History | |
---|---|
Nazi Germany | |
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 |
|
Beam |
|
Height | 10.20 m (33 ft 6 in) |
Draught | 4.71 m (15 ft 5 in) |
Propulsion |
|
Speed |
|
Range |
|
Test depth | Calculated crush depth: 220 m (720 ft) |
Complement | 5 officers, 47 enlisted |
Armament |
|
Service record [4] [5] | |
Part of: |
|
Identification codes: | M 43 288 |
Commanders: | |
Operations: |
|
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] |
---|---|---|---|---|
12 July 1942 | Cortona | United Kingdom | 7,093 | Damaged |
12 July 1942 | Shaftesbury | United Kingdom | 4,284 | Sunk |
German submarine U-303 was a Type VIIC U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II. She saw service in the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea, and sank one freighter of 4,959 GRT in her two short and uneventful war patrols. Built in 1941 and 1942 at Lübeck, U-303 was a Type VIIC U-boat, capable of lengthy ocean patrols and of operating in distant environments.
German submarine U-509 was a Type IXC U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II. The submarine was laid down on 1 November 1940 at the Deutsche Werft yard in Hamburg as yard number 305. She was launched on 19 August 1941, and commissioned on 4 November 1941 under the command of Korvettenkapitän Karl-Heinz Wolff.
German submarine U-98 was a Type VIIC U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II, operating from March 1941 until she was sunk in November 1942.
German submarine U-502 was a Type IXC U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II. The submarine was laid down on 2 April 1940 at the Deutsche Werft yard in Hamburg with yard number 292, launched on 18 February 1941 and commissioned on 31 May under the command of Kapitänleutnant Jürgen von Rosenstiel.
German submarine U-125 was a Type IXC U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II. She was laid down at the DeSchiMAG AG Weser as yard number 988 on 10 May 1940, launched on 10 December and commissioned on 3 March 1941. In seven patrols, she sank 17 ships for a total of 82,873 gross register tons (GRT). The boat was a member of three wolfpacks. She was sunk on 6 May 1943. All 54 men on board died.
German submarine U-176 was a Type IXC U-boat in Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II.
German submarine U-511 was a Type IXC U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II. The submarine was laid down on 21 February 1941 at the Deutsche Werft yard in Hamburg as yard number 307, launched on 22 September 1941 and commissioned on 8 December 1941 under the command of Kapitänleutnant Friedrich Steinhoff.
German submarine U-438 was a Type VIIC U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II.
German submarine U-43 was a Type IXA U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II. The keel for U-43 was laid down in August 1938 at Bremen; she was launched in May 1939 and commissioned in August.
German submarine U-523 was a Type IXC U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II. The submarine was laid down on 4 August 1941 at the Deutsche Werft yard in Hamburg as yard number 338. She was launched on 15 April 1942, and commissioned on 25 June under the command of Kapitänleutnant Werner Pietzsch. After training with the 4th U-boat Flotilla in the Baltic Sea, the U-boat was transferred to the 10th flotilla for front-line service on 1 February 1943.
German submarine U-66 was a Type IXC U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II. The submarine was laid down on 20 March 1940 at the AG Weser yard at Bremen, launched on 10 October and commissioned on 2 January 1941 under the command of Kapitänleutnant Richard Zapp as part of the 2nd U-boat Flotilla.
German submarine U-214, was a Type VIID mine-laying U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II.
German submarine U-101 was a Type VIIB U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II. She had a highly successful career.
German submarine U-510 was a Type IXC U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II, which later served in the French Navy. The submarine was laid down on 1 November 1940 at the Deutsche Werft yard at Hamburg as yard number 306, launched on 4 September 1941, and commissioned on 25 November 1941 under the command of Korvettenkapitän Karl Neitzel.
German submarine U-506 was a Type IXC U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II. The submarine was laid down on 11 July 1940 at the Deutsche Werft yard in Hamburg as yard number 296, launched on 20 June 1941 and commissioned on 15 September 1941 under the command of Kapitänleutnant Erich Würdemann.
German submarine U-652 was a Type VIIC U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II. The submarine was laid down on 5 February 1940 at the Howaldtswerke yard at Hamburg, launched on 7 February 1941, and commissioned on 3 April 1941 under the command of Oberleutnant zur See Georg-Werner Fraatz.
German submarine U-117 was a Type XB minelaying U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II.
German submarine U-105 was a Type IXB U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine. She was ordered on 24 May 1938 as part of Germany's naval rearmament program. Her keel was laid down in Bremen on 16 November 1938. After roughly seven months of construction, she was launched on 15 June 1940 and formally commissioned into the Kriegsmarine on 10 September 1940.
German submarine U-118 was a Type XB minelaying U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II.
German submarine U-119 was a Type XB minelaying U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II. She was laid down at the Germaniawerft in Kiel on 15 May 1940 as yard number 624. She was launched on 6 January 1942 and commissioned under Kapitänleutnant Alois Zech on 2 April 1942, he was replaced by Kptlt. Horst-Tessen von Kameke on 15 April 1943, who remained in command until her loss.