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German submarine U-96 (1940)

German submarine U-96 was a Type VIIC U-boat of the German Navy (Kriegsmarine) during World War II. It was made famous after the war in Lothar-Günther Buchheim's 1973 bestselling novel Das Boot and the 1981 Oscar-nominated film adaptation of the same name, both based on his experience on the submarine as a war correspondent in 1941.

Scale model of U-96
History
Nazi Germany
NameU-96
Ordered30 May 1938
BuilderGermaniawerft, Kiel
Yard number601
Laid down16 September 1939
Launched1 August 1940
Commissioned14 September 1940
Decommissioned15 February 1945
FateSunk on 30 March 1945 at Wilhelmshaven by bombs during US air raid [1]
Badge
General characteristics
Class and typeType VIIC submarine
Displacement
  • 769 tonnes (757 long tons) surfaced
  • 871 t (857 long tons) submerged
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
Part of:
Identification codes: M 29 052
Commanders:
Operations:
  • 11 patrols:
  • 1st patrol:
  • 4 – 29 December 1940
  • 2nd patrol:
  • 9 – 22 January 1941
  • 3rd patrol:
  • 30 January – 28 February 1941
  • 4th patrol:
  • 12 April – 22 May 1941
  • 5th patrol:
  • 19 June – 9 July 1941
  • 6th patrol:
  • 2 August – 12 September 1941
  • 7th patrol:
  • 27 October – 6 December 1941
  • 8th patrol:
  • 31 January – 23 March 1942
  • 9th patrol:
  • 23 April – 1 July 1942
  • 10th patrol:
  • 24 August – 5 October 1942
  • 11th patrol:
  • 26 December 1942 – 8 February 1943
Victories:
  • 27 merchant ships sunk
    (181,206 GRT)
  • 1 merchant ship total loss
    (8,888 GRT)
  • 4 merchant ships damaged
    (33,043 GRT)

The keel was laid down on 16 September 1939, by Germaniawerft, of Kiel as yard number 601. She was commissioned on 14 September 1940, with Kapitänleutnant Heinrich Lehmann-Willenbrock in command. Lehmann-Willenbrock was relieved in March 1942 by Oberleutnant zur See Hans-Jürgen Hellriegel, who was relieved in turn in March 1943 by Oblt.z.S. Wilhelm Peters. In February 1944, Oblt.z.S. Horst Willner took command, turning the boat over to Oblt.z.S. Robert Rix in June of that year. Rix commanded the boat until 15 February 1945.

Design edit

German Type VIIC submarines were preceded by the shorter Type VIIB submarines. U-96 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 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 AEG GU 460/8–27 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-96 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]

Service history edit

As part of the 7th U-boat Flotilla, stationed in Saint Nazaire, on the French Atlantic coast, U-96 conducted 11 patrols, sinking 27 ships totalling 181,206 gross register tons (GRT) and damaging four others totalling 33,043 GRT. She also caused one vessel of 8,888 GRT to be declared a total loss. The boat was a member of eleven wolfpacks. On 30 March 1945, U-96 was sunk by US bombs while in the submarine pens in Wilhelmshaven. In her entire career, she suffered no casualties to her crew. The boat was also known for her emblem, a green laughing sawfish. It became the symbol of the 9th Flotilla after Lehmann-Willenbrock took command in March 1942.

First patrol edit

U-96 departed Kiel on 4 December 1940 on her first patrol. Her route took her across the North Sea, through the gap between the Faroe and Shetland Islands and into the North Atlantic.

On 11 December, U-96 made contact with the scattered convoy HX 92 and attacked the British passenger ship Rotorua of 10,890 GRT, sinking her with a single torpedo launched at 15:12 in position 58°56′N 11°20′W / 58.933°N 11.333°W / 58.933; -11.333.[3] Most of her passengers and crew survived, her master, the convoy commodore and 21 others, however, perished. Later the same day, U-96 launched a torpedo at the Dutch merchant ship Towa of 5,419 GRT, hitting her amidships. The crippled ship did not immediately sink, so at 21:30 U-96 launched a second torpedo. After the second hit, the ship still stayed afloat, so the U-boat began shelling her half an hour later. The ship finally went under at 22:42 in position 58°50′N 10°10′W / 58.833°N 10.167°W / 58.833; -10.167.[4] The 37 crew members of Towa abandoned ship in three lifeboats, one of which capsized, drowning its occupants. 19 survivors were later picked up by an escort. A torpedo attack on Cardita of 8,237 GRT was unsuccessful.

In the early hours of 12 December, U-96 attacked the Swedish steamer Stureholm of 4,575 GRT, sinking her with a single torpedo launched at 01:56 in position 57°50′N 8°40′W / 57.833°N 8.667°W / 57.833; -8.667.[5] Two and a half hours later the un-escorted Belgian Macedonier was sighted and attacked with a single torpedo, which hit amidships, sinking her within 10 minutes in position 57°52′N 8°42′W / 57.867°N 8.700°W / 57.867; -8.700.[6] The crew had immediately abandoned ship and all but four out of 47 survived.

Two days later, on 14 December U-96 sank the British motor ship Western Prince of 10,926 GRT in position 59°32′N 17°47′W / 59.533°N 17.783°W / 59.533; -17.783 with two torpedoes.[7] Later that day, at 21:02, U-96 fired at the British steamer Empire Razorbill,[8] trying to stop her. After six rounds from her deck gun which resulted in three hits, U-96 abandoned the attack on the armed merchantman due to bad weather.

On 18 December, U-96 encountered the Dutch motor tanker Pendrecht and attacked her with a single torpedo at 16:15. The ship was hit astern but remained afloat.[9] The crew, which had initially abandoned the ship, was able to re-board and sail her to Rothesay escorted by a British destroyer. U-96, which had lost contact during the night, remained in the general area, encountering a British battleship and her escorts, but could not attack.

After 26 days at sea, U-96 arrived in Lorient in occupied France on 29 December, having sunk five ships for a total of 37,037 GRT and damaging a further two ships for a total of 15,864 GRT.[10]

Second patrol edit

On 9 January 1941, U-96 departed Lorient for her second war patrol. She returned to the waters west of Scotland, where she attacked the British SS Oropesa of 14,118 GRT early in the morning of 16 January. Three torpedoes were launched by U-96 in the space of two hours, finally sinking the ship in position 56°28′N 12°0′W / 56.467°N 12.000°W / 56.467; -12.000 at 06:16.[11] One hundred and six passengers and crew perished, while 143 survivors were picked up by British destroyers.

The next day, U-96 encountered the un-escorted British passenger steamer Almeda Star of 14,936 GRT. A first torpedo was launched at 07:45, hitting the ship amidships, causing her to stop. A second torpedo hit the ship astern 20 minutes later, but still did not sink. Two more torpedoes were needed before Almeda Star sank in position 58°16′N 13°40′W / 58.267°N 13.667°W / 58.267; -13.667, three minutes after the fourth and last torpedo was launched at 13:55.[12] All passengers and crew, in total 360, were lost.

U-96 returned to base on 22 January 1941 and once more docked in Lorient after 14 days at sea, sinking two ships for a total of 29,054 GRT.[13]

Third patrol edit

On 30 January 1941, U-96 left Lorient for her third war patrol in the North Atlantic. Two weeks into the patrol, she sighted a straggler from convoy HX 106 s, the British motor tanker Clea. The U-boat attacked shortly after 15:00 with a single torpedo, which hit Clea amidships, snapping her in half and setting the wreck on fire. The two halves were then sunk with artillery.[14] Later the same day, another tanker, Arthur F. Corwin, of 10,516 GRT, was sighted. The tanker had already been hit by torpedoes from U-103, and was lagging behind the same convoy as Clea. U-96 launched two more torpedoes into the burning wreck, sinking her in position 60°25′N 17°11′W / 60.417°N 17.183°W / 60.417; -17.183. [15] All 59 crew members perished in the attack. In the morning, escorts of HX 106 spotted and attacked U-96 with four depth charges, but the U-boat escaped without damage.

At 02:27 on 18 February, the British Black Osprey of 5,589 GRT, part of HX 107 s, was attacked with a torpedo. A second torpedo sank the ship twelve minutes later.[16] Black Osprey's crew of 36 abandoned ship in heavy weather, however, only eleven survivors were picked up two days later.

On 21 February a Focke Wulf "Condor" of I./KG 40 attacked and damaged a straggler from convoy OB 287, the 6,999 GRT Scottish Standard, killing five of her crew. The crew abandoned ship and 39 survivors were picked up by an escort, HMS Montgomery. On the next day, 22 February, U-96 came upon the abandoned tanker. Although there was a destroyer patrolling the area, U-96 was able to launch two torpedoes, sinking Scottish Standard in position 59°20′N 16°12′W / 59.333°N 16.200°W / 59.333; -16.200.[17] Following the second explosion, HMS Montgomery pursued the U-boat for five hours, dropping 37 depth charges without causing serious damage.

On 23 February 1941, U-96 made contact with convoy OB 288, and proceeded to attack in conjunction with U-69, U-73, U-95, and U-107 as well as the Italian submarine Michele Bianchi. The U-boats sank nine ships, including one escort, three of which were claimed by U-96.[18]

The first, the British 5,457 GRT cargo ship Anglo-Peruvian, was mistaken for an auxiliary cruiser and attacked with two torpedoes at 23:27. The ship sank within three minutes after being hit[19] with the loss of 29 of her crew in position 59°30′N 21°00′W / 59.500°N 21.000°W / 59.500; -21.000. The 17 survivors were later picked up by a British merchant ship. Later the same night, at 01:16 on 24 February, the unescorted British SS Linaria of 3,385 GRT was attacked with a single torpedo. The ship sank 25 minutes after being hit by the torpedo at the stern.[20] All 35 crew members were lost in the attack.[21] An hour after Linaria was attacked, U-96 attacked the British SS Sirikishna of 5,458 GRT, hitting the ship amidships. Six hours later, U-96 launched a second torpedo at the wreck, that had been abandoned by the crew, which included the commodore of OB 288, Rear Admiral R.A.A. Plowden, DSO. There were no survivors.[22]

After escaping the attack of an escort, HMS Churchill, U-96 made for port in St. Nazaire, France, where she arrived after 30 days at sea on 28 February, having sunk seven ships for a total of 45,391 GRT.[23] Upon arrival the commander of U-96, Heinrich Lehmann-Willenbrock, was presented with the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, which he had been awarded two days before. The Wehrmachtbericht had announced on 25 February that Lehmann had sunk 55,600 tons on his last patrol, and a total of 125,580 tons of Allied shipping since taking command of U-96.

Fourth patrol edit

On 12 April 1941 U-96 set to sea again for her fourth war patrol. On 16 April, the U-boat made contact with convoy OB 309 and was immediately attacked by an escort, HMS Rockingham, resulting in some damage to the boat. On 28 April, U-96 encountered her sister U-95 in contact with convoy HX 121. At 19:25 U-96 launched three torpedoes against three tankers in the convoy. The first ship to be hit, Oilfield, a British motor tanker of 8,516 GRT,[24] went up in flames upon being hit, all but eight of her crew of 55 perished in the attack.[25] The second ship, the Norwegian tanker Caledonia, was hit in the engine room, killing seven crew members there. A further five crew members were killed when they drifted into the burning wreck of Oilfield nearby after jumping overboard. The rest of the crew survived when the rescue ship Zaafaran picked up 25 survivors in a lifeboat.[26] The third ship sunk that day, the British steamship Port Hardy of 8,897 GRT, was hit accidentally when the third torpedo missed its target.[27] Before the torpedo hit, U-96 was forced to submerge, as an escort, the Flower-class corvette HMS Gladiolus arrived on the scene. Port Hardy lost one crew member in the attack, while 97 passengers and crew were picked up by Zaafaran.[28]

Shortly after 13:00 the next day, a slightly damaged U-96 was attacked by an aircraft, a Lockheed Hudson from No. 233 Squadron RAF, but the bombs did not cause any further damage. In the evening of 1 May, U-96 unsuccessfully attacked an unescorted freighter, before making contact with another convoy on 4 May. Contact was lost the next day, however. On 7 May, U-96 was spotted by a Short Sunderland shortly after noon, and over the course of two and a half hours, 32 bombs were dropped. Another air attack occurred a week later, on 14 May, when a four-engine aircraft dropped three bombs on the U-boat.[29]

Early on 19 May, the British steamship Empire Ridge of 2,922 GRT, crossed U-96's path 90 nautical miles (170 km; 100 mi) west of Bloody Foreland (Ireland). Mistaking her for a 9000 GRT tanker, U-96 launched two torpedoes.[30] Empire Ridge broke in half when the torpedoes hit, taking with her 31 of a crew of 33.[31]

After 41 days at sea, U-96 returned to Saint Nazaire on 22 May, having sunk four ships for a total of 30,227 GRT.[32]

Fifth patrol edit

The fifth war patrol started on 19 June 1941, when U-96 left Saint Nazaire for the North Atlantic again. Two weeks into the patrol, U-96 made contact with a small convoy. The boat was about 300 nautical miles (560 km; 350 mi) north of the Azores on 5 July 1941 when she found the survey vessel HMS Challenger leading an armed merchant cruiser (AMC) HMS Cathay and SS Anselm, a cargo and passenger liner of 5,954 GRT that had been converted into a troop ship. Also escorting the small convoy were three Flower-class corvettes: HMS Lavender, Petunia and Starwort. U-96 was under the impression that she had hit the survey ship and the AMC; instead, she had struck Anselm twice, sinking her and killing 254 people. Starwort's ASDIC was not working, but Lavender and Petunia counter-attacked with depth charges. The U-boat was seriously damaged and forced to curtail her patrol.[33]

After 21 days at sea, U-96 arrived in Saint Nazaire, having sunk one ship of 5,954 GRT.[34]

Sixth patrol edit

On 2 August 1941, U-96 left for her sixth patrol in the North Atlantic. On 12 August, the U-boat was part of group Greenland. Two weeks later, on 28 August, she joined group Prince-Elector. In early September, U-96 belonged to group Seawolf before returning to base. On 12 September she entered St.Nazaire after 42 days at sea, without attacking any ships.[35]

Seventh patrol edit

On 27 October, U-96 left for her seventh patrol with journalist Lothar-Günther Buchheim aboard and joined group Stoßtrupp three days later. The next day, 31 October, the group made contact with convoy OS 10. U-96 launched four torpedoes at a long range, one of which struck the Dutch SS Bennekom. The ship went down half an hour after being hit, taking nine of her crew of 56 with her.[36] Following the attack, the sloop HMS Lulworth arrived on the scene and forced U-96 under water with gun fire. The U-boat escaped the barrage of 27 depth charges unscathed.[37] The next day, U-96 encountered two more of the escorts, HMS Gorleston and Verbena, but managed to escape again.

The U-boat spent November patrolling the North Atlantic as part of groups Störtebecker and Benecke, until secretly entering the neutral port of Vigo, Spain, and being resupplied by the interned German MV Bessel on 27 November. After leaving Vigo, U-96 made for the Strait of Gibraltar, with orders to enter the Mediterranean. However, late on 30 November the U-boat was spotted by a Fairey Swordfish of 812 Naval Air Squadron and heavily damaged by two bombs dropped by the aircraft. Unable to reach her destination, U-96 made for the port of Saint Nazaire. On the way she encountered the Spanish SS Cabo de Hornos, which returned from South America, after delivering a group of Jewish refugees to the Dutch colony of Curaçao, when Brazil denied them entry.[38] When U-96's torpedo missed, the ship was stopped and her papers checked.[39] On 6 December 1941, after 41 days at sea, U-96 returned to Saint Nazaire, having sunk one ship of 5,998 GRT.[40]

Eighth patrol edit

The boat's eighth patrol saw success when she operated off the Canadian east coast. She sank Lake Osweya near Halifax on 20 February 1942. She was only 500 yd (460 m) from her target when the torpedo was launched.

She sank Torungen off Nova Scotia on 22 February and attacked Kars later the same day. The latter ship broke in two following the torpedo's impact. The bow section quickly sank, but the stern section was beached and declared a total loss.

The submarine's final victory this time out came on 9 March when she sank Tyr about 100 nautical miles (190 km; 120 mi) from Halifax.

Ninth and tenth patrols edit

For the ninth patrol, U-96 left St. Nazaire on 23 April 1942 and returned 73 days later, on 1 July without attacking anything.

On the tenth patrol, the boat damaged F. J. Wolfe on 10 September 1942 (although this ship was able to keep up with her convoy). U-96 also sank Sveve on the same day, as well as Elisabeth van Belgie. It also sank Deläes on the 11th.

Eleventh patrol edit

The boat's final operational patrol commenced with her departure from Saint Nazaire on 26 December 1942. Crossing the Atlantic for the last time, she then came back to the eastern side and after transferring a sick crew-member to U-163 on 3 January 1943, arrived at Königsberg (now Kaliningrad, Russia) on 8 February.

After active service edit

She spent most of the rest of the war as a training vessel. She was decommissioned on 15 February 1945 in Wilhelmshaven.

When US Eighth Air Force attacked Wilhelmshaven on 30 March 1945, U-96 was sunk in Hipper basin. The remains of the U-boat were broken up after the war.[41]

In popular culture edit

Books edit

During 1941, war correspondent Lothar-Günther Buchheim joined U-96 for her seventh patrol. His orders were to photograph and describe the U-boat in action for propaganda purposes. Over 5,000 photographs, most of them taken by Buchheim, survived the war. From his experiences, he wrote a short story, "Die Eichenlaubfahrt" (The Oak-Leaves Patrol) and a 1973 novel which was to become an international best-seller, Das Boot (The Boat), followed in 1976 by U-Boot-Krieg (U-boat War), a nonfiction chronicle of the voyage.

Film edit

In 1981 Wolfgang Petersen created the critically acclaimed film Das Boot based on Buchheim's novel of the same name with several alterations to the plot and characters. Both the novel and the film had a much darker ending than in reality, where the U-boat returns to port only to be destroyed during an air raid with many of her crew killed or wounded. In reality, U-96 survived war service, being decommissioned in February 1945 and converted into a training vessel. U-96 was sunk one month later in March by Allied bombs. The same replica of U-96 was used in Steven Spielberg's 1981 film Raiders of the Lost Ark, but has the number U-26, which in reality was a Type IA U-boat.[citation needed]

Video games edit

In 2019, Deep Water Studio released the video game UBOAT in early access. UBOAT gives the player command of U-96 during the Second World War.[42]

U-96 is also featured as one of the five playable submarines in the video game Wolfpack released by Usurpator AP into early access in 2019.[43]

The U-boat is also featured in the mobile game Azur Lane in an anthropomorphised form.

Wolfpacks edit

U-96 took part in eleven wolfpacks:

  • Hammer (5–12 August 1941)
  • Grönland (12–27 August 1941)
  • Kurfürst (28 August – 2 September 1941)
  • Seewolf (2–10 September 1941)
  • Stosstrupp (30 October – 4 November 1941), with Buchheim present on board
  • Störtebecker (5–19 November 1941)
  • Benecke (19–22 November 1941)
  • Hecht (11 May – 18 June 1942)
  • Stier (29 August – 2 September 1942)
  • Vorwärts (3–25 September 1942)
  • Jaguar (10–20 January 1943)

Summary of raiding history edit

U-96 conducted eleven patrols, sinking 27 ships totalling 181,206 gross register tons (GRT) and damaging four others totalling 33,043 GRT. She also caused one vessel of 8,888 GRT to be declared a total loss.

Date Ship Nationality Tonnage
(GRT)
Convoy Fate[44] Location Deaths
11 December 1940 Rotorua   United Kingdom 10,890 HX 92 Sunk 58°56′N 11°20′W / 58.933°N 11.333°W / 58.933; -11.333
22
11 December 1940 Towa   Netherlands 5,419 HX 92 Sunk 58°50′N 10°10′W / 58.833°N 10.167°W / 58.833; -10.167
18
12 December 1940 Macedonier   Belgium 5,227 HX 92 Sunk 57°52′N 08°42′W / 57.867°N 8.700°W / 57.867; -8.700
4
12 December 1940 Stureholm   Sweden 4,575 HX 92 Sunk 57°50′N 08°40′W / 57.833°N 8.667°W / 57.833; -8.667
32
14 December 1940 Empire Razorbill   United Kingdom 5,118 OB 257 Damaged 59°31′N 13°15′W / 59.517°N 13.250°W / 59.517; -13.250
0
14 December 1940 Western Prince   United Kingdom 10,926 Sunk 59°32′N 17°47′W / 59.533°N 17.783°W / 59.533; -17.783
14
18 December 1940 Pendrecht   Netherlands 10,746 OB 259 Damaged 45°18′N 36°40′W / 45.300°N 36.667°W / 45.300; -36.667
0
16 January 1941 Oropesa   United Kingdom 14,118 Sunk 56°28′N 12°00′W / 56.467°N 12.000°W / 56.467; -12.000
106
17 January 1941 Almeda Star   United Kingdom 14,936 Sunk 58°16′N 13°40′W / 58.267°N 13.667°W / 58.267; -13.667
360
13 February 1941 Arthur F. Corwin   United Kingdom 10,516 HX 106 Sunk 60°25′N 17°11′W / 60.417°N 17.183°W / 60.417; -17.183
46
13 February 1941 Clea   United Kingdom 7,987 HX 106 Sunk 60°25′N 17°10′W / 60.417°N 17.167°W / 60.417; -17.167
59
18 February 1941 Black Osprey   United Kingdom 5,589 HX 107 Sunk 61°30′N 18°10′W / 61.500°N 18.167°W / 61.500; -18.167
25
22 February 1941 Scottish Standard   United Kingdom 6,999 OB 287 Sunk 59°20′N 16°12′W / 59.333°N 16.200°W / 59.333; -16.200
5
23 February 1941 Anglo-Peruvian   United Kingdom 5,457 OB 288 Sunk 59°30′N 21°00′W / 59.500°N 21.000°W / 59.500; -21.000
29
24 February 1941 Linaria   United Kingdom 3,385 OB 288 Sunk 61°00′N 25°00′W / 61.000°N 25.000°W / 61.000; -25.000
34
24 February 1941 Sirikishna   United Kingdom 5,458 OB 288 Sunk 58°00′N 21°00′W / 58.000°N 21.000°W / 58.000; -21.000
43
28 April 1941 Caledonia   Norway 9,892 HX 121 Sunk 60°03′N 16°10′W / 60.050°N 16.167°W / 60.050; -16.167
12
28 April 1941 Oilfield   United Kingdom 8,516 HX 121 Sunk 60°05′N 17°00′W / 60.083°N 17.000°W / 60.083; -17.000
47
28 April 1941 Port Hardy   United Kingdom 8,897 HX 121 Sunk 60°14′N 15°20′W / 60.233°N 15.333°W / 60.233; -15.333
1
19 May 1941 Empire Ridge   United Kingdom 2,922 HG 61 Sunk 54°47′N 11°10′W / 54.783°N 11.167°W / 54.783; -11.167
31
5 July 1941 Anselm   United Kingdom 5,954 Sunk 44°25′N 28°35′W / 44.417°N 28.583°W / 44.417; -28.583
254
31 October 1941 Bennekom   Netherlands 5,998 OS 10 Sunk 51°20′N 23°40′W / 51.333°N 23.667°W / 51.333; -23.667
8
19 February 1942 Empire Seal   United Kingdom 7,965 Sunk 43°14′N 64°45′W / 43.233°N 64.750°W / 43.233; -64.750
1
20 February 1942 Lake Osweya   United States 2,398 Sunk 43°14′N 64°45′W / 43.233°N 64.750°W / 43.233; -64.750
39
22 February 1942 Kars   United Kingdom 8,888 HX 175 Total Loss 44°15′N 63°25′W / 44.250°N 63.417°W / 44.250; -63.417
50
22 February 1942 Torungen   Norway 1,948 Sunk 44°00′N 63°30′W / 44.000°N 63.500°W / 44.000; -63.500
19
9 March 1942 Tyr   Norway 4,265 Sunk 43°40′N 61°10′W / 43.667°N 61.167°W / 43.667; -61.167
13
10 September 1942 Elisabeth van Belgie   Belgium 4,241 ON 127 Sunk 51°30′N 28°25′W / 51.500°N 28.417°W / 51.500; -28.417
1
10 September 1942 F.J. Wolfe   United Kingdom 12,190 ON 127 Damaged 51°30′N 28°25′W / 51.500°N 28.417°W / 51.500; -28.417
0
10 September 1942 Sveve   Norway 6,313 ON 127 Sunk 51°28′N 28°30′W / 51.467°N 28.500°W / 51.467; -28.500
0
11 September 1942 Delães   Portugal 415 Sunk 50°03′N 29°32′W / 50.050°N 29.533°W / 50.050; -29.533
0
25 September 1942 New York *   United Kingdom 4,989 RB 1 Damaged 54°34′N 25°44′W / 54.567°N 25.733°W / 54.567; -25.733
0

*Sunk the next day by U-91 with all hands lost.

References edit

  1. ^ Kemp, Paul (1997). U-Boats Destroyed, German submarine losses in the World Wars. Arms and Armour. p. 241. ISBN 1-85409-515-3.
  2. ^ a b c d Gröner 1991, pp. 43–46.
  3. ^ "Historisches Marinearchiv - ASS". Retrieved 13 August 2016.
  4. ^ "Historisches Marinearchiv - ASS". Retrieved 13 August 2016.
  5. ^ "Historisches Marinearchiv - ASS". Retrieved 13 August 2016.
  6. ^ "Historisches Marinearchiv - ASS". Retrieved 13 August 2016.
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  11. ^ "Historisches Marinearchiv - ASS". Retrieved 13 August 2016.
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  13. ^ "Patrol of German U-boat U-96 from 9 Jan 1941 to 22 Jan 1941 - Kriegsmarine U-boat patrols - uboat.net". Retrieved 13 August 2016.
  14. ^ "Historisches Marinearchiv - ASS". Retrieved 13 August 2016.
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  22. ^ "Sirikishna (British Steam merchant) - Ships hit by German U-boats during WWII - uboat.net". Retrieved 13 August 2016.
  23. ^ "Patrol of German U-boat U-96 from 30 Jan 1941 to 28 Feb 1941 - Kriegsmarine U-boat patrols - uboat.net". Retrieved 13 August 2016.
  24. ^ "Historisches Marinearchiv - ASS". Retrieved 13 August 2016.
  25. ^ "Oilfield (British Motor tanker) - Ships hit by German U-boats during WWII - uboat.net". Retrieved 13 August 2016.
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  29. ^ . Archived from the original on 13 September 2016. Retrieved 13 August 2016.
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  31. ^ "Empire Ridge (British Steam merchant) - Ships hit by German U-boats during WWII - uboat.net". Retrieved 13 August 2016.
  32. ^ "Patrol of German U-boat U-96 from 12 Apr 1941 to 22 May 1941 - Kriegsmarine U-boat patrols - uboat.net". Retrieved 13 August 2016.
  33. ^ Malcolm 2013, pp. 51–.
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  35. ^ "Patrol of German U-boat U-96 from 2 Aug 1941 to 12 Sep 1941 - Kriegsmarine U-boat patrols - uboat.net". Retrieved 13 August 2016.
  36. ^ "Bennekom (Dutch Steam merchant) - Ships hit by German U-boats during WWII - uboat.net". Retrieved 13 August 2016.
  37. ^ "Patrol of German U-boat U-96 from 27 Oct 1941 to 6 Dec 1941 - Kriegsmarine U-boat patrols - uboat.net". Retrieved 13 August 2016.
  38. ^ Lesser, Jeffrey (1995). Welcoming the Undesirables. Brazil and the Jewish Question. Berkeley: University of California Press. pp. 140–142.
  39. ^ "Historisches Marinearchiv - Duikboot". Retrieved 13 August 2016.
  40. ^ "Patrol of German U-boat U-96 from 27 Oct 1941 to 6 Dec 1941 - Kriegsmarine U-boat patrols - uboat.net". Retrieved 13 August 2016.
  41. ^ Busch & Röll 1999, p. 329.
  42. ^ "UBOAT - A WW2 Survival Sandbox". Kickstarter. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
  43. ^ "Wolfpack Steam store page". Retrieved 14 April 2022.
  44. ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit by U-96". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net.

Bibliography edit

  • 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. ISBN 1-55750-186-6.
  • Busch, Rainer; Röll, Hans-Joachim (1999). Der U-Boot-Krieg, 1939-1945: Deutsche U-Boot-Verluste von September 1939 bis Mai 1945 [The U-Boat War, 1939-1945: German U-boat losses from September 1939 to May 1945] (in German). Vol. IV. Hamburg, Berlin, Bonn: Mittler. ISBN 3-8132-0514-2.
  • Edwards, Bernard (1996). Dönitz and the Wolf Packs - The U-boats at War. Cassell Military Classics. pp. 66, 105, 108. ISBN 0-304-35203-9.
  • 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. ISBN 0-85177-593-4.
  • Malcolm, Ian M (1 July 2013). Shipping Company Losses of the Second World War. History Press Limited. ISBN 978-0-7509-5371-9.

External links edit

  • Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type VIIC boat U-96". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 26 December 2014.
  • Hofmann, Markus. "U 96". Deutsche U-Boote 1935-1945 - u-boot-archiv.de (in German). Retrieved 26 December 2014.
  • Collection of Lothar-Gunther Buchheim's photos from his U-96 patrol
  • "U-boat Archive - U-boat KTB - U-96 third War Patrol". Retrieved 13 April 2017.
  • "U-boat Archive - U-boat KTB - U-96 seventh War Patrol". Retrieved 13 April 2017.

german, submarine, 1940, other, ships, with, same, name, german, submarine, german, submarine, type, viic, boat, german, navy, kriegsmarine, during, world, made, famous, after, lothar, günther, buchheim, 1973, bestselling, novel, boot, 1981, oscar, nominated, . For other ships with the same name see German submarine U 96 German submarine U 96 was a Type VIIC U boat of the German Navy Kriegsmarine during World War II It was made famous after the war in Lothar Gunther Buchheim s 1973 bestselling novel Das Boot and the 1981 Oscar nominated film adaptation of the same name both based on his experience on the submarine as a war correspondent in 1941 Scale model of U 96HistoryNazi GermanyNameU 96Ordered30 May 1938BuilderGermaniawerft KielYard number601Laid down16 September 1939Launched1 August 1940Commissioned14 September 1940Decommissioned15 February 1945FateSunk on 30 March 1945 at Wilhelmshaven by bombs during US air raid 1 BadgeGeneral characteristicsClass and typeType VIIC submarineDisplacement769 tonnes 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 hullBeam6 20 m 20 ft 4 in o a 4 70 m 15 ft 5 in pressure hullHeight9 60 m 31 ft 6 in 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 motorsSpeed17 7 knots 32 8 km h 20 4 mph surfaced 7 6 knots 14 1 km h 8 7 mph submergedRange8 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 submergedTest depth230 m 750 ft Crush depth 250 295 m 820 968 ft Complement4 officers 40 56 enlistedArmament5 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 7th U boat Flotilla 14 September 1940 31 March 1943 24th U boat Flotilla 1 April 1943 30 June 1944 22nd U boat Flotilla 1 July 1944 15 February 1945Identification codes M 29 052Commanders Kptlt Heinrich Lehmann Willenbrock 14 September 1940 1 April 1942 Oblt z S Hans Jurgen Hellriegel 28 March 1942 15 March 1943 Oblt z S Wilhelm Peters 16 March 1943 30 June 1944 Oblt z S Horst Willner February June 1944 Oblt z S Robert Rix 1 July 1944 15 February 1945Operations 11 patrols 1st patrol 4 29 December 1940 2nd patrol 9 22 January 1941 3rd patrol 30 January 28 February 1941 4th patrol 12 April 22 May 1941 5th patrol 19 June 9 July 1941 6th patrol 2 August 12 September 1941 7th patrol 27 October 6 December 1941 8th patrol 31 January 23 March 1942 9th patrol 23 April 1 July 1942 10th patrol 24 August 5 October 1942 11th patrol 26 December 1942 8 February 1943Victories 27 merchant ships sunk 181 206 GRT 1 merchant ship total loss 8 888 GRT 4 merchant ships damaged 33 043 GRT The keel was laid down on 16 September 1939 by Germaniawerft of Kiel as yard number 601 She was commissioned on 14 September 1940 with Kapitanleutnant Heinrich Lehmann Willenbrock in command Lehmann Willenbrock was relieved in March 1942 by Oberleutnant zur See Hans Jurgen Hellriegel who was relieved in turn in March 1943 by Oblt z S Wilhelm Peters In February 1944 Oblt z S Horst Willner took command turning the boat over to Oblt z S Robert Rix in June of that year Rix commanded the boat until 15 February 1945 Contents 1 Design 2 Service history 2 1 First patrol 2 2 Second patrol 2 3 Third patrol 2 4 Fourth patrol 2 5 Fifth patrol 2 6 Sixth patrol 2 7 Seventh patrol 2 8 Eighth patrol 2 9 Ninth and tenth patrols 2 10 Eleventh patrol 2 11 After active service 3 In popular culture 3 1 Books 3 2 Film 3 3 Video games 4 Wolfpacks 5 Summary of raiding history 6 References 7 Bibliography 8 External linksDesign editGerman Type VIIC submarines were preceded by the shorter Type VIIB submarines U 96 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 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 AEG GU 460 8 27 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 96 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 Service history editAs part of the 7th U boat Flotilla stationed in Saint Nazaire on the French Atlantic coast U 96 conducted 11 patrols sinking 27 ships totalling 181 206 gross register tons GRT and damaging four others totalling 33 043 GRT She also caused one vessel of 8 888 GRT to be declared a total loss The boat was a member of eleven wolfpacks On 30 March 1945 U 96 was sunk by US bombs while in the submarine pens in Wilhelmshaven In her entire career she suffered no casualties to her crew The boat was also known for her emblem a green laughing sawfish It became the symbol of the 9th Flotilla after Lehmann Willenbrock took command in March 1942 First patrol edit U 96 departed Kiel on 4 December 1940 on her first patrol Her route took her across the North Sea through the gap between the Faroe and Shetland Islands and into the North Atlantic On 11 December U 96 made contact with the scattered convoy HX 92 and attacked the British passenger ship Rotorua of 10 890 GRT sinking her with a single torpedo launched at 15 12 in position 58 56 N 11 20 W 58 933 N 11 333 W 58 933 11 333 3 Most of her passengers and crew survived her master the convoy commodore and 21 others however perished Later the same day U 96 launched a torpedo at the Dutch merchant ship Towa of 5 419 GRT hitting her amidships The crippled ship did not immediately sink so at 21 30 U 96 launched a second torpedo After the second hit the ship still stayed afloat so the U boat began shelling her half an hour later The ship finally went under at 22 42 in position 58 50 N 10 10 W 58 833 N 10 167 W 58 833 10 167 4 The 37 crew members of Towa abandoned ship in three lifeboats one of which capsized drowning its occupants 19 survivors were later picked up by an escort A torpedo attack on Cardita of 8 237 GRT was unsuccessful In the early hours of 12 December U 96 attacked the Swedish steamer Stureholm of 4 575 GRT sinking her with a single torpedo launched at 01 56 in position 57 50 N 8 40 W 57 833 N 8 667 W 57 833 8 667 5 Two and a half hours later the un escorted Belgian Macedonier was sighted and attacked with a single torpedo which hit amidships sinking her within 10 minutes in position 57 52 N 8 42 W 57 867 N 8 700 W 57 867 8 700 6 The crew had immediately abandoned ship and all but four out of 47 survived Two days later on 14 December U 96 sank the British motor ship Western Prince of 10 926 GRT in position 59 32 N 17 47 W 59 533 N 17 783 W 59 533 17 783 with two torpedoes 7 Later that day at 21 02 U 96 fired at the British steamer Empire Razorbill 8 trying to stop her After six rounds from her deck gun which resulted in three hits U 96 abandoned the attack on the armed merchantman due to bad weather On 18 December U 96 encountered the Dutch motor tanker Pendrecht and attacked her with a single torpedo at 16 15 The ship was hit astern but remained afloat 9 The crew which had initially abandoned the ship was able to re board and sail her to Rothesay escorted by a British destroyer U 96 which had lost contact during the night remained in the general area encountering a British battleship and her escorts but could not attack After 26 days at sea U 96 arrived in Lorient in occupied France on 29 December having sunk five ships for a total of 37 037 GRT and damaging a further two ships for a total of 15 864 GRT 10 Second patrol edit On 9 January 1941 U 96 departed Lorient for her second war patrol She returned to the waters west of Scotland where she attacked the British SS Oropesa of 14 118 GRT early in the morning of 16 January Three torpedoes were launched by U 96 in the space of two hours finally sinking the ship in position 56 28 N 12 0 W 56 467 N 12 000 W 56 467 12 000 at 06 16 11 One hundred and six passengers and crew perished while 143 survivors were picked up by British destroyers The next day U 96 encountered the un escorted British passenger steamer Almeda Star of 14 936 GRT A first torpedo was launched at 07 45 hitting the ship amidships causing her to stop A second torpedo hit the ship astern 20 minutes later but still did not sink Two more torpedoes were needed before Almeda Star sank in position 58 16 N 13 40 W 58 267 N 13 667 W 58 267 13 667 three minutes after the fourth and last torpedo was launched at 13 55 12 All passengers and crew in total 360 were lost U 96 returned to base on 22 January 1941 and once more docked in Lorient after 14 days at sea sinking two ships for a total of 29 054 GRT 13 Third patrol edit On 30 January 1941 U 96 left Lorient for her third war patrol in the North Atlantic Two weeks into the patrol she sighted a straggler from convoy HX 106 s the British motor tanker Clea The U boat attacked shortly after 15 00 with a single torpedo which hit Clea amidships snapping her in half and setting the wreck on fire The two halves were then sunk with artillery 14 Later the same day another tanker Arthur F Corwin of 10 516 GRT was sighted The tanker had already been hit by torpedoes from U 103 and was lagging behind the same convoy as Clea U 96 launched two more torpedoes into the burning wreck sinking her in position 60 25 N 17 11 W 60 417 N 17 183 W 60 417 17 183 15 All 59 crew members perished in the attack In the morning escorts of HX 106 spotted and attacked U 96 with four depth charges but the U boat escaped without damage At 02 27 on 18 February the British Black Osprey of 5 589 GRT part of HX 107 s was attacked with a torpedo A second torpedo sank the ship twelve minutes later 16 Black Osprey s crew of 36 abandoned ship in heavy weather however only eleven survivors were picked up two days later On 21 February a Focke Wulf Condor of I KG 40 attacked and damaged a straggler from convoy OB 287 the 6 999 GRT Scottish Standard killing five of her crew The crew abandoned ship and 39 survivors were picked up by an escort HMS Montgomery On the next day 22 February U 96 came upon the abandoned tanker Although there was a destroyer patrolling the area U 96 was able to launch two torpedoes sinking Scottish Standard in position 59 20 N 16 12 W 59 333 N 16 200 W 59 333 16 200 17 Following the second explosion HMS Montgomery pursued the U boat for five hours dropping 37 depth charges without causing serious damage On 23 February 1941 U 96 made contact with convoy OB 288 and proceeded to attack in conjunction with U 69 U 73 U 95 and U 107 as well as the Italian submarine Michele Bianchi The U boats sank nine ships including one escort three of which were claimed by U 96 18 The first the British 5 457 GRT cargo ship Anglo Peruvian was mistaken for an auxiliary cruiser and attacked with two torpedoes at 23 27 The ship sank within three minutes after being hit 19 with the loss of 29 of her crew in position 59 30 N 21 00 W 59 500 N 21 000 W 59 500 21 000 The 17 survivors were later picked up by a British merchant ship Later the same night at 01 16 on 24 February the unescorted British SS Linaria of 3 385 GRT was attacked with a single torpedo The ship sank 25 minutes after being hit by the torpedo at the stern 20 All 35 crew members were lost in the attack 21 An hour after Linaria was attacked U 96 attacked the British SS Sirikishna of 5 458 GRT hitting the ship amidships Six hours later U 96 launched a second torpedo at the wreck that had been abandoned by the crew which included the commodore of OB 288 Rear Admiral R A A Plowden DSO There were no survivors 22 After escaping the attack of an escort HMS Churchill U 96 made for port in St Nazaire France where she arrived after 30 days at sea on 28 February having sunk seven ships for a total of 45 391 GRT 23 Upon arrival the commander of U 96 Heinrich Lehmann Willenbrock was presented with the Knight s Cross of the Iron Cross which he had been awarded two days before The Wehrmachtbericht had announced on 25 February that Lehmann had sunk 55 600 tons on his last patrol and a total of 125 580 tons of Allied shipping since taking command of U 96 Fourth patrol edit On 12 April 1941 U 96 set to sea again for her fourth war patrol On 16 April the U boat made contact with convoy OB 309 and was immediately attacked by an escort HMS Rockingham resulting in some damage to the boat On 28 April U 96 encountered her sister U 95 in contact with convoy HX 121 At 19 25 U 96 launched three torpedoes against three tankers in the convoy The first ship to be hit Oilfield a British motor tanker of 8 516 GRT 24 went up in flames upon being hit all but eight of her crew of 55 perished in the attack 25 The second ship the Norwegian tanker Caledonia was hit in the engine room killing seven crew members there A further five crew members were killed when they drifted into the burning wreck of Oilfield nearby after jumping overboard The rest of the crew survived when the rescue ship Zaafaran picked up 25 survivors in a lifeboat 26 The third ship sunk that day the British steamship Port Hardy of 8 897 GRT was hit accidentally when the third torpedo missed its target 27 Before the torpedo hit U 96 was forced to submerge as an escort the Flower class corvette HMS Gladiolus arrived on the scene Port Hardy lost one crew member in the attack while 97 passengers and crew were picked up by Zaafaran 28 Shortly after 13 00 the next day a slightly damaged U 96 was attacked by an aircraft a Lockheed Hudson from No 233 Squadron RAF but the bombs did not cause any further damage In the evening of 1 May U 96 unsuccessfully attacked an unescorted freighter before making contact with another convoy on 4 May Contact was lost the next day however On 7 May U 96 was spotted by a Short Sunderland shortly after noon and over the course of two and a half hours 32 bombs were dropped Another air attack occurred a week later on 14 May when a four engine aircraft dropped three bombs on the U boat 29 Early on 19 May the British steamship Empire Ridge of 2 922 GRT crossed U 96 s path 90 nautical miles 170 km 100 mi west of Bloody Foreland Ireland Mistaking her for a 9000 GRT tanker U 96 launched two torpedoes 30 Empire Ridge broke in half when the torpedoes hit taking with her 31 of a crew of 33 31 After 41 days at sea U 96 returned to Saint Nazaire on 22 May having sunk four ships for a total of 30 227 GRT 32 Fifth patrol edit The fifth war patrol started on 19 June 1941 when U 96 left Saint Nazaire for the North Atlantic again Two weeks into the patrol U 96 made contact with a small convoy The boat was about 300 nautical miles 560 km 350 mi north of the Azores on 5 July 1941 when she found the survey vessel HMS Challenger leading an armed merchant cruiser AMC HMS Cathay and SS Anselm a cargo and passenger liner of 5 954 GRT that had been converted into a troop ship Also escorting the small convoy were three Flower class corvettes HMS Lavender Petunia and Starwort U 96 was under the impression that she had hit the survey ship and the AMC instead she had struck Anselm twice sinking her and killing 254 people Starwort s ASDIC was not working but Lavender and Petunia counter attacked with depth charges The U boat was seriously damaged and forced to curtail her patrol 33 After 21 days at sea U 96 arrived in Saint Nazaire having sunk one ship of 5 954 GRT 34 Sixth patrol edit On 2 August 1941 U 96 left for her sixth patrol in the North Atlantic On 12 August the U boat was part of group Greenland Two weeks later on 28 August she joined group Prince Elector In early September U 96 belonged to group Seawolf before returning to base On 12 September she entered St Nazaire after 42 days at sea without attacking any ships 35 Seventh patrol edit On 27 October U 96 left for her seventh patrol with journalist Lothar Gunther Buchheim aboard and joined group Stosstrupp three days later The next day 31 October the group made contact with convoy OS 10 U 96 launched four torpedoes at a long range one of which struck the Dutch SS Bennekom The ship went down half an hour after being hit taking nine of her crew of 56 with her 36 Following the attack the sloop HMS Lulworth arrived on the scene and forced U 96 under water with gun fire The U boat escaped the barrage of 27 depth charges unscathed 37 The next day U 96 encountered two more of the escorts HMS Gorleston and Verbena but managed to escape again The U boat spent November patrolling the North Atlantic as part of groups Stortebecker and Benecke until secretly entering the neutral port of Vigo Spain and being resupplied by the interned German MV Bessel on 27 November After leaving Vigo U 96 made for the Strait of Gibraltar with orders to enter the Mediterranean However late on 30 November the U boat was spotted by a Fairey Swordfish of 812 Naval Air Squadron and heavily damaged by two bombs dropped by the aircraft Unable to reach her destination U 96 made for the port of Saint Nazaire On the way she encountered the Spanish SS Cabo de Hornos which returned from South America after delivering a group of Jewish refugees to the Dutch colony of Curacao when Brazil denied them entry 38 When U 96 s torpedo missed the ship was stopped and her papers checked 39 On 6 December 1941 after 41 days at sea U 96 returned to Saint Nazaire having sunk one ship of 5 998 GRT 40 Eighth patrol edit The boat s eighth patrol saw success when she operated off the Canadian east coast She sank Lake Osweya near Halifax on 20 February 1942 She was only 500 yd 460 m from her target when the torpedo was launched She sank Torungen off Nova Scotia on 22 February and attacked Kars later the same day The latter ship broke in two following the torpedo s impact The bow section quickly sank but the stern section was beached and declared a total loss The submarine s final victory this time out came on 9 March when she sank Tyr about 100 nautical miles 190 km 120 mi from Halifax Ninth and tenth patrols edit For the ninth patrol U 96 left St Nazaire on 23 April 1942 and returned 73 days later on 1 July without attacking anything On the tenth patrol the boat damaged F J Wolfe on 10 September 1942 although this ship was able to keep up with her convoy U 96 also sank Sveve on the same day as well as Elisabeth van Belgie It also sank Delaes on the 11th Eleventh patrol edit The boat s final operational patrol commenced with her departure from Saint Nazaire on 26 December 1942 Crossing the Atlantic for the last time she then came back to the eastern side and after transferring a sick crew member to U 163 on 3 January 1943 arrived at Konigsberg now Kaliningrad Russia on 8 February After active service edit She spent most of the rest of the war as a training vessel She was decommissioned on 15 February 1945 in Wilhelmshaven When US Eighth Air Force attacked Wilhelmshaven on 30 March 1945 U 96 was sunk in Hipper basin The remains of the U boat were broken up after the war 41 In popular culture editBooks edit During 1941 war correspondent Lothar Gunther Buchheim joined U 96 for her seventh patrol His orders were to photograph and describe the U boat in action for propaganda purposes Over 5 000 photographs most of them taken by Buchheim survived the war From his experiences he wrote a short story Die Eichenlaubfahrt The Oak Leaves Patrol and a 1973 novel which was to become an international best seller Das Boot The Boat followed in 1976 by U Boot Krieg U boat War a nonfiction chronicle of the voyage Film edit Main article Das Boot In 1981 Wolfgang Petersen created the critically acclaimed film Das Boot based on Buchheim s novel of the same name with several alterations to the plot and characters Both the novel and the film had a much darker ending than in reality where the U boat returns to port only to be destroyed during an air raid with many of her crew killed or wounded In reality U 96 survived war service being decommissioned in February 1945 and converted into a training vessel U 96 was sunk one month later in March by Allied bombs The same replica of U 96 was used in Steven Spielberg s 1981 film Raiders of the Lost Ark but has the number U 26 which in reality was a Type IA U boat citation needed Video games edit Main article UBOAT In 2019 Deep Water Studio released the video game UBOAT in early access UBOAT gives the player command of U 96 during the Second World War 42 U 96 is also featured as one of the five playable submarines in the video game Wolfpack released by Usurpator AP into early access in 2019 43 The U boat is also featured in the mobile game Azur Lane in an anthropomorphised form Wolfpacks editU 96 took part in eleven wolfpacks Hammer 5 12 August 1941 Gronland 12 27 August 1941 Kurfurst 28 August 2 September 1941 Seewolf 2 10 September 1941 Stosstrupp 30 October 4 November 1941 with Buchheim present on board Stortebecker 5 19 November 1941 Benecke 19 22 November 1941 Hecht 11 May 18 June 1942 Stier 29 August 2 September 1942 Vorwarts 3 25 September 1942 Jaguar 10 20 January 1943 Summary of raiding history editU 96 conducted eleven patrols sinking 27 ships totalling 181 206 gross register tons GRT and damaging four others totalling 33 043 GRT She also caused one vessel of 8 888 GRT to be declared a total loss Date Ship Nationality Tonnage GRT Convoy Fate 44 Location Deaths11 December 1940 Rotorua nbsp United Kingdom 10 890 HX 92 Sunk 58 56 N 11 20 W 58 933 N 11 333 W 58 933 11 333 2211 December 1940 Towa nbsp Netherlands 5 419 HX 92 Sunk 58 50 N 10 10 W 58 833 N 10 167 W 58 833 10 167 1812 December 1940 Macedonier nbsp Belgium 5 227 HX 92 Sunk 57 52 N 08 42 W 57 867 N 8 700 W 57 867 8 700 412 December 1940 Stureholm nbsp Sweden 4 575 HX 92 Sunk 57 50 N 08 40 W 57 833 N 8 667 W 57 833 8 667 3214 December 1940 Empire Razorbill nbsp United Kingdom 5 118 OB 257 Damaged 59 31 N 13 15 W 59 517 N 13 250 W 59 517 13 250 014 December 1940 Western Prince nbsp United Kingdom 10 926 Sunk 59 32 N 17 47 W 59 533 N 17 783 W 59 533 17 783 1418 December 1940 Pendrecht nbsp Netherlands 10 746 OB 259 Damaged 45 18 N 36 40 W 45 300 N 36 667 W 45 300 36 667 016 January 1941 Oropesa nbsp United Kingdom 14 118 Sunk 56 28 N 12 00 W 56 467 N 12 000 W 56 467 12 000 10617 January 1941 Almeda Star nbsp United Kingdom 14 936 Sunk 58 16 N 13 40 W 58 267 N 13 667 W 58 267 13 667 36013 February 1941 Arthur F Corwin nbsp United Kingdom 10 516 HX 106 Sunk 60 25 N 17 11 W 60 417 N 17 183 W 60 417 17 183 4613 February 1941 Clea nbsp United Kingdom 7 987 HX 106 Sunk 60 25 N 17 10 W 60 417 N 17 167 W 60 417 17 167 5918 February 1941 Black Osprey nbsp United Kingdom 5 589 HX 107 Sunk 61 30 N 18 10 W 61 500 N 18 167 W 61 500 18 167 2522 February 1941 Scottish Standard nbsp United Kingdom 6 999 OB 287 Sunk 59 20 N 16 12 W 59 333 N 16 200 W 59 333 16 200 523 February 1941 Anglo Peruvian nbsp United Kingdom 5 457 OB 288 Sunk 59 30 N 21 00 W 59 500 N 21 000 W 59 500 21 000 2924 February 1941 Linaria nbsp United Kingdom 3 385 OB 288 Sunk 61 00 N 25 00 W 61 000 N 25 000 W 61 000 25 000 3424 February 1941 Sirikishna nbsp United Kingdom 5 458 OB 288 Sunk 58 00 N 21 00 W 58 000 N 21 000 W 58 000 21 000 4328 April 1941 Caledonia nbsp Norway 9 892 HX 121 Sunk 60 03 N 16 10 W 60 050 N 16 167 W 60 050 16 167 1228 April 1941 Oilfield nbsp United Kingdom 8 516 HX 121 Sunk 60 05 N 17 00 W 60 083 N 17 000 W 60 083 17 000 4728 April 1941 Port Hardy nbsp United Kingdom 8 897 HX 121 Sunk 60 14 N 15 20 W 60 233 N 15 333 W 60 233 15 333 119 May 1941 Empire Ridge nbsp United Kingdom 2 922 HG 61 Sunk 54 47 N 11 10 W 54 783 N 11 167 W 54 783 11 167 315 July 1941 Anselm nbsp United Kingdom 5 954 Sunk 44 25 N 28 35 W 44 417 N 28 583 W 44 417 28 583 25431 October 1941 Bennekom nbsp Netherlands 5 998 OS 10 Sunk 51 20 N 23 40 W 51 333 N 23 667 W 51 333 23 667 819 February 1942 Empire Seal nbsp United Kingdom 7 965 Sunk 43 14 N 64 45 W 43 233 N 64 750 W 43 233 64 750 120 February 1942 Lake Osweya nbsp United States 2 398 Sunk 43 14 N 64 45 W 43 233 N 64 750 W 43 233 64 750 3922 February 1942 Kars nbsp United Kingdom 8 888 HX 175 Total Loss 44 15 N 63 25 W 44 250 N 63 417 W 44 250 63 417 5022 February 1942 Torungen nbsp Norway 1 948 Sunk 44 00 N 63 30 W 44 000 N 63 500 W 44 000 63 500 199 March 1942 Tyr nbsp Norway 4 265 Sunk 43 40 N 61 10 W 43 667 N 61 167 W 43 667 61 167 1310 September 1942 Elisabeth van Belgie nbsp Belgium 4 241 ON 127 Sunk 51 30 N 28 25 W 51 500 N 28 417 W 51 500 28 417 110 September 1942 F J Wolfe nbsp United Kingdom 12 190 ON 127 Damaged 51 30 N 28 25 W 51 500 N 28 417 W 51 500 28 417 010 September 1942 Sveve nbsp Norway 6 313 ON 127 Sunk 51 28 N 28 30 W 51 467 N 28 500 W 51 467 28 500 011 September 1942 Delaes nbsp Portugal 415 Sunk 50 03 N 29 32 W 50 050 N 29 533 W 50 050 29 533 025 September 1942 New York nbsp United Kingdom 4 989 RB 1 Damaged 54 34 N 25 44 W 54 567 N 25 733 W 54 567 25 733 0 Sunk the next day by U 91 with all hands lost References edit Kemp Paul 1997 U Boats Destroyed German submarine losses in the World Wars Arms and Armour p 241 ISBN 1 85409 515 3 a b c d Groner 1991 pp 43 46 Historisches Marinearchiv ASS Retrieved 13 August 2016 Historisches Marinearchiv ASS Retrieved 13 August 2016 Historisches Marinearchiv ASS Retrieved 13 August 2016 Historisches Marinearchiv ASS Retrieved 13 August 2016 Historisches Marinearchiv ASS Retrieved 13 August 2016 Historisches Marinearchiv ASS Retrieved 13 August 2016 Historisches Marinearchiv ASS Retrieved 13 August 2016 Patrol of German U boat U 96 from 4 Dec 1940 to 29 Dec 1940 Kriegsmarine U boat patrols uboat net Retrieved 13 August 2016 Historisches Marinearchiv ASS Retrieved 13 August 2016 Historisches Marinearchiv ASS Retrieved 13 August 2016 Patrol of German U boat U 96 from 9 Jan 1941 to 22 Jan 1941 Kriegsmarine U boat patrols uboat net Retrieved 13 August 2016 Historisches Marinearchiv ASS Retrieved 13 August 2016 Historisches Marinearchiv ASS Retrieved 13 August 2016 Historisches Marinearchiv ASS Retrieved 13 August 2016 Historisches Marinearchiv ASS Retrieved 13 August 2016 Convoy OB 288 Convoy Battles German U boat Operations uboat net Retrieved 13 August 2016 Historisches Marinearchiv ASS Retrieved 13 August 2016 Historisches Marinearchiv ASS Retrieved 13 August 2016 Linaria British Steam merchant Ships hit by German U boats during WWII uboat net Retrieved 13 August 2016 Sirikishna British Steam merchant Ships hit by German U boats during WWII uboat net Retrieved 13 August 2016 Patrol of German U boat U 96 from 30 Jan 1941 to 28 Feb 1941 Kriegsmarine U boat patrols uboat net Retrieved 13 August 2016 Historisches Marinearchiv ASS Retrieved 13 August 2016 Oilfield British Motor tanker Ships hit by German U boats during WWII uboat net Retrieved 13 August 2016 Caledonia Norwegian Motor tanker Ships hit by German U boats during WWII uboat net Retrieved 13 August 2016 Historisches Marinearchiv ASS Retrieved 13 August 2016 Port Hardy British Steam merchant Ships hit by German U boats during WWII uboat net Retrieved 13 August 2016 Historisches Marinearchiv Duikboot Archived from the original on 13 September 2016 Retrieved 13 August 2016 Historisches Marinearchiv ASS Retrieved 13 August 2016 Empire Ridge British Steam merchant Ships hit by German U boats during WWII uboat net Retrieved 13 August 2016 Patrol of German U boat U 96 from 12 Apr 1941 to 22 May 1941 Kriegsmarine U boat patrols uboat net Retrieved 13 August 2016 Malcolm 2013 pp 51 Patrol of German U boat U 96 from 19 Jun 1941 to 9 Jul 1941 Kriegsmarine U boat patrols uboat net Retrieved 13 August 2016 Patrol of German U boat U 96 from 2 Aug 1941 to 12 Sep 1941 Kriegsmarine U boat patrols uboat net Retrieved 13 August 2016 Bennekom Dutch Steam merchant Ships hit by German U boats during WWII uboat net Retrieved 13 August 2016 Patrol of German U boat U 96 from 27 Oct 1941 to 6 Dec 1941 Kriegsmarine U boat patrols uboat net Retrieved 13 August 2016 Lesser Jeffrey 1995 Welcoming the Undesirables Brazil and the Jewish Question Berkeley University of California Press pp 140 142 Historisches Marinearchiv Duikboot Retrieved 13 August 2016 Patrol of German U boat U 96 from 27 Oct 1941 to 6 Dec 1941 Kriegsmarine U boat patrols uboat net Retrieved 13 August 2016 Busch amp Roll 1999 p 329 UBOAT A WW2 Survival Sandbox Kickstarter Retrieved 4 May 2019 Wolfpack Steam store page Retrieved 14 April 2022 Helgason Gudmundur Ships hit by U 96 German U boats of WWII uboat net 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 Der U Boot Krieg 1939 1945 Deutsche U Boot Verluste von September 1939 bis Mai 1945 The U Boat War 1939 1945 German U boat losses from September 1939 to May 1945 in German Vol IV Hamburg Berlin Bonn Mittler ISBN 3 8132 0514 2 Edwards Bernard 1996 Donitz and the Wolf Packs The U boats at War Cassell Military Classics pp 66 105 108 ISBN 0 304 35203 9 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 Malcolm Ian M 1 July 2013 Shipping Company Losses of the Second World War History Press Limited ISBN 978 0 7509 5371 9 External links editHelgason Gudmundur The Type VIIC boat U 96 German U boats of WWII uboat net Retrieved 26 December 2014 Hofmann Markus U 96 Deutsche U Boote 1935 1945 u boot archiv de in German Retrieved 26 December 2014 Collection of Lothar Gunther Buchheim s photos from his U 96 patrol U boat Archive U boat KTB U 96 third War Patrol Retrieved 13 April 2017 U boat Archive U boat KTB U 96 seventh War Patrol Retrieved 13 April 2017 Portals nbsp Military of Germany nbsp World War IIGerman submarine U 96 1940 at Wikipedia s sister projects nbsp Media from Commons Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title German submarine U 96 1940 amp oldid 1180567109, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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