German submarine U-203
Encyclopedia
German submarine U-203 was a German Type VIIC submarine U-boat
built for the German
Kriegsmarine
for service during World War II
. Built as werk 632 of Friedrich Krupp Germaniawerft
AG in Kiel
, U-203 served in eleven patrols with the first flotilla and is credited with sinking 21 ships for 94,270 GRT
and damaging a further three for 17,052 GRT.
to St. Nazaire, U-203 attacked and sank the British merchant ship Kinross, which was part of Convoy OB-336. Later that day, she attacked the Norwegian vessel Soløy, which was with Convoy HX-133.
On the morning of 26 June in the western Atlantic about 450 miles (724.2 km) east of Puerto Rico
she torpedoed the British cargo ship . The ship caught fire but remained afloat, so U-203 bombarded her with 53 rounds from her 88 millimetres (3.5 in) deck gun until Putney Hill broke her back and sank.
Arriving at St. Nazaire on 29 June, U-203 stayed ashore for another eleven days before making her second patrol. Seventeen days into her second patrol, she attacked Convoy OG-69 which was sailing to Gibraltar. On the 27th, U-203 sank the British merchant ship Hawkinge. The British Lapland and Swedish Norita, also OG-69 merchant ships, were sunk the following day, adding a further and to the U-boat's record.
Six days into her third patrol, on 26 September, the British ships Avoceta, Lapwing and the Norwegian Varanberg of Convoy HG-73 were sunk, destroying another of shipping.
Sixteen days into her fourth patrol, on 3 November, U-203 attacked and sank the Empire Gemsbuck and Everoja , British merchant ships of Convoy SC-52.
Twenty-one days into her fifth patrol on 15 January 1942, U-203 sank a small Portuguese ship, the Catalina. Two days later, the Norwegian ship Octavian would too be sunk. Four torpedoes were fired at the Canadian ship North Gaspe, which survived the attack. One torpedo detonated close to the ship, but none actually hit.
U-203s sixth patrol resulted in a total loss of to the Allies and two additional ships damaged, including the British merchants San Delfino and Empire Thrush. Damaged were the American tanker Henry F. Sinclair, Jr. and the Panamanian flagged tanker Stanvac Melbourne.
A seventh patrol beginning 4 June 1942 resulted in of shipping destroyed. The Brazilian Pedrinhas and the British Putney Hill were sunk on June 26th. Two days later the American Liberty Ship
Sam Houston was torpedoed and then finished off with 43 rounds from the deck gun. The British Cape Verde was sunk on July 9th and the Panamanian tanker Stanvac Palembang on July 11th bringing the tally to five victories on this successful patrol.
The next 23 day patrol was unfruitful however the U-boat's commander, Rolf Mützelburg, died during this patrol on September 11th. Taking the opportunity to go swimming in the Atlantic southwest of the Azores
, he dived from the conning tower and struck the deck with his head and shoulder when the boat lurched suddenly in the swell. The doctor from the Milk Cow U-462 arrived the next day, but too late. Rolf Mützelburg was buried at sea on 12 September, 1942 in position 36°14′N 31°21′W. He was replaced by Kapitänleutnant Hermann Kottman, who served as captain for the remainder of U-203s career.
Her ninth patrol, beginning 15 October 1942 and terminating 6 November 1942, yielded two further ships sunk. The British merchants Hopecastle and Corinaldo ( and , respectively) were sunk on 29 October and 30 October while traveling with convoy SL-125.
U-203 undertook two more patrols, both unsuccessful. On 25 April 1943 while south of Cape Farewell
, Greenland
U-203 was sunk by depth charges in position 55°05′N 42°25′W. She had been attacked by Fairey Swordfish
aircraft operating off the British escort carrier and the British destroyers and . Ten were killed, and there were 38 survivors.
U-203 sank 21 ships and damaged 3 others for a total of 111,322 GRT.
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...
built for 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...
for service 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...
. Built as werk 632 of Friedrich Krupp Germaniawerft
Friedrich Krupp Germaniawerft
Friedrich Krupp Germaniawerft was a German shipbuilding company, located in the harbour at Kiel, and one of the largest and most important builders of U-boats for the Kaiserliche Marine in World War I and the Kriegsmarine in World War II.-History:The company was founded in 1867 by Lloyd Foster, as...
AG in Kiel
Kiel
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...
, U-203 served in eleven patrols with the first flotilla and is credited with sinking 21 ships for 94,270 GRT
Gross Register Tonnage
Gross register tonnage a ship's total internal volume expressed in "register tons", one of which equals to a volume of . It is calculated from the total permanently enclosed capacity of the vessel. The ship's net register tonnage is obtained by reducing the volume of non-revenue-earning spaces i.e...
and damaging a further three for 17,052 GRT.
Service Record
On 24 June 1941, nineteen days into her first patrol while en route from KielKiel
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...
to St. Nazaire, U-203 attacked and sank the British merchant ship Kinross, which was part of Convoy OB-336. Later that day, she attacked the Norwegian vessel Soløy, which was with Convoy HX-133.
On the morning of 26 June in the western Atlantic about 450 miles (724.2 km) east of Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
she torpedoed the British cargo ship . The ship caught fire but remained afloat, so U-203 bombarded her with 53 rounds from her 88 millimetres (3.5 in) deck gun until Putney Hill broke her back and sank.
Arriving at St. Nazaire on 29 June, U-203 stayed ashore for another eleven days before making her second patrol. Seventeen days into her second patrol, she attacked Convoy OG-69 which was sailing to Gibraltar. On the 27th, U-203 sank the British merchant ship Hawkinge. The British Lapland and Swedish Norita, also OG-69 merchant ships, were sunk the following day, adding a further and to the U-boat's record.
Six days into her third patrol, on 26 September, the British ships Avoceta, Lapwing and the Norwegian Varanberg of Convoy HG-73 were sunk, destroying another of shipping.
Sixteen days into her fourth patrol, on 3 November, U-203 attacked and sank the Empire Gemsbuck and Everoja , British merchant ships of Convoy SC-52.
Twenty-one days into her fifth patrol on 15 January 1942, U-203 sank a small Portuguese ship, the Catalina. Two days later, the Norwegian ship Octavian would too be sunk. Four torpedoes were fired at the Canadian ship North Gaspe, which survived the attack. One torpedo detonated close to the ship, but none actually hit.
U-203s sixth patrol resulted in a total loss of to the Allies and two additional ships damaged, including the British merchants San Delfino and Empire Thrush. Damaged were the American tanker Henry F. Sinclair, Jr. and the Panamanian flagged tanker Stanvac Melbourne.
A seventh patrol beginning 4 June 1942 resulted in of shipping destroyed. The Brazilian Pedrinhas and the British Putney Hill were sunk on June 26th. Two days later the American Liberty Ship
Liberty ship
Liberty ships were cargo ships built in the United States during World War II. Though British in conception, they were adapted by the U.S. as they were cheap and quick to build, and came to symbolize U.S. wartime industrial output. Based on vessels ordered by Britain to replace ships torpedoed by...
Sam Houston was torpedoed and then finished off with 43 rounds from the deck gun. The British Cape Verde was sunk on July 9th and the Panamanian tanker Stanvac Palembang on July 11th bringing the tally to five victories on this successful patrol.
The next 23 day patrol was unfruitful however the U-boat's commander, Rolf Mützelburg, died during this patrol on September 11th. Taking the opportunity to go swimming in the Atlantic southwest of the Azores
Azores
The Archipelago of the Azores is composed of nine volcanic islands situated in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean, and is located about west from Lisbon and about east from the east coast of North America. The islands, and their economic exclusion zone, form the Autonomous Region of the...
, he dived from the conning tower and struck the deck with his head and shoulder when the boat lurched suddenly in the swell. The doctor from the Milk Cow U-462 arrived the next day, but too late. Rolf Mützelburg was buried at sea on 12 September, 1942 in position 36°14′N 31°21′W. He was replaced by Kapitänleutnant Hermann Kottman, who served as captain for the remainder of U-203s career.
Her ninth patrol, beginning 15 October 1942 and terminating 6 November 1942, yielded two further ships sunk. The British merchants Hopecastle and Corinaldo ( and , respectively) were sunk on 29 October and 30 October while traveling with convoy SL-125.
U-203 undertook two more patrols, both unsuccessful. On 25 April 1943 while south of Cape Farewell
Cape Farewell
Cape Farewell can mean:* Cape Farewell, New Zealand, northernmost point of the South Island.* Cape Farewell, Greenland, southernmost point in the territory of Greenland....
, Greenland
Greenland
Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...
U-203 was sunk by depth charges in position 55°05′N 42°25′W. She had been attacked by Fairey Swordfish
Fairey Swordfish
The Fairey Swordfish was a torpedo bomber built by the Fairey Aviation Company and used by the Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Navy during the Second World War...
aircraft operating off the British escort carrier and the British destroyers and . Ten were killed, and there were 38 survivors.
Victories
(d.) means "damaged"U-203 sank 21 ships and damaged 3 others for a total of 111,322 GRT.
| Ship | GRT | Nationality | Convoy | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kinross | 4,956 | British | OB-336 | ||||
| Soløy | 4,402 | Norwegian | HX-133 | ||||
| Hawkinge | 2,475 | British | OG-69 | ||||
| Lapland | 1,330 | British | OG-69 | ||||
| Norita | 1,516 | Swedish | OG-69 | ||||
| Avoceta | 3,442 | British | HG-73 | ||||
| Lapwing | 1,348 | British | HG-73 | ||||
| Varangberg | 2,842 | Norwegian | HG-73 | ||||
| Empire Gemsbuck | 5,626 | British | SC-52 | ||||
| Everoja | 4,830 | British | SC-52 | ||||
| Catalina | 632 | Portuguese | >- | Octavian | 1,345 | Norwegian | - |
| North Gaspe (d.) | 888 | Canadian | - | ||||
| San Delfino | 8,072 | British | - | ||||
| Harry F. Sinclair, Jr. (d.) | 6,151 | American | - | ||||
| Stanvac Melbourne | 10,013 | Panamanian | - | ||||
| Empire Thrush | 6,160 | British | - | ||||
| Pedrinhas | 3,666 | Brazilian | - | ||||
| Putney Hill | 5,216 | British | - | ||||
| Sam Houston | 7,176 | American | - | ||||
| Cape Verde | 6,914 | British | - | ||||
| Stanvac Palembang | 10,013 | Panaman | - | ||||
| Hopecastle | 5,178 | British | SL-125 | ||||
| Corinaldo | 7,131 | British | SL-125 | ||||
Patrol log
| Departure | Date | Return | Date | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kiel St. Nazaire St. Nazaire Brest Brest Brest Lorient Brest Brest Lorient Brest |
5 Jun 1941 10 Jul 1941 20 Sep 1941 18 Oct 1941 25 Dec 1941 12 Mar 1942 4 Jun 1942 27 Aug 1942 15 Oct 1942 6 Dec 1942 3 Apr 1943 |
St. Nazaire St. Nazaire Brest Brest Brest Brest Brest Brest Lorient Brest sunk |
29 Jun 1941 31 Jul 1941 30 Sep 1941 12 Nov 1941 29 Jan 1942 30 Apr 1942 29 Jul 1942 18 Sep 1942 6 Nov 1942 7 Jan 1943 25 Apr 1943 |
25 days 22 days 11 days 26 days 36 days 50 days 56 days 23 days 23 days 23 days 23 days |