German submarine U-758
History | |
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Nazi Germany | |
Name | U-758 |
Ordered | 9 October 1939[1] |
Builder | Kriegsmarinewerft Wilhelmshaven |
Yard number | 141 |
Laid down | 18 May 1940[1] |
Launched | 1 March 1942[1] |
Commissioned | 5 May 1942[1] |
Decommissioned | 16 March 1945[1] |
Fate | Broken up in 1946 or 1947[1] |
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 | |
Part of: |
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Identification codes: | M 47 033 |
Commanders: |
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Operations: |
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Victories: |
2 merchant ships sunk (13,989 GRT)[1] |
German submarine U-758 was a
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
Built at the
First patrol
The submarine's first patrol of 41 days between 14 November until 24 December 1942 from Kiel to St. Nazaire was uneventful.
Second patrol
Her second patrol from 14 February until 30 March 1943 was not. Midway across the Atlantic Ocean on 17 March, U-758 joined
Subsequent patrols
U-758 undertook five more combat patrols but did not sink or damage any further ships.
Wolfpacks
U-758 took part in nine wolfpacks, namely:
- Panzer (23 November – 11 December 1942)
- Sturmbock (21 – 24 February 1943)
- Burggraf (24 – 26 February 1943)
- Wildfang (26 February – 5 March 1943)
- Raubgraf(7 – 20 March 1943)
- Leuthen (15 – 24 September 1943)
- Rossbach (24 September – 9 October 1943)
- Borkum (24 December 1943 – 3 January 1944)
- Borkum 2 (3 – 13 January 1944)
Fate
The veteran submarine was caught in the open during a British raid on the port of Kiel. Badly damaged on 11 March 1945, she was stricken from the navy list on 16 March 1945. At the cessation of hostilities, she was surrendered to the Allies in May 1945. Deemed too badly damaged to be sunk as part of Operation Deadlight, she was instead broken up for scrap beginning in 1946 or 1947.
Summary of raiding history
Date | Ship Name | Nationality | Tonnage (GRT) |
Fate[3] |
---|---|---|---|---|
17 March 1943 | Zaanland | Netherlands | 6,813 | Sunk |
17 March 1943 | James Oglethorpe | United States | 7,176 | Sunk |
References
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.
External links
- Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type VIIC boat U-758". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 29 December 2014.