Unterseeboot 238
Encyclopedia
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German submarine U-238 was a Type VIIC U-boat
of the German
Kriegsmarine
built for service in the Second World War. She was built during 1942 by Germaniawerft of Kiel
, and she was commissioned on 20 February 1943, with Oberleutnant zur See Horst Hepp in command. Hepp commanded her for her entire career, receiving a promotion to Kapitänleutnant in the process.
She was a successful, if short lived boat, sinking four freighters and damaging another during her operations against Allied convoys in the Second Battle of the Atlantic
. She had the misfortune, however, of serving at the turning point of the war, when allied countermeasures were taking a heavy toll on the U-boat force. She conducted three war patrols, beginning in September 1943, following her warm up trials in the Baltic Sea
.
in Norway
as part of the 1st U-boat Flotilla, and entailed the submarine exiting the North Sea
via the Denmark Strait
and operating against Allied shipping in the supposed "air cover gap" in the Central Atlantic, where Allied aircraft were unable to effectively operate against German U-boats. This first patrol was by far the most successful of U-238s patrols, as on 20 September, it attacked a large convoy, sinking one 7,000-ton cargo ship and damaging another. This was followed by three more victims on 23 September, when two Norwegian ships and a British freighter were sunk from the same convoy.
The U-238s second patrol was less successful, as two weeks after leaving Brest, France
she was attacked by an Avenger
torpedo bomber
from the escort carrier , whose rockets killed two crew and wounded five more, prompting the submarine to return to Brest with severe damage which put it out of service for a month. It was during this patrol that the submarine captured two British Royal Air Force
personnel, whose Vickers Wellington
bomber had been shot down by the .
U-238s third and last patrol began in January 1944, and lasted a fruitless month, until on 9 February, when she was caught by the convoy escorts of Convoy SL-147 and Convoy MKS-38, 270 miles off Cape Clear. She counter-attacked unsuccessfully and was sunk with all 50 hands by the sloops
, and
|-
! Date
! Ship
! Nationality
! Tonnage
! Fate
|-
| rowspan=2| 20 September 1943
| SS Theo Dwight Weld
| American
| 7,176
| Sunk
|-
| SS Fred Douglass
| American
| 7,176
| Damaged
|-
| rowspan=3| 23 September 1943
| MV Oregon Express
| Norwegian
| 3,642
| Sunk
|-
| SS Fort Jemseg
| British
| 7,134
| Sunk
|-
| SS Skjelbred
| Norwegian
| 5,096
| Sunk
|-
|}
{|
|}
German submarine U-238 was a Type VIIC 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...
built for service in the Second World War. She was built during 1942 by Germaniawerft of 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...
, and she was commissioned on 20 February 1943, with Oberleutnant zur See Horst Hepp in command. Hepp commanded her for her entire career, receiving a promotion to Kapitänleutnant in the process.
She was a successful, if short lived boat, sinking four freighters and damaging another during her operations against Allied convoys in the Second Battle of the Atlantic
Second Battle of the Atlantic
The Battle of the Atlantic was the longest continuous military campaign in World War II, running from 1939 to the defeat of Germany in 1945. At its core was the Allied naval blockade of Germany, announced the day after the declaration of war, and Germany's subsequent counter-blockade. It was at its...
. She had the misfortune, however, of serving at the turning point of the war, when allied countermeasures were taking a heavy toll on the U-boat force. She conducted three war patrols, beginning in September 1943, following her warm up trials in the Baltic Sea
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...
.
War Patrols
The first patrol of the U-238 was conducted from TrondheimTrondheim
Trondheim , historically, Nidaros and Trondhjem, is a city and municipality in Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway. With a population of 173,486, it is the third most populous municipality and city in the country, although the fourth largest metropolitan area. It is the administrative centre of...
in Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
as part of the 1st U-boat Flotilla, and entailed the submarine exiting the North Sea
North Sea
In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...
via the Denmark Strait
Denmark Strait
The Denmark Strait or Greenland Strait |Sound]]) is an oceanic strait between Greenland and Iceland...
and operating against Allied shipping in the supposed "air cover gap" in the Central Atlantic, where Allied aircraft were unable to effectively operate against German U-boats. This first patrol was by far the most successful of U-238s patrols, as on 20 September, it attacked a large convoy, sinking one 7,000-ton cargo ship and damaging another. This was followed by three more victims on 23 September, when two Norwegian ships and a British freighter were sunk from the same convoy.
The U-238s second patrol was less successful, as two weeks after leaving Brest, France
Brest, France
Brest is a city in the Finistère department in Brittany in northwestern France. Located in a sheltered position not far from the western tip of the Breton peninsula, and the western extremity of metropolitan France, Brest is an important harbour and the second French military port after Toulon...
she was attacked by an Avenger
TBF Avenger
The Grumman TBF Avenger was a torpedo bomber developed initially for the United States Navy and Marine Corps, and eventually used by several air or naval arms around the world....
torpedo bomber
Torpedo bomber
A torpedo bomber is a bomber aircraft designed primarily to attack ships with aerial torpedoes which could also carry out conventional bombings. Torpedo bombers existed almost exclusively prior to and during World War II when they were an important element in many famous battles, notably the...
from the escort carrier , whose rockets killed two crew and wounded five more, prompting the submarine to return to Brest with severe damage which put it out of service for a month. It was during this patrol that the submarine captured two British Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
personnel, whose Vickers Wellington
Vickers Wellington
The Vickers Wellington was a British twin-engine, long range medium bomber designed in the mid-1930s at Brooklands in Weybridge, Surrey, by Vickers-Armstrongs' Chief Designer, R. K. Pierson. It was widely used as a night bomber in the early years of the Second World War, before being displaced as a...
bomber had been shot down by the .
U-238s third and last patrol began in January 1944, and lasted a fruitless month, until on 9 February, when she was caught by the convoy escorts of Convoy SL-147 and Convoy MKS-38, 270 miles off Cape Clear. She counter-attacked unsuccessfully and was sunk with all 50 hands by the sloops
Black Swan class sloop
The Black Swan class and Modified Black Swan class were two classes of sloop of the Royal Navy and Royal Indian Navy. Thirteen Black Swans were launched between 1939 and 1943, including four for the Royal Indian Navy; twenty-four Modified Black Swans were launched between 1942 and 1945, including...
, and
Raiding career
{|class="wikitable"|-
! Date
! Ship
! Nationality
! Tonnage
! Fate
|-
| rowspan=2| 20 September 1943
| SS Theo Dwight Weld
| American
| 7,176
| Sunk
|-
| SS Fred Douglass
| American
| 7,176
| Damaged
|-
| rowspan=3| 23 September 1943
| MV Oregon Express
| Norwegian
| 3,642
| Sunk
|-
| SS Fort Jemseg
| British
| 7,134
| Sunk
|-
| SS Skjelbred
| Norwegian
| 5,096
| Sunk
|-
|}