German submarine U-75 (1940)
U-52, a typical Type VIIB boat
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History | |
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Nazi Germany | |
Name | U-75 |
Ordered | 2 June 1938 |
Builder | Bremer Vulkan, Bremen-Vegesack |
Cost | 4,790,000 Reichsmark |
Yard number | 3 |
Laid down | 15 December 1939 |
Launched | 18 October 1940 |
Commissioned | 19 December 1940 |
Fate | Sunk by British warship HMS Kipling, 28 December 1941 |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Type VIIB U-boat |
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 |
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Test depth |
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Boats & landing craft carried | 1 inflatable rubber boat |
Complement | 4 officers, 40 to 56 enlisted |
Sensors and processing systems |
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Armament |
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Service record | |
Part of: |
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Identification codes: | M 16 800 |
Commanders: |
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Operations: |
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Victories: |
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German submarine U-75 was a
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
She was laid down on 15 December 1939 at the Bremer Vulkan-Vegesacker Werft (yard), in Bremen as yard number 3, launched on 18 October 1940 and commissioned on 19 December under the command of Kapitänleutnant (Kptlt.) Helmuth Ringelmann.
U-75 carried out training with the 7th U-boat Flotilla on 19 December 1940 until 31 March 1941. She then became operational with the same organization until October. After that, she was reassigned to the 23rd flotilla.
First patrol
Ringelmann was a good sea officer, who made an impact within three weeks of the boat's initial patrol starting, when on 29 April the submarine torpedoed and sank the 10,146 GRT liner City of Nagpur in the Central North Atlantic Ocean, killing fifteen sailors and one passenger.[2]
Second and third patrols
This success was followed on her second foray with another victim, this time a Dutch freighter, the Elbergen, which went down about 650 nautical miles (1,200 km) north of the Azores. As the Germans watched her demise, the U-boat was illuminated by a searchlight which was hurriedly extinguished by fire from the boat's AA gun.
On her third patrol U-75 sank two British cargo ships, the Harlingen and the Cape Rodney, both west of Ireland on 5 August 1941. The latter ship was taken in tow after being hit, but foundered west of Ushant on the ninth. These operations were conducted from the new submarine base at Saint-Nazaire in France, which provided type VII boats like U-75 with a greater patrol range and cruising ability, thus conferring an essential advantage.
Fourth patrol
The boat's fourth patrol was more unusual, requiring her to slip unnoticed through the heavily defended
Fifth patrol and loss
Her final patrol was from 22 December 1941, and consisted of a similar sweep along the Libyan coast. On 28 December, six days since leaving Salamis, a small coastal convoy was spotted off Mersa Matruh, U-75 launched an attack which sank the small British freighter Volo.[3] The convoy's escorts had spotted the U-boat, however, and HMS Kipling ran the submarine down and dropped depth charges on the boat. The explosions forced U-75 to the surface, where 30 of her crew were rescued and taken prisoner by her erstwhile opponent before the boat heeled over and sank, taking 15 men with her, including her only captain.
Wolfpacks
U-75 took part in two wolfpacks, namely:
- West (2 – 20 June 1941)
- Goeben (27 September – 5 October 1941)
Summary of raiding history
Date | Ship | Nationality | Tonnage[Note 1] | Fate[4] |
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29 April 1941 | City of Nagpur | United Kingdom | 10,146 | Sunk |
3 June 1941 | Eibergen | Netherlands | 4,801 | Sunk |
3 June 1941 | Inversuir | United Kingdom | 9,456 | Sunk |
25 June 1941 | Schie | Netherlands | 1,967 | Sunk |
5 August 1941 | Cape Rodney | United Kingdom | 4,512 | Sunk |
5 August 1941 | Harlingen | United Kingdom | 5,415 | Sunk |
12 October 1941 | HMS TLC-2 (A2) | Royal Navy | 372 | Sunk |
12 October 1941 | HMS TLC-7 (A7) | Royal Navy | 372 | Sunk |
28 December 1941 | Volo | United Kingdom | 1,587 | Sunk |
See also
- Mediterranean U-boat Campaign (World War II)
References
Notes
- gross register tons. Military vessels are listed by tons displacement.
Citations
- ^ a b c d Gröner 1991, pp. 43–44.
- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "City of Nagpur (Steam passenger ship)". Allied Ships hit by U-boats - uboat.net. Retrieved 26 August 2009.
- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Volo (Steam merchant)". Allied Ships hit by U-boats - uboat.net. Retrieved 26 August 2009.
- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit by U-75". U-boat Successes - German U-boats - uboat.net.
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. ISBN 0-85177-593-4.
- Gröner, Erich (1990). German Warships, 1815-1945. Conway Maritime Press.
- Sharpe, Peter (1998). U-Boat Fact File. Great Britain: Midland Publishing. ISBN 1-85780-072-9.
External links
- Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type VIIB boat U-75". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 8 December 2014.