German submarine U-70 (1940)

Last updated

History
War ensign of Germany (1938-1945).svg Nazi Germany
NameU-70
Ordered30 May 1938
Builder Germaniawerft, Kiel
Cost4,439,000 Reichsmark
Yard number604
Laid down19 December 1939
Launched12 October 1940
Commissioned23 November 1940
FateSunk, 7 March 1941 by British warships [1]
General characteristics
Class and type Type VIIC submarine
Displacement
Length
Beam
  • 6.20 m (20 ft 4 in) o/a
  • 4.70 m (15 ft 5 in) pressure hull
Height9.60 m (31 ft 6 in)
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
  • 8,500  nmi (15,700  km; 9,800  mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) surfaced
  • 80 nmi (150 km; 92 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph) submerged
Test depth
  • 230 m (750 ft)
  • Crush depth: 250–295 m (820–968 ft)
Complement4 officers, 40–56 enlisted
Armament
Service record [2] [3]
Part of:
Identification codes: M 17 952
Commanders:
  • Kptlt. Joachim Matz
  • 23 November 1940 – 7 March 1941
Operations:
  • 1 patrol:
  • 20 February – 7 March 1941
Victories:
  • 1 merchant ship sunk
    (820  GRT)
  • 3 merchant ships damaged
    (20,484  GRT)

German submarine U-70 was a Type VIIC submarine of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II.

Contents

The U-boat was laid down on 19 December 1939 at the Friedrich Krupp Germaniawerft shipyard at Kiel as yard number 604, launched on 12 October 1940, and commissioned on 23 November under the command of Kapitänleutnant Joachim Matz to serve with the 7th U-boat Flotilla from 23 November 1940 until she was sunk on 7 March 1941.

Design

German Type VIIC submarines were preceded by the shorter Type VIIB submarines. U-70 had a displacement of 769 tonnes (757 long tons) when at the surface and 871 tonnes (857 long tons) while submerged. [4] She had a total length of 67.10 m (220 ft 2 in), a pressure hull length of 50.50 m (165 ft 8 in), a beam of 6.20 m (20 ft 4 in), a height of 9.60 m (31 ft 6 in), and a draught of 4.74 m (15 ft 7 in). The submarine was powered by two Germaniawerft F46 four-stroke, six-cylinder 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 Garbe, Lahmeyer & Co. RP 137/c 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). [4]

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). [4] When submerged, the boat could operate for 80 nautical miles (150 km; 92 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph); when surfaced, she could travel 8,500 nautical miles (15,700 km; 9,800 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph). U-70 was fitted with five 53.3 cm (21 in) torpedo tubes (four fitted at the bow and one at the stern), fourteen torpedoes, one 8.8 cm (3.46 in) SK C/35 naval gun, 220 rounds, and one 2 cm (0.79 in) C/30 anti-aircraft gun. The boat had a complement of between forty-four and sixty. [4]

Service history

U-70's first and only patrol began on 20 February 1941. On 26 February she sank the 820 GRT Swedish merchant ship Göteborg, south of Iceland. [5]

U-70 joined U-47, U-99, and UA [6] in a wolfpack that attacked Convoy OB 293 south-east of Iceland on 7 March 1941. In her first attack at 04:45 U-70 damaged the 6,568 GRT British tanker Athelbeach (later sunk by U-99), [7] and the 6,423 GRT British merchant vessel Delilian. [8]

At 07:25 U-70 struck again and hit the 7,493 GRT Dutch tanker Mijdrecht. However the master spotted the periscope of U-70, rammed the submerged U-boat at 7 knots (13 km/h; 8.1 mph), damaging the conning tower and reported its position to the convoy escorts. [9]

Fate

At 08:15, the British corvette HMS Camellia sighted U-70, which promptly dived. Until 10:30 Camellia and her sister ship HMS Arbutus attacked five times with depth charges, then Arbutus made another four attacks. In total the two corvettes dropped 48 depth charges. Finally, at 12:44, U-70 was forced to the surface and was abandoned by her crew at 60°15′N14°00′W / 60.250°N 14.000°W / 60.250; -14.000 . Twenty-five survivors of her crew of forty-five, [2] were picked up and taken prisoner. [9] [1]

Summary of raiding history

DateShipNationalityTonnageFate [10]
26 February 1941 Goteborg Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden 820Sunk
7 March 1941 Athelbeach Civil Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom 6,568Damaged
7 March 1941 Delilian Civil Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom 6,423Damaged
7 March 1941 Mijdrecht Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands 7,493Damaged

Related Research Articles

German submarine <i>U-512</i> German World War II submarine

German submarine U-512 was a Type IXC U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine built for service during World War II. Although she was short-lived, U-512 was quite a successful boat, making full use of the time she enjoyed in the entrance to the Caribbean Sea, during the Second Happy Time. She was commanded by Kapitänleutnant Wolfgang Schultze, an admiral's son and previously training captain of U-17.

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 <i>U-502</i> German World War II submarine

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 <i>U-185</i> German World War II submarine

German submarine U-185 was a Type IXC/40 U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine built for service during World War II.

German submarine <i>U-134</i> (1941) German World War II submarine

German submarine U-134 was a Type VIIC U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II. She was laid down on 6 September 1940 by Bremer Vulkan in Bremen-Vegesack as yard number 13 and commissioned on 26 July 1941. In seven patrols, U-134 sank three ships for a total of 12,147 gross register tons (GRT).

German submarine <i>U-83</i> (1940) German World War II submarine

German submarine U-83 was a Type VIIB U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II.

German submarine <i>U-176</i> German World War II submarine

German submarine U-176 was a Type IXC U-boat in Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II.

German submarine U-300 was a Type VIIC/41 U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II.

German submarine U-438 was a Type VIIC U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II.

German submarine U-759 was a Type VIIC U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II. The submarine was laid down on 15 November 1940 at the Kriegsmarinewerft yard at Wilhelmshaven, launched on 30 May 1942, and commissioned on 15 August 1942 under the command of Oberleutnant zur See Rudolf Friedrich.

German submarine U-214, was a Type VIID mine-laying U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II.

German submarine U-338 was a Type VIIC U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II. The submarine was laid down on 4 April 1941 at the Nordseewerke yard at Emden, launched on 20 April 1942, and commissioned on 25 June 1942 under the command of Oberleutnant zur See Manfred Kinzel.

German submarine U-564 was a Type VIIC U-boat built for Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine for service during the Second World War. The RAF sank her in the Bay of Biscay on 14 June 1943.

German submarine <i>U-158</i> (1941) German World War II submarine

German submarine U-158 was a Type IXC U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine built for service during World War II.

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-442 was a Type VIIC U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II.

German submarine U-372 was a Type VIIC U-boat built for Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine for service during World War II. She was laid down on 17 November 1939 by Kriegsmarinewerft Kiel as construction number 3, launched on 8 March 1941 and commissioned on 19 April 1941 under Kapitänleutnant Heinz-Joachim Neumann.

German submarine U-605 was a Type VIIC U-boat built for Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine for service during World War II. She was laid down on 12 March 1941 by Blohm & Voss, Hamburg as yard number 581, launched on 27 November 1941 and commissioned on 15 January 1942 under Oberleutnant zur See Herbert-Viktor Schütze.

German submarine U-458 was a Type VIIC U-boat built for Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine for service during World War II. She was laid down on 16 October 1940 by Deutsche Werke AG, Kiel as yard number 289, launched on 4 October 1941 and commissioned on 12 December 1941 under Oberleutnant zur See Kurt Diggins.

German submarine U-775 was a Type VIIC U-boat built for Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine for service during World War II. She was laid down on 22 January 1943 by Kriegsmarinewerft Wilhelmshaven as yard number 158, launched on 11 February 1944 and commissioned on 23 March 1944 under Oberleutnant zur See Erich Taschenmacher.

References

  1. 1 2 Kemp 1997, p. 68.
  2. 1 2 Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type VIIC boat U-70". German U-boats of WWII – uboat.net. Archived from the original on 3 May 2009. Retrieved 22 December 2009.
  3. ↑ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Patrol of U-boat U-70 from 20 February 1941 to 7 March 1941". German U-boats of WWII – uboat.net. Archived from the original on 21 November 2008. Retrieved 22 December 2009.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Gröner 1991, pp. 43–46.
  5. ↑ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Göteborg (Steam merchant)". German U-boats of WWII – uboat.net. Archived from the original on 12 June 2010. Retrieved 22 December 2009.
  6. ↑ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Convoy OB-293". German U-boats of WWII – uboat.net. Archived from the original on 11 April 2021. Retrieved 22 December 2009.
  7. ↑ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Athelbeach (Motor tanker)". German U-boats of WWII – uboat.net. Archived from the original on 2 February 2016. Retrieved 22 December 2009.
  8. ↑ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Delilian (Steam merchant)". German U-boats of WWII – uboat.net. Archived from the original on 2 February 2016. Retrieved 22 December 2009.
  9. 1 2 Helgason, Guðmundur. "Mijdrecht (Motor tanker)". German U-boats of WWII – uboat.net. Archived from the original on 12 June 2010. Retrieved 22 December 2009.
  10. ↑ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit by U-70". German U-boats of WWII – uboat.net. Archived from the original on 5 September 2008. Retrieved 25 November 2012.

Bibliography

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.