 May 1941 |
Launched | 22 January 1942 |
Commissioned | 9 April 1942 |
Fate | Sunk on 21 July 1943 in the Catalina . |
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 43 109 |
Commanders: |
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Operations: |
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Victories: |
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4b/German_submarine_U-662_under_attack_off_Brazil%2C_20_July_1943_%2880-G-85240%29.jpg/260px-German_submarine_U-662_under_attack_off_Brazil%2C_20_July_1943_%2880-G-85240%29.jpg)
German submarine U-662 was a
. She was laid down on 7 May 1941 by Deutsche Werft, Hamburg as yard number 811, launched on 22 January 1942 and commissioned on 9 April 1942 under Kapitänleutnant Wolfgang Hermann.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 boat's career began with training at 5th U-boat Flotilla on 9 April 1942, followed by active service on 1 October 1942 as part of the 7th Flotilla for the remainder of her service.
In 4 patrols she sank 3 merchant ships, for a total of 18,609 gross register tons (GRT) and damaged one merchant ship.
Wolfpacks
U-662 took part in eleven wolfpacks, namely:
- Panther (6 – 12 October 1942)
- Leopard (12 – 19 October 1942)
- Südwärts (24 – 26 October 1942)
- Delphin (4 – 5 November 1942)
- Spitz (22 – 31 December 1942)
- Jaguar (18 – 31 January 1943)
- Without name (27 – 30 March 1943)
- Adler (7 – 13 April 1943)
- Meise (13 – 22 April 1943)
- Specht (22 April – 4 May 1943)
- Fink (4 – 6 May 1943)
Convoy ONS 154
On the night on 26 December 1942 U-662 reported sighting
U-662 sunk the crippled and straggling Ville de Rouen which had been attacked earlier by U-225.
July 1943
On 19 July a US
The next day, U-662 was again attacked by US aircraft, this time a Douglas B-18 Bolo aircraft, but again she escaped undamaged. She was sunk the following day.
Fate
U-662 was sunk on 21 July 1943 in the North Atlantic in position 03°56′N 48°46′W / 3.933°N 48.767°W, by depth charges from US
Oberleutnant zur See Heinz-Eberhard Müller was so severely injured that he was repatriated to Germany in March 1944 as he was no longer fit for combat.
"On 21 July 1943 he was attacked for an hour by Lt. Stan Auslander, USN, in a PBY and then was sent to the bottom by another Catalina piloted by Ltjg. R. H. Howland USNR. MUELLER HAD BOTH ARMES AND ONE LEG BROKEN AND INTERNAL INJURIES. He was kept afloat and alive by his chief mate, one Horst Gaertner. Gaertner swam around with Mueller in his arms for seven days, until they were picked up by a patrol craft."[3]
Summary of raiding history
Date | Ship Name | Nationality | Tonnage (GRT) |
Fate[4] |
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29 December 1942 | Ville de Rouen | ![]() |
5,598 | Sunk |
29 March 1943 | Empire Whale | ![]() |
6,159 | Sunk |
29 March 1943 | Ocean Viceroy | ![]() |
7,174 | Damaged |
29 March 1943 | Umaria | ![]() |
6,852 | Sunk |
References
- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type VIIC boat U-662". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 12 July 2014.
- ^ a b c d Gröner 1991, pp. 43–46.
- ^ The Tenth Fleet by Ladislas Farago -Ivan Obolonsky, Inc. New York 1962 Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 62:18782 page 151.
- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit by U-662". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 12 July 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. p. 138. 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. Great Britain: Midland Publishing. ISBN 1-85780-072-9.
External links
- Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type VIIC boat U-662". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
- Hofmann, Markus. "U 662". Deutsche U-Boote 1935–1945 - u-boot-archiv.de (in German). Retrieved 29 December 2014.