History | |
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Name | U-116 |
Ordered | 31 January 1939 |
Builder | Germaniawerft, Kiel |
Yard number | 615 |
Laid down | 1 July 1939 |
Launched | 3 May 1941 [1] |
Commissioned | 26 July 1941 [2] |
Fate | Missing since 6 October 1942 in the North Atlantic [2] |
General characteristics [3] | |
Class and type | Type X submarine minelayer |
Displacement | |
Length |
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Beam |
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Height | 10.20 m (33 ft 6 in) |
Draught | 4.71 m (15 ft 5 in) |
Propulsion |
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Speed |
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Range |
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Test depth | Calculated crush depth: 220 m (720 ft) |
Complement | 5 officers, 47 enlisted |
Armament |
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Service record [4] [5] | |
Part of: |
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Identification codes: | M 43 288 |
Commanders: | |
Operations: |
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Victories: |
German submarine U-116 was a Type XB minelaying U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II.
She was ordered on 31 January 1939 and laid down on 1 July at Friedrich Krupp Germaniawerft, Kiel, as yard number 615. She was launched on 3 May 1941 and commissioned under the command of Korvettenkapitän Werner von Schmidt on 26 July of that year. [4]
After a period of training as part of the 2nd U-boat Flotilla, U-116 was assigned to the front-line as part of the 1st U-boat Flotilla on 1 February 1942. [4] She sailed from Kiel on 4 April 1942, bound for Bergen, Norway, via Heligoland, and departed Bergen on 25 April, circling the British Isles before arriving at Lorient in occupied France, on 5 May. [6]
U-116 sailed from Lorient on 16 May 1942 on a patrol to the mid-Atlantic lasting 25 days, arriving back at her homeport on 9 June, without any success. [7]
U-116 was more successful on her third patrol which took her south to the coast of West Africa, attacking Convoy OS-33 south of the Azores on 12 July 1942. Soon after midnight she fired one torpedo at the 7,093 GRT merchant ship Cortona, causing some damage; although the ship was then sunk by U-201. [8] Nine hours later U-116 fired two torpedoes into the 4,284 GRT British merchant ship Shaftesbury, which sank in 15 minutes. [9] The U-boat returned to Lorient on 23 August, after 58 days at sea. [10]
For her fourth patrol, U-116 sailed under the command of Oberleutnant zur See Wilhelm Grimme. Leaving Lorient on 22 September 1942, [11] she sent her last radio message on 6 October whilst in the North Atlantic at position 45°00′N31°30′W / 45.000°N 31.500°W , and was never heard from again. 56 men were lost with her. [2] [4]
Date | Name | Nationality | Tonnage (GRT) | Fate [12] |
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12 July 1942 | Cortona | ![]() | 7,093 | Damaged |
12 July 1942 | Shaftesbury | ![]() | 4,284 | Sunk |
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