Unterseeboot 438
Encyclopedia
German submarine U-438 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 It superseded the Kaiserliche Marine of World War I and the post-war Reichsmarine.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...
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...
.
The submarine was laid down on 25 April 1940 at the Schichau-Werke
Schichau-Werke
The Schichau-Werke was a German engineering works and shipyard based in Elbing, formerly part of the German Empire, and which is today the town of Elbląg in northern Poland. It also had a subsidiary shipyard in Danzig .-Early years:...
yard at Danzig
Gdansk
Gdańsk is a Polish city on the Baltic coast, at the centre of the country's fourth-largest metropolitan area.The city lies on the southern edge of Gdańsk Bay , in a conurbation with the city of Gdynia, spa town of Sopot, and suburban communities, which together form a metropolitan area called the...
, launched on 6 September 1941, and commissioned on 22 November 1941 under the command of Kapitänleutnant Rudolf Franzius.
The city of Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
adopted the submarine within the popular sponsorship programmme (Patenschaftsprogramm) organising gifts and holidays for the crew, earning her the honorary name of U-438 Berlin. The U-boat served with 8th U-Boat Flotilla for her training and later with 9th U-boat Flotilla from 1 August 1942 to 6 May 1943. U-438 completed four patrols, sinking three ships totalling and damaging one ship totalling .
1st patrol
U-438 sailed 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...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, on 1 August 1942 and headed for mid-Atlantic. On 10 August she took part in a "wolfpack" attack on Convoy SC 94, south 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...
. She fired a spread of torpedoes simultaneously with hitting the Greek 4,439 ton cargo ship Condylis and the British 6,008 ton Oregon on the port side, while U-660 hit them from starboard. Both ships, badly damaged, fell behind the main convoy and were sunk by U-438 several hours later.
On 11 August U-438 joined Wolf pack Lohs
Wolf pack Lohs
Lachs was a "wolfpack" of German U-boats that operated from August 1 to September 22, 1942 in World War II. This pack patrolled both sides of the Atlantic ocean, praying on merchant vessels coming to Europe from the Americas.-Raiding career:...
, which operated in the north-atlantic. On 25 August U-438 attacked Convoy ONS 122, which it had been stalking since the 22nd, sinking the Norwegian 1,598 ton merchant ship Trolla Several hours later U-438 was detected by radar by the Norwegian Flower class corvette
Flower class corvette
The Flower-class corvette was a class of 267 corvettes used during World War II, specifically with the Allied navies as anti-submarine convoy escorts during the Battle of the Atlantic...
, and within a few minutes the ship spotted the surfaced U-boat in the fog and opened fire with her 4 inch gun
BL 4 inch Mk IX naval gun
The BL 4-inch gun Mk IX was a British medium-velocity naval gun introduced in 1916 as secondary armament on the Renown class battlecruisers and Glorious class "large light cruisers", but which served most notably as the main armament on Flower class corvettes throughout World War II.-History:The...
, before attacking with depth charge
Depth charge
A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare weapon intended to destroy or cripple a target submarine by the shock of exploding near it. Most use explosives and a fuze set to go off at a preselected depth in the ocean. Depth charges can be dropped by either surface ships, patrol aircraft, or from...
s as U-438 crash-dived. The corvette continued to attack, forcing the U-boat to the surface after the bow compartment was flooded. Unable to dive, U-438 escaped in the fog. After making repairs she was ordered to return to base, arriving at 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...
, on 3 September.
2nd patrol
U-438 sailed from Brest on 6 October 1942. On 2 November in an attack on Convoy SC 107 about 450 miles east of Belle IsleBelle Isle (Newfoundland and Labrador)
Belle Isle is an uninhabited island just off the coast of Labrador and north of Newfoundland at the Atlantic entrance to the Strait of Belle Isle which takes its name...
, she torpedoed the British 5,496 ton cargo ship Hartington, which had already been damaged by a torpedo from , and the abandoned ship was finally sunk by two hours later. U-438 returned to Brest on 19 November.
3rd patrol
U-438 left Brest again on 31 December 1942 for another mid-Atlantic patrol, but had no successes before returning to base on 16 February.4th patrol
Since her commander, Rudolf Franzius, was ill, Kapitänleutnant Heinrich Heinsohn, originally commander of and recently returned from Spanish internment, was given command of U-438. She sailed from Brest on 31 March 1943, and on 6 May was sunk with all hands, north-west NewfoundlandDominion of Newfoundland
The Dominion of Newfoundland was a British Dominion from 1907 to 1949 . The Dominion of Newfoundland was situated in northeastern North America along the Atlantic coast and comprised the island of Newfoundland and Labrador on the continental mainland...
at position
52°00′N 45°10′W, by depth charge
Depth charge
A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare weapon intended to destroy or cripple a target submarine by the shock of exploding near it. Most use explosives and a fuze set to go off at a preselected depth in the ocean. Depth charges can be dropped by either surface ships, patrol aircraft, or from...
s from the Egret class sloop
Egret class sloop
The Egret class sloops were a three ship class of a long-range escort vessels used in the Second World War by the Royal Navy. They were an enlarged version of the Bittern class sloop with an extra twin 4 inch gun mounting...
.
See also
- List of German U-boats