German_submarine_U-805

German submarine <i>U-805</i>

German submarine U-805

German World War II submarine

German submarine U-805 was a Type IXC/40 U-boat built for Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II.

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Design

German Type IXC/40 submarines were slightly larger than the original Type IXCs. U-805 had a displacement of 1,144 tonnes (1,126 long tons) when at the surface and 1,257 tonnes (1,237 long tons) while submerged.[3] The U-boat had a total length of 76.76 m (251 ft 10 in), a pressure hull length of 58.75 m (192 ft 9 in), a beam of 6.86 m (22 ft 6 in), a height of 9.60 m (31 ft 6 in), and a draught of 4.67 m (15 ft 4 in). The submarine was powered by two MAN M 9 V 40/46 supercharged four-stroke, nine-cylinder diesel engines producing a total of 4,400 metric horsepower (3,240 kW; 4,340 shp) for use while surfaced, two Siemens-Schuckert 2 GU 345/34 double-acting electric motors producing a total of 1,000 shaft horsepower (1,010 PS; 750 kW) for use while submerged. She had two shafts and two 1.92 m (6 ft) propellers. The boat was capable of operating at depths of up to 230 metres (750 ft).[3]

The submarine had a maximum surface speed of 18.3 knots (33.9 km/h; 21.1 mph) and a maximum submerged speed of 7.3 knots (13.5 km/h; 8.4 mph).[3] When submerged, the boat could operate for 63 nautical miles (117 km; 72 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph); when surfaced, she could travel 13,850 nautical miles (25,650 km; 15,940 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph). U-805 was fitted with six 53.3 cm (21 in) torpedo tubes (four fitted at the bow and two at the stern), 22 torpedoes, one 10.5 cm (4.13 in) SK C/32 naval gun, 180 rounds, and a 3.7 cm (1.5 in) Flak M42 as well as two twin 2 cm (0.79 in) C/30 anti-aircraft guns. The boat had a complement of forty-eight.[3]

Service history

U-805 was ordered on 10 April 1941 from DeSchiMAG Seebeckwerft in Geestemünde under the yard number 363. Her keel was laid down on 24 December 1942, and the U-boat was launched the following year sometime in October 1943. On 12 February 1944 she was commissioned into service under the command of Kapitänleutnant Richard Bernardelli (Crew 32) in the 4th U-boat Flotilla. She spent the next year as a training boat with the flotilla, then was transferred to the 33rd U-boat Flotilla and deployed on her one and only war patrol in March 1945. At the end of the war U-805 was operating in the West Atlantic as part of the Seewolf group, when she received orders to make for an Allied port in order to surrender. The U-boat reached Portsmouth, New Hampshire on 15 May 1945,[1][2] where the crew surrendered and handed the boat over to the US Navy.

The US Navy took U-805 on several Victory Visits to ports on the east coast of the United States before sinking her off the coast in position 42°32′N 69°37′W on 4 February 1946.[4]

References

  1. [1]
    "Surrender of U-805". National Museum of the U.S. Navy. Archived from the original on 27 February 2022. Retrieved 27 February 2022.
  2. [2]
    "U-805". uboat.net. Archived from the original on 27 February 2022. Retrieved 27 February 2022.
  3. [3]
    Gröner 1991, p. 68.
  4. [4]
    Busch & Röll 1999a, p. 397.

Bibliography

Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type IXC/40 boat U-805". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 3 March 2010.
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