German submarine U-73 (1940)
History | |
---|---|
Nazi Germany | |
Name | U-73 |
Ordered | 2 June 1938 |
Builder | Vegesacker Werft |
Yard number | 1[1] |
Laid down | 5 November 1939 |
Launched | 27 July 1940[1] |
Commissioned | 30 September 1940[1] |
Fate | Sunk, 16 December 1943, by USS Woolsey and Trippe, 16 dead |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Type VIIB U-boat |
Displacement | |
Length |
|
Beam |
|
Draught | 4.74 m (15 ft 7 in) |
Installed power |
|
Propulsion |
|
Speed |
|
Range |
|
Test depth |
|
Boats & landing craft carried | 1 inflatable rubber boat |
Complement | 4 officers, 40 to 56 enlisted |
Sensors and processing systems |
|
Armament |
|
Service record | |
Part of: |
|
Identification codes: | M 09 142 |
Commanders: |
|
Operations: |
|
Victories: |
German submarine U-73 was a
U-73 carried out 15 patrols between early 1941 and late 1943, sinking eight ships and four warships. She also damaged a further three commercial vessels. She was part of five wolfpacks. She was sunk by two US warships, USS Woolsey and Trippe, off the North African coast on 16 December 1943 at 36°7′N 0°50′W / 36.117°N 0.833°W.
Design
The submarine had a maximum surface speed of 17.9 knots (33.2 km/h; 20.6 mph) and a maximum submerged speed of 8 knots (15 km/h; 9.2 mph).
Service history
First patrol
U-73 departed the
She sank the Waynegate on 24 February 1941 south of Iceland.[citation needed]
The boat arrived at Lorient, on the French Atlantic coast, on 2 March.[citation needed]
Second patrol
U-73 sank three ships on the same day, 3 April 1941. They were: the Alderpool, the Westpool and the British Viscount, all in the vicinity of Iceland.[citation needed]
Her next victim was SS Empire Endurance on 20 April, southwest of Rockall; also lost when this ship went down were two launches which were being carried as deck cargo: ML-1003 and M-1037.[citation needed]
Third, fourth and fifth patrols
These sorties were conducted in mid-Atlantic but were uneventful. On 26 May 1941, U-73 was ordered to help the wounded German battleship Bismarck which was under attack from British destroyers. On the night of 26 May U-73 spotted star shells that illuminated Bismarck and also saw the Bismarck firing her guns. But U-73 was unable to attack the destroyers due to Force 7 to 9 winds. U-73 reported the Bismarck's position to Group West but the positions proved inaccurate. U-73 then returned to port in France.
Sixth patrol
U-73 entered the
Seventh patrol
The submarine was attacked by a Bristol Blenheim of No. 203 Squadron RAF about 50 nautical miles (93 km; 58 mi) north northwest of Derna in Libya on 22 March 1942. The damage was such that the boat was unable to dive and had to return to La Spezia on 26 March 1942. The U-boat was under repair at La Spezia for four months.
Eighth patrol
On 11 August 1942 she sank the aircraft carrier HMS Eagle during Operation Pedestal (supplying Malta).[5] Rosenbaum was awarded the Knight's Cross and sent to command the Black Sea U-boat flotilla.[5]
Ninth patrol
First watch officer Horst Deckert was promoted to command U-73.[6] He was the son of German-American parents living in Chicago[6] and had joined U-73's crew as a midshipman in 1940.[7] U-73 was depth-charged during an unsuccessful attack on Operation Torch (the invasion of French North Africa) troopships on 7 November.[8] On 10 November, U-73 missed the battleship HMS Rodney with four torpedoes launched at a range of five kilometers.[9]
She also damaged the Lalande off Oran on 14 November 1942. This ship was under repair until June 1943.
Tenth and eleventh patrols
U-73 was damaged in an air attack on 5 December 1942 and forced to return to base.
The boat was also attacked by a British Lockheed Hudson of 500 Squadron on 27 December 1942; damage was slight – the Hudson was shot down. She sank the 7,200-ton American Liberty ship SS Arthur Middleton from the convoy UGS 3 on 1 January 1943[10] 3 nautical miles (5.6 km; 3.5 mi) off Oran.
12th patrol
As allied forces prepared for
The boat tied up at Toulon in France on 1 July 1943.
13th patrol
Patrol number thirteen took U-73 to
14th patrol
U-73 was attacked by the British submarine HMS Ultimatum south-east of Toulon on 30 October 1943 (just before the end of her patrol). The torpedo missed.
15th patrol and loss
U-73 found the convoy
Wolfpacks
U-73 took part in five wolfpacks, namely:
- West (31 May – 16 June 1941)
- Kurfürst (16 – 20 June 1941)
- Grönland (12 – 27 August 1941)
- Reissewolf (21 – 31 October 1941)
- Wal (10 – 15 November 1942)
Summary of raiding history
Date | Ship | Nationality | Tonnage[Note 1] | Convoy | Fate[18] |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
24 March 1941 | Waynegate | United Kingdom | 4,260 | OB 288 | Sunk |
3 April 1941 | Alderpool | United Kingdom | 4,313 | SC 26 | Sunk |
3 April 1941 | British Viscount | United Kingdom | 6,895 | SC 26 | Sunk |
3 April 1941 | Indier | Belgium | 5,409 | SC 26 | Sunk |
3 April 1941 | Westpool | United Kingdom | 5,724 | SC 26 | Sunk |
20 April 1941 | Empire Endurance | United Kingdom | 8,570 | Sunk | |
20 April 1941 | HMS ML 1003* | Royal Navy | 46 | Sunk | |
20 April 1941 | HMS ML 1037* | Royal Navy | 46 | Sunk | |
11 August 1942 | HMS Eagle | Royal Navy | 22,600 | WS 21S
|
Sunk |
14 November 1942 | Lalande | United Kingdom | 7,453 | Operation Torch | Damaged |
1 January 1943 | Arthur Middleton | United States | 7,176 | UGS 3 | Sunk |
1 January 1943 | USS LCT-21** | United States Navy | 255 | UGS 3 | Sunk |
21 June 1943 | Brinkburn | United Kingdom | 1,598 | TE 22 | Sunk |
27 June 1943 | Abbeydale
|
United Kingdom | 8,299 | XTG 2 | Damaged |
16 December 1943 | John S. Copley | United States | 7,176 | GUS 24 | Damaged |
- * Carried by Empire Endurance
- ** Carried by Arthur Middleton
Sensors
Radar
U-73 was one of the few U-boats to be fitted with a FuMO 61
-
FuMO 61 Hohentwiel on U-3008
-
FuMO 61 Hohentwiel U-Radar antenna
See also
- Convoy SC 26
- Mediterranean U-boat Campaign (World War II)
References
Notes
- gross register tons. Military vessels are listed by tons displacement.
Citations
- ^ a b c d e f g Gröner 1991, pp. 43–44.
- ^ Lenton 1976 p. 151
- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "War Patrols by German U-boat U-73". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net.
- ^ Blair 1996 p. 554
- ^ a b Blair 1996 p. 650
- ^ a b Blair 1996 p. 651
- ^ Sanders, January 1969, p. 58
- ^ Blair 1998 p. 96
- ^ Blair 1998 p. 98
- ^ Blair 1998 p. 209
- ^ Blair 1998 pp. 377-378
- ISBN 0 7230 0809 4, p. 16
- ^ a b c Blair 1998 p. 457
- ^ Sanders, January 1969, p. 59
- ^ a b c d e Sanders, January 1969, p. 62
- ^ Sanders, January 1969, p. 61
- ^ Sanders, January 1969 p. 60
- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit by U-73". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net.
Bibliography
- Blair, Clay (1996). Hitler's U-Boat War – The Hunters 1939–1942. Random House. ISBN 0-394-58839-8.
- Blair, Clay (1998). Hitler's U-Boat War The Hunted 1942–1945. Random House. ISBN 0-679-45742-9.
- 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). Deutsche U-Boot-Verluste von September 1939 bis Mai 1945 [German U-boat losses from September 1939 to May 1945]. Der U-Boot-Krieg (in German). Vol. IV. Hamburg, Berlin, Bonn: Mittler. ISBN 3-8132-0514-2.
- Gröner, Erich; 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.
- Lenton, H.T. (1976). German Warships of the Second World War. Arco Publishing Company. ISBN 0-668-04037-8.
- Sanders, Harry (January 1969). "Night Fight Off Oran". Proceedings. United States Naval Institute.
External links
- Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type VIIB boat U-73". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
- Hofmann, Markus. "U 73". Deutsche U-Boote 1935-1945 - u-boot-archiv.de (in German). Retrieved 8 December 2014.