German submarine U-200
Encyclopedia
German submarine U-200 was a Type IXD2 U-boat
U-boat
U-boat is the anglicized version of the German word U-Boot , itself an abbreviation of Unterseeboot , and refers to military submarines operated by Germany, particularly in World War I and World War II...
of the German
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
Kriegsmarine
Kriegsmarine
The Kriegsmarine was the name of the German Navy during the Nazi regime . It superseded the Kaiserliche Marine of World War I and the post-war Reichsmarine. The Kriegsmarine was one of three official branches of the Wehrmacht, the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany.The Kriegsmarine grew rapidly...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. U-200 was sunk southwest of Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
in position 58°15′N 25°25′W by depth charges from a British Consolidated B-24 Liberator of No. 120 Squadron RAF
No. 120 Squadron RAF
No. 120 Squadron of the Royal Air Force operated the Nimrod MR2, based at RAF Kinloss, Moray, Scotland until the type's withdrawal in March 2010.-Formation in WWI:...
. All 68 souls aboard, including seven members of the German special forces 'Brandenburg' unit, were lost.
The submarine was laid down on 3 November 1941 at the AG Weser
AG Weser
Aktien-Gesellschaft Weser was one of the great German shipbuilding companies, located at the Weser River in Bremen. Founded in 1873 it was finally closed in 1983. Altogether, AG Weser built about 1400 ships of different types, including many war ships...
yard at Bremen
Bremen
The City Municipality of Bremen is a Hanseatic city in northwestern Germany. A commercial and industrial city with a major port on the river Weser, Bremen is part of the Bremen-Oldenburg metropolitan area . Bremen is the second most populous city in North Germany and tenth in Germany.Bremen is...
, launched on 10 August 1942, and commissioned on 22 December 1942. After training with 4th U-boat Flotilla at Stettin
Szczecin
Szczecin , is the capital city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in Poland. It is the country's seventh-largest city and the largest seaport in Poland on the Baltic Sea. As of June 2009 the population was 406,427....
, U-200 was transferred to 12th U-boat Flotilla for front-line service from 1 June 1943.
Service History
U-200Kiel
Kiel is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 238,049 .Kiel is approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the north of Germany, the southeast of the Jutland peninsula, and the southwestern shore of the...
and sailed north of the British Isles into the Atlantic Ocean. On 24 June 1943 the U-boat was located by the RAF southwest of Iceland and sunk with all hands by depth charges from a British Consolidated B-24 Liberator of No. 120 Squadron RAF
No. 120 Squadron RAF
No. 120 Squadron of the Royal Air Force operated the Nimrod MR2, based at RAF Kinloss, Moray, Scotland until the type's withdrawal in March 2010.-Formation in WWI:...
. This was initially reported to be an attack on U-194
German submarine U-194
German submarine U-194 was a Type IXC/40 U-boat of the German Kriegsmarine built during World War II for service in the Atlantic Ocean. She was a short-lived vessel, being sunk on her first and only operational war patrol...
which was sunk the same day, but that submarine was sunk by aircraft of a different squadron.