German submarine U-664
History | |
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Name | U-664 |
Ordered | 15 August 1940 |
Builder | Howaldtswerke, Hamburg |
Yard number | 813 |
Laid down | 11 July 1941 |
Launched | 28 April 1942 |
Commissioned | 17 June 1942 |
Fate | Sunk on 9 August 1943 in the North Atlantic in position 40°12′N 37°29′W / 40.200°N 37.483°W, by depth charges from USN Grumman Avenger aircraft. |
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 ratings |
Armament |
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Service record[1] | |
Part of: |
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Identification codes: | M 05 024 |
Commanders: |
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Operations: |
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Victories: |
3 merchant ships sunk (19,325 GRT) |
German submarine U-664 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 8th U-boat Flotilla on 17 June 1942, followed by active service on 1 November 1942 as part of the 9th Flotilla for the remainder of her service.
In five patrols she sank three merchant ships, for a total of 19,325 gross register tons (GRT).
First Patrol
On her first day of active service she was attacked by a US
Convoy ONS 167
Outward bound from Biscay on her second patrol, U-664 made a chance sighting of the slow convoy and radioed its position to base. Karl Dönitz ordered Graef to shadow the convoy while other boats were rounded up to form Wolfpack Sturmbock. However the boats were well scattered and failed to make contact with the convoy, so on the night of 21 February 1943, Graef became impatient with waiting and decided to attack alone.
With one spread of torpedoes, Graef sank the 4,659 GRT American steamer Rosario and the 8,807 GRT Panamanian tanker H H Rogers.
Wolfpacks
U-664 took part in eight wolfpacks, namely:
- Raufbold (11 – 22 December 1942)
- Spitz (22 – 31 December 1942)
- Sturmbock (21 – 26 February 1943)
- Wildfang (26 February – 5 March 1943)
- Raubgraf(7 – 20 March 1943)
- Without name (5 – 10 May 1943)
- Lech (10 – 15 May 1943)
- Donau 2 (15 – 26 May 1943)
Fate
On 8 August 1943 U-664 fired three torpedoes at the escort carrier
Summary of raiding history
Date | Ship Name | Nationality | Tonnage (GRT) |
Fate[3] |
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16 December 1942 | Emile Francqui | ![]() |
5,859 | Sunk |
21 February 1943 | H H Rogers | ![]() |
8,807 | Sunk |
21 February 1943 | Rosario | ![]() |
4,659 | Sunk |
References
- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type VIIC boat U-664". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 12 July 2014.
- ^ a b c d Gröner 1991, pp. 43–46.
- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit by U-664". 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.
- 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-664". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
- Hofmann, Markus. "U 664". Deutsche U-Boote 1935-1945 - u-boot-archiv.de (in German). Retrieved 29 December 2014.