German submarine U-666
History | |
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Name | U-666 |
Ordered | 15 August 1940 |
Builder | Deutsche Werft, Hamburg |
Yard number | 815 |
Laid down | 16 September 1941 |
Launched | 18 July 1942 |
Commissioned | 26 August 1942 |
Fate | Sunk on 10 February 1944 |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Type VIIC submarine |
Displacement | |
Length |
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Beam |
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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 51 377 |
Commanders: |
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Operations: |
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Victories: |
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German submarine U-666 was a
. She was laid down on 16 September 1941 by Deutsche Werft, Hamburg as yard number 815, launched on 18 July 1942 and commissioned on 26 August 1942 under Kapitänleutnant Herbert Engel. Oberleutnant zur See Ernst Wilberg took over command on 10 December 1943.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 26 August 1942, followed by active service on 1 March 1943 as part of the 6th Flotilla for the remainder of her service.
In four patrols she damaged 1 merchant ship, for a total of 5,234 gross register tons (GRT) and sank one warship (1,370 tons).
Convoy SC 122
On 19 March 1943, after damaging the Greek freighter Carras, a B-17 Flying Fortress bomber from No. 220 Squadron RAF hit the boat with four depth charges, causing sufficient damage as to force her to return to France.
Wolfpacks
U-666 took part in 14 wolfpacks, namely:
- Ostmark (6 – 11 March 1943)
- Stürmer(11 – 20 March 1943)
- Seewolf (21 – 30 March 1943)
- Oder (17 – 19 May 1943)
- Mosel (19 – 24 May 1943)
- Trutz (1 – 16 June 1943)
- Trutz 2 (16 – 29 June 1943)
- Leuthen (15 – 24 September 1943)
- Rossbach (24 September – 6 October 1943)
- Hela (28 December 1943 – 1 January 1944)
- Rügen 6 (5 – 7 January 1944)
- Rügen (7 – 26 January 1944)
- Stürmer(26 January – 3 February 1944)
- Igel 1 (3 – 10 February 1944)
Fate
U-666 was sunk on 10 February 1944 in the North Atlantic west of Ireland, in position 53.56N, 17.16W, by depth charges from a
Summary of raiding history
Date | Ship Name | Nationality | Tonnage[Note 1] | Fate[3] |
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19 March 1943 | Carras | ![]() |
5,234 | Damaged |
23 September 1943 | HMS Itchen | ![]() |
1,370 | Sunk |
See also
- Convoy SC 122
References
Notes
- gross register tons. Military vessels are listed by tons displacement.
Citations
- ^ a b Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type VIIC boat U-666". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 14 September 2014.
- ^ a b c d Gröner 1991, pp. 43–46.
- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit by U-666". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 14 September 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-666". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 29 December 2014.