German Type VIIC submarines were preceded by the shorter Type VIIB submarines. U-81 had a displacement of 769 tonnes (757 long tons) when at the surface and 871 tonnes (857 long tons) while submerged.[2] 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 MAN M 6 V 40/46 four-stroke, six-cylinder superchargeddiesel 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 Brown, Boveri & Cie GG UB 720/8 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).[2]
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).[2] 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-81 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 a 2 cm (0.79 in) C/30 anti-aircraft gun. The boat had a complement of between forty-four and sixty.[2]
Building and commissioning
She was ordered on 25 January 1939 and laid down on 11 May 1940 at Bremer Vulkan, Bremen-Vegesack, becoming yard number 9. She was launched on 22 February 1941 and commissioned under her first commander, Oberleutnant zur See (Oblt.z.S.) Friedrich Guggenberger, on 26 April of that year. Guggenberger commanded her for her work-ups with the 1st U-boat Flotilla between 26 April and 31 July 1941. She then became a front (operational) boat of the 1st U-boat Flotilla, and set out on a number of training patrols.[3]
Service history
Early patrols
Her first successes came on her second patrol, which took her from Trondheim into the North Sea and the North Atlantic, before putting into the French port of Brest. During the patrol she attacked Convoy SC 42. She sank the cargo ship Empire Springbuck on 9 September, followed by the motor shipSally Maersk on 10 September, for a combined total of 8,843 GRT.
U-81 was one of the U-boats ordered into the Mediterranean. Her first attempt to break into the 'Italian Lake' almost ended in disaster, when on 30 October she was attacked and severely damaged by a British Catalina of No. 209 Squadron RAF, as she attempted to cross the Strait of Gibraltar. The Catalina was joined by a Lockheed Hudson, which dropped depth charges onto U-81 causing severe damage and forcing her to return to Brest. There she was repaired to return to the Mediterranean.[3]
On 4 November U-81 left Brest bound for La Spezia in Italy. On 13 November off Gibraltar, she encountered the inbound ships of Force H. She fired a single torpedo into the aircraft carrierHMS Ark Royal, and then avoided depth charge attacks from the escorts. Despite efforts to salvage her, the Ark Royal had to be abandoned 12 hours after the attack and capsized two hours later and sank. Only one man was killed, by the torpedo explosion.[4]U-81 reached La Spezia on 1 December, where she joined the 29th U-boat Flotilla.
Patrols in the Mediterranean
Her next patrol was uneventful and resulted in no ships attacked. She sailed again on 4 April 1942 and headed into the eastern Mediterranean. On 16 April she sank the Egyptian sailing ships Bab el Farag and Fatouh el Kher, as well as the British Caspia and the Free Frenchanti-submarinenaval trawler Vikings. U-81 sank a further two Egyptian sailing ships, Hefz el Rahman on 19 April and the El Saadiah on 22 April. The U-boat put into port at Salamis in Greece on 25 April, having spent 22 days at sea and sunk 7,582 GRT of shipping. A further patrol from Salamis was uneventful and she returned to La Spezia on another patrol, which saw the sinking of the British Havre on 10 June. U-81's next patrol was into the western Mediterranean. She sank the British Garlinge on 10 November and went on to intercept one of the convoys of Operation Torch (the invasion of French North Africa), sinking the Maron on 13 November.
U-81's next patrol was uneventful and saw her briefly shift operations to Pola (now Pula, Croatia). On 25 December Oblt.z.S.Johann-Otto Krieg took command of U-81 from Guggenberger. She sailed from Pola on 30 January 1943 on her next patrol. On 10 February she damaged the Dutch Saroena and on 11 February she sank four sailing vessels, the Egyptian Al Kasbanah and Sabah el Kheir, the LebaneseHusni and the PalestinianDolphin. U-81 put into Salamis on 19 February after 21 days at sea, 388 GRT of shipping sunk and 6,671 GRT damaged. Her next patrol sank three more Egyptian sailing vessels, the Bourghieh, the Mawahab Allah and the Rousdi. Her next patrol brought more substantial results, sinking the British troopshipYoma on 17 June killing 484 people, followed by the Egyptian sailing vessel Nisr on 25 June and the Syrian sailing vessels Nelly and Toufic Allah on 26 June. On 27 June she sank the GreekMichalios, but was engaged by shore-based guns off Latakia. Her next patrol saw only the Empire Moon hit on 22 July, but she was declared a total loss and spent the rest of the war under repair. The U-boat's next three patrols were uneventful but on 18 November she sank the cargo ship Empire Dunstan.
Sinking
US bombers attacked U-81 while the submarine was in port in Pola, at 1130hrs on 9 January 1944.[1] She sank with two of her crew dead and 51 survivors. The wreck was raised on 22 April 1944 and broken up.[3] She had conducted 17 patrols, sinking 26 ships totalling 42,934 GRT and 22,600 tons, damaging one other totalling 6,671 GRT and causing one total loss totalling 7,472 GRT.[3]
^Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit by U-81". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 29 December 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. ISBN1-55750-186-6.
Busch, Rainer; Röll, Hans-Joachim (1999). Deutsche U-Boot-Verluste von September 1939 bis Mai 1945 [German U-boat losses from September 1939 to May 1945]. Der U-Boot-Krieg (in German). Vol. IV. Hamburg, Berlin, Bonn: Mittler. ISBN3-8132-0514-2.
Gröner, Erich; Jung, Dieter; Maass, Martin (1991). U-boats and Mine Warfare Vessels. German Warships 1815–1945. Vol. 2. Translated by Thomas, Keith; Magowan, Rachel. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN0-85177-593-4.
Jameson, William (2004). Ark Royal: The Life of an Aircraft Carrier at War 1939–41. Periscope Publishing Ltd. ISBN1-904381-27-8.
Kemp, Paul (1997). U-Boats Destroyed, German Submarine Losses in the World Wars. Arms and Armour. p. 163. ISBN1-85409-515-3.
Rossiter, Mike (2007). Ark Royal: the life, death and rediscovery of the legendary Second World War aircraft carrier. London: Corgi Books. ISBN978-0-552-15369-0.
External links
Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type VIIC boat U-81". German U-boats of WWII – uboat.net. Retrieved 26 December 2014.
Hofmann, Markus. "U 81". Deutsche U-Boote 1935–1945 – u-boot-archiv.de (in German). Retrieved 26 December 2014.
german, submarine, 1941, other, ships, with, same, name, german, submarine, german, submarine, type, viic, boat, navy, kriegsmarine, nazi, germany, during, world, famous, sinking, aircraft, carrier, royal, 81historynazi, germanynameu, 81ordered25, january, 193. For other ships with the same name see German submarine U 81 German submarine U 81 was a Type VIIC U boat of the navy Kriegsmarine of Nazi Germany during World War II famous for sinking the aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal U 81HistoryNazi GermanyNameU 81Ordered25 January 1939BuilderBremer Vulkan Bremen VegesackYard number9Laid down11 May 1940Launched22 February 1941Commissioned26 April 1941FateSunk on 9 January 1944 by US bombers in Pola Croatia Wreck raised on 22 April 1944 and scrapped 1 General characteristicsClass and typeType VIIC U boatDisplacement769 t 757 long tons surfaced 871 t 857 long tons submergedLength67 10 m 220 ft 2 in o a 50 50 m 165 ft 8 in pressure hull Beam6 20 m 20 ft 4 in o a 4 70 m 15 ft 5 in pressure hull Draught4 74 m 15 ft 7 in Installed power2 800 3 200 PS 2 100 2 400 kW 2 800 3 200 bhp diesels 750 PS 550 kW 740 shp electric Propulsion2 shafts 2 diesel engines 2 electric motorsRange8 190 nmi 15 170 km 9 420 mi surfaced 81 nmi 150 km 93 mi submergedTest depth230 m 750 ft Calculated crush depth 250 295 m 820 967 ft Complement44 to 52 officers and ratingsArmament5 53 3 cm 21 in torpedo tubes four bow one stern 14 torpedoes or 26 TMA mines 1 8 8 cm 3 46 in deck gun 220 rounds 1 x 2 cm 0 79 in C 30 AA gunService recordPart of 1st U boat Flotilla 26 April 30 November 1941 29th U boat Flotilla 1 December 1941 9 January 1944Commanders Kptlt Friedrich Guggenberger 26 April 1941 24 December 1942 Oblt z S Johann Otto Krieg 25 December 1942 9 January 1944Operations 17 patrols 1st patrol a 17 July 7 August 1941 b 9 13 August 1941 2nd patrol a 27 August 19 September 1941 b 29 31 October 1941 3rd patrol 4 November 10 December 1941 4th patrol 27 January 4 March 1942 5th patrol 4 25 April 1942 6th patrol 6 May 3 June 1942 7th patrol 6 24 June 1942 8th patrol 5 October 16 November 1942 9th patrol 24 November 21 December 1942 10th patrol 30 January 19 February 1943 11th patrol 6 March 7 April 1943 12th patrol 6 June 4 July 1943 13th patrol 14 25 July 1943 14th patrol 1 10 August 1943 15th patrol 20 September 13 October 1943 16th patrol 10 23 November 1943 17th patrol 30 Dec 1943 3 January 1944Victories 24 merchant ships sunk 41 784 GRT 1 warship sunk 22 600 tons 1 auxiliary warship sunk 1 150 GRT 1 merchant ship total loss 7 472 GRT 1 merchant ship damaged 6 671 GRT Contents 1 Design 2 Building and commissioning 3 Service history 3 1 Early patrols 3 2 Sinking the Ark Royal 3 3 Patrols in the Mediterranean 4 Sinking 5 Summary of raiding history 6 References 6 1 Notes 6 2 Citations 7 Bibliography 8 External linksDesign EditGerman Type VIIC submarines were preceded by the shorter Type VIIB submarines U 81 had a displacement of 769 tonnes 757 long tons when at the surface and 871 tonnes 857 long tons while submerged 2 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 MAN M 6 V 40 46 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 Brown Boveri amp Cie GG UB 720 8 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 2 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 2 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 81 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 a 2 cm 0 79 in C 30 anti aircraft gun The boat had a complement of between forty four and sixty 2 Building and commissioning EditShe was ordered on 25 January 1939 and laid down on 11 May 1940 at Bremer Vulkan Bremen Vegesack becoming yard number 9 She was launched on 22 February 1941 and commissioned under her first commander Oberleutnant zur See Oblt z S Friedrich Guggenberger on 26 April of that year Guggenberger commanded her for her work ups with the 1st U boat Flotilla between 26 April and 31 July 1941 She then became a front operational boat of the 1st U boat Flotilla and set out on a number of training patrols 3 Service history EditEarly patrols Edit Her first successes came on her second patrol which took her from Trondheim into the North Sea and the North Atlantic before putting into the French port of Brest During the patrol she attacked Convoy SC 42 She sank the cargo ship Empire Springbuck on 9 September followed by the motor ship Sally Maersk on 10 September for a combined total of 8 843 GRT U 81 was one of the U boats ordered into the Mediterranean Her first attempt to break into the Italian Lake almost ended in disaster when on 30 October she was attacked and severely damaged by a British Catalina of No 209 Squadron RAF as she attempted to cross the Strait of Gibraltar The Catalina was joined by a Lockheed Hudson which dropped depth charges onto U 81 causing severe damage and forcing her to return to Brest There she was repaired to return to the Mediterranean 3 Sinking the Ark Royal Edit Main article HMS Ark Royal 91 Final voyage and sinking On 4 November U 81 left Brest bound for La Spezia in Italy On 13 November off Gibraltar she encountered the inbound ships of Force H She fired a single torpedo into the aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal and then avoided depth charge attacks from the escorts Despite efforts to salvage her the Ark Royal had to be abandoned 12 hours after the attack and capsized two hours later and sank Only one man was killed by the torpedo explosion 4 U 81 reached La Spezia on 1 December where she joined the 29th U boat Flotilla Patrols in the Mediterranean Edit Her next patrol was uneventful and resulted in no ships attacked She sailed again on 4 April 1942 and headed into the eastern Mediterranean On 16 April she sank the Egyptian sailing ships Bab el Farag and Fatouh el Kher as well as the British Caspia and the Free French anti submarine naval trawler Vikings U 81 sank a further two Egyptian sailing ships Hefz el Rahman on 19 April and the El Saadiah on 22 April The U boat put into port at Salamis in Greece on 25 April having spent 22 days at sea and sunk 7 582 GRT of shipping A further patrol from Salamis was uneventful and she returned to La Spezia on another patrol which saw the sinking of the British Havre on 10 June U 81 s next patrol was into the western Mediterranean She sank the British Garlinge on 10 November and went on to intercept one of the convoys of Operation Torch the invasion of French North Africa sinking the Maron on 13 November U 81 s next patrol was uneventful and saw her briefly shift operations to Pola now Pula Croatia On 25 December Oblt z S Johann Otto Krieg took command of U 81 from Guggenberger She sailed from Pola on 30 January 1943 on her next patrol On 10 February she damaged the Dutch Saroena and on 11 February she sank four sailing vessels the Egyptian Al Kasbanah and Sabah el Kheir the Lebanese Husni and the Palestinian Dolphin U 81 put into Salamis on 19 February after 21 days at sea 388 GRT of shipping sunk and 6 671 GRT damaged Her next patrol sank three more Egyptian sailing vessels the Bourghieh the Mawahab Allah and the Rousdi Her next patrol brought more substantial results sinking the British troopship Yoma on 17 June killing 484 people followed by the Egyptian sailing vessel Nisr on 25 June and the Syrian sailing vessels Nelly and Toufic Allah on 26 June On 27 June she sank the Greek Michalios but was engaged by shore based guns off Latakia Her next patrol saw only the Empire Moon hit on 22 July but she was declared a total loss and spent the rest of the war under repair The U boat s next three patrols were uneventful but on 18 November she sank the cargo ship Empire Dunstan Sinking EditUS bombers attacked U 81 while the submarine was in port in Pola at 1130hrs on 9 January 1944 1 She sank with two of her crew dead and 51 survivors The wreck was raised on 22 April 1944 and broken up 3 She had conducted 17 patrols sinking 26 ships totalling 42 934 GRT and 22 600 tons damaging one other totalling 6 671 GRT and causing one total loss totalling 7 472 GRT 3 Summary of raiding history Edit HMS Legion moves alongside the damaged and listing HMS Ark Royal to take off survivors Date Ship Nationality Tonnage Note 1 Fate 5 9 September 1941 Empire Springbuck United Kingdom 5 591 Sunk10 September 1941 Sally Maersk United Kingdom 3 252 Sunk13 November 1941 HMS Ark Royal Royal Navy 22 600 Sunk16 April 1942 Bab el Farag Egypt 105 Sunk16 April 1942 Caspia United Kingdom 6 018 Sunk16 April 1942 Fatouhel el Rahman Egypt 97 Sunk16 April 1942 FFL Vikings Free French Naval Forces 1 150 Sunk19 April 1942 Hefz el Rahman Egypt 90 Sunk22 April 1942 El Saadiah Egypt 122 Sunk22 April 1942 Aziza Egypt 100 Sunk22 April 1942 Havre United Kingdom 2 073 Sunk10 November 1942 Garlinge United Kingdom 2 012 Sunk13 November 1942 Maron United Kingdom 6 487 Sunk10 February 1943 Saroena United Kingdom 6 671 Damaged11 February 1943 Al Kasbanah Egypt 110 Sunk11 February 1943 Dolphin Palestine 135 Sunk11 February 1943 Husni Lebanon 107 Sunk11 February 1943 Sabah al Kheir Egypt 36 Sunk20 March 1943 Bourgheih Egypt 244 Sunk20 March 1943 Mawahab Allah Syria 77 Sunk28 March 1943 Rouisdi Egypt 133 Sunk17 June 1943 Yoma United Kingdom 8 131 Sunk25 June 1943 Nisr Egypt 80 Sunk26 June 1943 Nelly Syria 80 Sunk26 June 1943 Toufic Allah Syria 75 Sunk27 June 1943 Michalios Greece 3 742 Sunk22 July 1943 Empire Moon United Kingdom 7 472 Total loss18 November 1943 Empire Dunstan United Kingdom 2 887 SunkReferences EditNotes Edit Merchant ship tonnages are in gross register tons Military vessels are listed by tons displacement Citations Edit a b Kemp 1997 p 163 a b c d Groner 1991 pp 43 46 a b c d Helgason Gudmundur The Type VIIC boat U 81 German U boats of WWII uboat net Rossiter 2007 p 329 Helgason Gudmundur Ships hit by U 81 German U boats of WWII uboat net Retrieved 29 December 2014 Bibliography EditBusch Rainer Roll 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 Busch Rainer Roll Hans Joachim 1999 Deutsche U Boot Verluste von September 1939 bis Mai 1945 German U boat losses from September 1939 to May 1945 Der U Boot Krieg in German Vol IV Hamburg Berlin Bonn Mittler ISBN 3 8132 0514 2 Groner Erich Jung Dieter Maass Martin 1991 U boats and Mine Warfare Vessels German Warships 1815 1945 Vol 2 Translated by Thomas Keith Magowan Rachel London Conway Maritime Press ISBN 0 85177 593 4 Jameson William 2004 Ark Royal The Life of an Aircraft Carrier at War 1939 41 Periscope Publishing Ltd ISBN 1 904381 27 8 Kemp Paul 1997 U Boats Destroyed German Submarine Losses in the World Wars Arms and Armour p 163 ISBN 1 85409 515 3 Rossiter Mike 2007 Ark Royal the life death and rediscovery of the legendary Second World War aircraft carrier London Corgi Books ISBN 978 0 552 15369 0 External links EditHelgason Gudmundur The Type VIIC boat U 81 German U boats of WWII uboat net Retrieved 26 December 2014 Hofmann Markus U 81 Deutsche U Boote 1935 1945 u boot archiv de in German Retrieved 26 December 2014 Portals Military of Germany World War II Coordinates 44 52 N 13 51 E 44 867 N 13 850 E 44 867 13 850 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title German submarine U 81 1941 amp oldid 1121846786, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
