German submarine U-81 (1941)

Coordinates: 44°52′N 13°51′E / 44.867°N 13.850°E / 44.867; 13.850
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For other ships with the same name, see German submarine U-81.

U-81
History
Nazi Germany
NameU-81
Ordered25 January 1939
BuilderBremer Vulkan, Bremen-Vegesack
Yard number9
Laid down11 May 1940
Launched22 February 1941
Commissioned26 April 1941
Fate
  • Sunk on 9 January 1944 by US bombers in Pola, Italy.
  • Wreck raised on 22 April 1944 and scrapped[1]
General characteristics
Class and type
Type VIIC U-boat
Displacement
  • 769 t (757 long tons) surfaced
  • 871 t (857 long tons) submerged
Length
  • 67.10 m (220 ft 2 in) (
    o/a
    )
  • 50.50 m (165 ft 8 in) (
    pressure hull
    )
Beam
  • 6.20 m (20 ft 4 in) (o/a)
  • 4.70 m (15 ft 5 in) (pressure hull)
Draught4.74 m (15 ft 7 in)
Installed power
  • 2,800–3,200 PS (2,100–2,400 kW; 2,800–3,200 bhp) (diesels)
  • 750 PS (550 kW; 740 shp) (electric)
Propulsion
Speed
  • 17.7 knots (32.8 km/h; 20.4 mph) surfaced
  • 7.6 knots (14.1 km/h; 8.7 mph) submerged
Range
  • 8,190 nmi (15,170 km; 9,420 mi) surfaced
  • 81 nmi (150 km; 93 mi)submerged
Test depth
  • 230 m (750 ft)
  • Calculated crush depth: 250–295 m (820–967 ft)
Complement44 to 52 officers and ratings
Armament
Service record
Part of:
Identification codes: M 38 099
Commanders:
Operations:
  • 17 patrols:
  • 1st patrol:
  • a. 17 July – 7 August 1941
  • b. 9 – 13 August 1941
  • 2nd patrol:
  • a. 27 August – 19 September 1941
  • b. 29 – 31 October 1941
  • 3rd patrol:
  • 4 November – 10 December 1941
  • 4th patrol:
  • 27 January – 4 March 1942
  • 5th patrol:
  • 4 – 25 April 1942
  • 6th patrol:
  • 6 May – 3 June 1942
  • 7th patrol:
  • 6 – 24 June 1942
  • 8th patrol:
  • 5 October – 16 November 1942
  • 9th patrol:
  • 24 November – 21 December 1942
  • 10th patrol:
  • 30 January – 19 February 1943
  • 11th patrol:
  • 6 March – 7 April 1943
  • 12th patrol:
  • 6 June – 4 July 1943
  • 13th patrol:
  • 14 – 25 July 1943
  • 14th patrol:
  • 1 – 10 August 1943
  • 15th patrol:
  • 20 September – 13 October 1943
  • 16th patrol:
  • 10 – 23 November 1943
  • 17th patrol:
  • 30 Dec 1943 – 3 January 1944
Victories:
  • 24 merchant ships sunk
    (41,784 GRT)
  • 1 warship sunk
    (22,600 tons)
  • 1 auxiliary warship sunk
    (1,150 GRT)
  • 1 merchant ship total loss
    (7,472 GRT)
  • 1 merchant ship damaged
    (6,671 GRT)

German submarine U-81 was a

Type VIIC U-boat of the navy (Kriegsmarine) of Nazi Germany during World War II, famous for sinking the aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal
.

Design

supercharged diesel engines producing a total of 2,800 to 3,200 metric horsepower (2,060 to 2,350 kW; 2,760 to 3,160 shp) for use while surfaced, two Brown, Boveri & Cie GG UB 720/8 double-acting electric motors producing a total of 750 metric horsepower (550 kW; 740 shp) for use while submerged. She had two shafts and two 1.23 m (4 ft) propellers. The boat was capable of operating at depths of up to 230 metres (750 ft).[2]

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).

2 cm (0.79 in) C/30 anti-aircraft gun. The boat had a complement of between forty-four and sixty.[2]

Building and commissioning

She was ordered on 25 January 1939 and laid down on 11 May 1940 at Bremer Vulkan, Bremen-Vegesack, becoming yard number 9. She was launched on 22 February 1941 and commissioned under her first commander, Oberleutnant zur See (Oblt.z.S.) Friedrich Guggenberger, on 26 April of that year. Guggenberger commanded her for her work-ups with the 1st U-boat Flotilla between 26 April and 31 July 1941. She then became a front (operational) boat of the 1st U-boat Flotilla, and set out on a number of training patrols.[3]

Service history

Early patrols

Her first successes came on her second patrol, which took her from

Empire Springbuck on 9 September, followed by the motor ship
Sally Maersk on 10 September, for a combined total of 8,843 GRT.

U-81 was one of the U-boats ordered into the

Catalina of No. 209 Squadron RAF, as she attempted to cross the Strait of Gibraltar. The Catalina was joined by a Lockheed Hudson, which dropped depth charges onto U-81 causing severe damage and forcing her to return to Brest. There she was repaired to return to the Mediterranean.[3]

Sinking the Ark Royal

Main article: HMS Ark Royal (91) § Final voyage and sinking

On 4 November U-81 left Brest bound for La Spezia in Italy. On 13 November off Gibraltar, she encountered the inbound ships of Force H. She fired a single torpedo into the aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal, and then avoided depth charge attacks from the escorts. Despite efforts to salvage her, the Ark Royal had to be abandoned 12 hours after the attack and capsized two hours later and sank. Only one man was killed, by the torpedo explosion.[4] U-81 reached La Spezia on 1 December, where she joined the 29th U-boat Flotilla.

Patrols in the Mediterranean

Her next patrol was uneventful and resulted in no ships attacked. She sailed again on 4 April 1942 and headed into the eastern Mediterranean. On 16 April she sank the Egyptian sailing ships Bab el Farag and Fatouh el Kher, as well as the British Caspia and the

Free French anti-submarine naval trawler Vikings. U-81 sank a further two Egyptian sailing ships, Hefz el Rahman on 19 April and the El Saadiah on 22 April. The U-boat put into port at Salamis in Greece on 25 April, having spent 22 days at sea and sunk 7,582 GRT of shipping. A further patrol from Salamis was uneventful and she returned to La Spezia on another patrol, which saw the sinking of the British Havre on 10 June. U-81's next patrol was into the western Mediterranean. She sank the British Garlinge on 10 November and went on to intercept one of the convoys of Operation Torch
(the invasion of French North Africa), sinking the Maron on 13 November.

U-81's next patrol was uneventful and saw her briefly shift operations to Pola (now

Syrian sailing vessels Nelly and Toufic Allah on 26 June. On 27 June she sank the Greek Michalios, but was engaged by shore-based guns off Latakia. Her next patrol saw only the Empire Moon hit on 22 July, but she was declared a total loss and spent the rest of the war under repair. The U-boat's next three patrols were uneventful but on 18 November she sank the cargo ship Empire Dunstan
.

Sinking

US bombers attacked U-81 while the submarine was in port in Pola, at 1130hrs on 9 January 1944.[1] She sank with two of her crew dead and 51 survivors. The wreck was raised on 22 April 1944 and broken up.[3] She had conducted 17 patrols, sinking 26 ships totalling 42,934 GRT and 22,600 tons, damaging one other totalling 6,671 GRT and causing one total loss totalling 7,472 GRT.[3]

Summary of raiding history

HMS Legion moves alongside the damaged and listing HMS Ark Royal to take off survivors
Date Ship Nationality Tonnage[Note 1] Fate[5]
9 September 1941
Empire Springbuck
  United Kingdom 5,591 Sunk
10 September 1941 Sally Mærsk  United Kingdom 3,252 Sunk
13 November 1941 HMS Ark Royal  Royal Navy 22,600 Sunk
16 April 1942 Bab el Farag  Egypt 105 Sunk
16 April 1942 Caspia  United Kingdom 6,018 Sunk
16 April 1942 Fatouhel el Rahman  Egypt 97 Sunk
16 April 1942 FFL Vikings  Free French Naval Forces 1,150 Sunk
19 April 1942 Hefz el Rahman  Egypt 90 Sunk
22 April 1942 El Saadiah  Egypt 122 Sunk
22 April 1942 Aziza  Egypt 100 Sunk
22 April 1942 Havre  United Kingdom 2,073 Sunk
10 November 1942 Garlinge  United Kingdom 2,012 Sunk
13 November 1942 Maron  United Kingdom 6,487 Sunk
10 February 1943 Saroena  United Kingdom 6,671 Damaged
11 February 1943 Al Kasbanah  Egypt 110 Sunk
11 February 1943 Dolphin  Palestine 135 Sunk
11 February 1943 Husni Lebanon 107 Sunk
11 February 1943 Sabah al Kheir  Egypt 36 Sunk
20 March 1943 Bourgheih  Egypt 244 Sunk
20 March 1943 Mawahab Allah  Syria 77 Sunk
28 March 1943 Rouisdi  Egypt 133 Sunk
17 June 1943 Yoma  United Kingdom 8,131 Sunk
25 June 1943 Nisr  Egypt 80 Sunk
26 June 1943 Nelly  Syria 80 Sunk
26 June 1943 Toufic Allah  Syria 75 Sunk
27 June 1943 Michalios  Greece 3,742 Sunk
22 July 1943 Empire Moon  United Kingdom 7,472 Total loss
18 November 1943 Empire Dunstan  United Kingdom 2,887 Sunk

References

Notes

  1. gross register tons. Military vessels are listed by tons displacement
    .

Citations

  1. ^ a b Kemp 1997, p. 163.
  2. ^ a b c d Gröner 1991, pp. 43–46.
  3. ^ a b c d Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type VIIC boat U-81". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net.
  4. ^ Rossiter 2007, p. 329.
  5. ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit by U-81". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 29 December 2014.

Bibliography

External links

44°52′N 13°51′E / 44.867°N 13.850°E / 44.867; 13.850

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