Unterseeboot 380
Encyclopedia
German submarine U-380 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...
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 It superseded the Kaiserliche Marine of World War I and the post-war Reichsmarine.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...
. Her wartime career consisted of 11 patrols and resulted in 2 ships sunk for 14,063 GRT
GRT
GRT may refer to:* Grease Removal Technology, or GRT- Lipase enzyme* General Recorded Tape, aka GRT Corporation, a defunct corporation that owned Chess Records and Janus Records as well as being a label in its own right* General relativity theory...
, 1 ship damaged, and another of 7,178 GRT that was later declared a total loss.
Construction
Howaldtswerke
Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft is a German shipbuilding company, headquartered in Kiel. In 2009 it was the largest shipyard in Germany and has more than 2,400 employees. It has been part of ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems owned by ThyssenKrupp, since 2005...
yard at 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...
, on 1 October 1940. About a thirteen months later, U-380 was launched from Kiel on 5 November 1941. She was formally commissioned into the Kriegsmarine later that year, on 22 December.
Design
Like all type VIIC submarines, U-380 carried 5 533 mm (21 in) torpedo tubeTorpedo tube
A torpedo tube is a device for launching torpedoes. There are two main types of torpedo tube: underwater tubes fitted to submarines and some surface ships, and deck-mounted units installed aboard surface vessels...
s (4 located in the bow, 1 in the stern) and had one C35 88mm/L45 deck gun
Deck gun
A deck gun is a type of artillery cannon mounted on the deck of a ship or submarine.The deck gun was used as a defensive weapon against smaller boats or ships and in certain cases where torpedo use was limited. Typically a crew of three; gunner, loader, and layer, operated the gun, while others...
with 220 rounds. She could also carry 14 G7e torpedo
G7e torpedo
The G7e or more appropriately the G7e/T2, G7e/T3, and G7e/T4 Falke torpedoes were, with the exception of the T4 model, the standard torpedoes for Germany during World War II...
es or 26 TMA mines and had a crew of 44-52 men. Her propulsion consisted of 2 supercharged Germaniawerft 6-cylinder 4-stroke M6V 40/46 diesel engine
Diesel engine
A diesel engine is an internal combustion engine that uses the heat of compression to initiate ignition to burn the fuel, which is injected into the combustion chamber...
s that had a total of 2800 bhp. Her maximum rpm was between 470 and 490. She was also equipped with 2 electric motor
Electric motor
An electric motor converts electrical energy into mechanical energy.Most electric motors operate through the interaction of magnetic fields and current-carrying conductors to generate force...
s totalling 750 shp and had a maximum rpm of 296. These engines enabled U-380 to have a maximum speed of 17.7 kn (21.6 mph; 34.7 km/h) while on the surfaced and 7.6 kn (9.3 mph; 14.9 km/h) when submerged. She had range of 15170 km (8,191.1 nmi) at 10 kn (19.6 km/h) when she was surfaced and 150 km (81 nmi) at 4 kn (7.8 km/h) while submerged. Her test depth was 230 m (754.6 ft); while her crush depth was 250–295 m (820.2–967.8 ft).
Service History
U-380 experienced her first taste of war on her first patrol. while stalking convoy ON-127 on 12 September 1942 in the central Atlantic, the submarine was detected and attacked by the convoy's escorts resulting in the failure of one of her diesel engines. The damage was not severe enough to warrant aborting the patrol, but the U-boat broke off her attack. Her first strike against allied shipping would come less than a week later when she torpedoed and sank the unescorted Norwegian motor merchant Olaf Fostenes (2,994 GRT). All 36 men aboard the merchant survived this attack. The U-boat crew questioned the crew, asking for the shipmaster; the mariners lied to the Germans, telling them the shipmaster had been killed in the attack. U-380 returned to port on 7 October 1942.Her next patrol, which lasted only 15 days, was still successful. On 11 November 1942, U-380 torpedoed and sank the 11,069 GRT Dutch passenger liner Nieuw Zeeland. The ship had recently participated in the North African landings of Operation Torch
Operation Torch
Operation Torch was the British-American invasion of French North Africa in World War II during the North African Campaign, started on 8 November 1942....
and was returning from that operation . 15 of the 256 souls aboard perished; the remained were picked up by convoy escorts and later landed at Gibraltar.
Two uneventful patrols followed. It was not until 15 March 1943, while on her fifth patrol, that the U-boat had her next success. The British 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...
Ocean Seaman, traveling with convoy ET-14, was torpedoed and badly damaged. Dead in the water, the stricken vessel was taken in tow and beached the next day near Algiers
Algiers
' is the capital and largest city of Algeria. According to the 1998 census, the population of the city proper was 1,519,570 and that of the urban agglomeration was 2,135,630. In 2009, the population was about 3,500,000...
. She was declared a total loss.
On 10 May 1943, U-380 rescued five German soldiers who were escaping from Tunisia
Tunisia
Tunisia , officially the Tunisian RepublicThe long name of Tunisia in other languages used in the country is: , is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area...
in a small boat. She landed them at La Spezia
La Spezia
La Spezia , at the head of the Gulf of La Spezia in the Liguria region of northern Italy, is the capital city of the province of La Spezia. Located between Genoa and Pisa on the Ligurian Sea, it is one of the main Italian military and commercial harbours and hosts one of Italy's biggest military...
on 16 May.
A further two unevntful Mediterranean cruises followed. The veteran submarine departed on her eighth patrol on 11 August 1943, again prowling the Mediterranean for enemy shipping. Success arrived on 23 August when the 7,191 GRT American Liberty Ship Pierre Soulé was struck in the rudder by a single torpedo from U-380. The resulting explosion bodily lifted the ship out of the water. Although her rudder was destroyed and the engines and propeller shaft badly damaged, the stricken merchant was taken in tow by the and taken to Bizerte
Bizerte
Bizerte or Benzert , is the capital city of Bizerte Governorate in Tunisia and the northernmost city in Africa. It has a population of 230,879 .-History:...
. She was repaired in dry dock at Taranto
Taranto
Taranto is a coastal city in Apulia, Southern Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Taranto and is an important commercial port as well as the main Italian naval base....
and returned to service.
Despite undertaking three further patrols, U-380 had no further successes during her career.
Loss
On 11 March 1943, while in the harbor at ToulonToulon
Toulon is a town in southern France and a large military harbor on the Mediterranean coast, with a major French naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur region, Toulon is the capital of the Var department in the former province of Provence....
, U-380 was sunk by bombs during an air raid. One man of the crew, Maschinenmaat Jonny Christoph, was killed.
Commanding officers
- Josef Röther, 22 December 1941 - November 1943
- Albrecht BrandiAlbrecht BrandiAlbrecht Brandi was a German U-boat commander in World War II. Together with Wolfgang Lüth he was the only Kriegsmarine sailor who was awarded with the Knight's cross with Oak Leaves, Swords, and Diamonds...
, December 1943 - 11 March 1944