German_submarine_U-7_(1935)

German submarine <i>U-7</i> (1935)

German submarine U-7 (1935)

German World War II submarine

For other ships with the same name, see German submarine U-7.

German submarine U-7 was a Type IIB U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine, based out of Kiel during World War II. It was one of the smaller versions, and was first launched on 29 June 1935 with a crew of 29. Its first commander was Kurt Freiwald. U-7 would have 16 commanders over the course of its service, the last being Günther Loeschcke.

Quick Facts History, Nazi Germany ...

During the war U-7 was responsible for sinking two vessels.

On 18 February 1944, west of Pillau, U-7 sank in what is believed to have been a malfunction during a diving manoeuvre. There were no survivors.[13]

Design

German Type IIB submarines were enlarged versions of the original Type IIs. U-7 had a displacement of 279 tonnes (275 long tons) when at the surface and 328 tonnes (323 long tons) while submerged. Officially, the standard tonnage was 250 long tons (254 t), however.[14] The U-boat had a total length of 42.70 m (140 ft 1 in), a pressure hull length of 28.20 m (92 ft 6 in), a beam of 4.08 m (13 ft 5 in), a height of 8.60 m (28 ft 3 in), and a draught of 3.90 m (12 ft 10 in). The submarine was powered by two MWM RS 127 S four-stroke, six-cylinder diesel engines of 700 metric horsepower (510 kW; 690 shp) for cruising, two Siemens-Schuckert PG VV 322/36 double-acting electric motors producing a total of 460 metric horsepower (340 kW; 450 shp) for use while submerged. She had two shafts and two 0.85 m (3 ft) propellers. The boat was capable of operating at depths of up to 80–150 metres (260–490 ft).[14]

The submarine had a maximum surface speed of 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph) and a maximum submerged speed of 7 knots (13 km/h; 8.1 mph).[14] When submerged, the boat could operate for 35–42 nautical miles (65–78 km; 40–48 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph); when surfaced, she could travel 3,800 nautical miles (7,000 km; 4,400 mi) at 8 knots (15 km/h; 9.2 mph). U-7 was fitted with three 53.3 cm (21 in) torpedo tubes at the bow, five torpedoes or up to twelve Type A torpedo mines, and a 2 cm (0.79 in) anti-aircraft gun. The boat had a complement of twentyfive.[14]

Service history

U-7 was ordered on 20 July 1934, i.e. in violation of the Versailles Treaty, which denied Germany possession of submarines. The U-boat was not laid down until 11 March 1935, and launched on 29 June 1935, within weeks of the Anglo-German Naval Agreement, which granted Germany parity with the British Empire in submarines.

Commissioned on 18 July 1935 with Kapitänleutnant Kurt Freiwald in command, U-7 mainly served as a training boat except for two brief deployments during the Invasion of Poland in 1939 and Operation Weserübung in 1940.

On 18 February 1944, west of Pillau, U-7 sank in what is believed to have been a malfunction during a diving manoeuvre. There were no survivors.[13]

Summary of raiding history

More information Date, Name ...

References

  1. [1]
    Helgason, Guðmundur. "Kurt Freiwald". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
  2. [2]
    Helgason, Guðmundur. "Otto Salman (German Cross in Gold)". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
  3. [3]
    Helgason, Guðmundur. "Werner Heidel". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
  4. [4]
    Helgason, Guðmundur. "Karl Schrott". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
  5. [5]
    Helgason, Guðmundur. "Günther Reeder (German Cross in Gold)". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
  6. [6]
    Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ernst-Ulrich Brüller". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
  7. [7]
    Helgason, Guðmundur. "Hans-Günther Kuhlmann". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
  8. [8]
    Helgason, Guðmundur. "Heinrich Schmid". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
  9. [9]
    Helgason, Guðmundur. "Siegfried Koitschka (Knight's Cross)". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
  10. [10]
    Helgason, Guðmundur. "Otto Hübschen". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
  11. [11]
    Helgason, Guðmundur. "Hans Schrenk". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
  12. [12]
    Helgason, Guðmundur. "Günther Loeschcke". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
  13. [13]
    Kemp 1997, p. 170.
  14. [14]
    Gröner 1991, pp. 39–40.
  15. [15]
    Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit by U-7". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 15 October 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.
  • 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.
  • Kemp, Paul (1997). U-Boats Destroyed - German Submarine Losses in the World Wars. Arms & Armour. ISBN 1-85409-515-3.
  • Neistlé, Axel (2014). German U-Boat Losses during World War II: Details of Destruction (2 ed.). Havertown: Frontline Books (published 30 June 2014).
  • Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type IIB boat U-7". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
  • Hofmann, Markus. "U 7". Deutsche U-Boote 1935-1945 - u-boot-archiv.de (in German). Retrieved 1 February 2015.

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