Unterseeboot 515
Encyclopedia
German submarine U-515 was a Type IXC
German Type IX submarine
The Type IX U-boat was designed by Germany in 1935 and 1936 as a large ocean-going submarine for sustained operations far from the home support facilities. Type IX boats were briefly used for patrols off the eastern United States in an attempt to disrupt the stream of troops and supplies bound for...
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 It superseded the Kaiserliche Marine of World War I and the post-war Reichsmarine.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 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...
.
She was commissioned in 1942 and sunk in 1944. U-515 completed six operational patrols and sank 23 ships, badly damaged two ships which later sank, and damaged two additional ships.
Early history
The keel of U-515 was laid down on 8 May 1941 at Deutsche Werft AG in HamburgHamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
, 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...
, was launched on 2 December 1941, commissioned on 21 February 1942 under the command of Kptlt. Werner Henke
Werner Henke
Lieutenant Commander Werner Henke born in Thorn in Germany was the commander of during the Second Battle of the Atlantic of World War II. U-515 was sunk by the American task group 22.3, commanded by Daniel V...
, and attached to 4th U-boat Flotilla for training. During training U-515 conducted listening tests in early May, torpedo firing tests, and in early July tactical exercises with other U-boats. U-515 served with the 4th Flotilla until 31 August 1942.
Operational history
On 1 September 1942 U-515 was assigned to an operational submarine unit, 10th U-boat Flotilla.First patrol
U-515 left StettinSzczecin
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....
on 8 September 1942 stopping 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...
to top-off with fuel. On 11 September U-515 left Kiel for her first patrol; during which she sank nine ships, and damaged one other.
- Stanvac Melbourne – Panamanian tanker, sunk on 12 September by torpedoes
- Woensdrecht – Dutch tanker, sunk on 12 September by torpedoes
- Nimba – Panamanian freighter, sunk on 13 September by torpedoes
- Ocean Vanguard – British freighter, sunk on 13 September by torpedoes
- Harborough – British freighter, sunk on 14 September by torpedo and deck gun
- Sørholt – Norwegian freighter, sunk on 15 September by torpedoes
- MaeSS West EldaraSS West Eldara was a steel-hulled cargo ship built in 1918 as part of the United States Shipping Boards emergency World War I shipbuilding program....
– American freighter, sunk on 17 September with deck gun - Reedpool – British freighter, sunk on 20 September by torpedoes
- Antinous – American freighter, damaged by torpedo on 23 September, sunk by on 24 September
- Lindvangen – Norwegian freighter, sunk on 23 September by torpedoes
On 20 October U-515 returned to her base at Lorient
Lorient
Lorient, or L'Orient, is a commune and a seaport in the Morbihan department in Brittany in north-western France.-History:At the beginning of the 17th century, merchants who were trading with India had established warehouses in Port-Louis...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
Second patrol
On 7 November U-515 left Lorient for her second patrol. While patrolling the AfricaAfrica
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
n coast, on the night of 11 November, she attacked a British depot ship (probably , which was attacked on 11 November and sank on 12 November), and was subsequently depth-charged by a British destroyer (probably HMS Venomous). While patrolling the mid-Atlantic
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
on 6 December the U-boat spotted and sank the passenger ship . U-515 patrolled 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...
for about a week, then returned to Lorient on 5 or 6 January 1943.
Third patrol
Minor repairs were carried out, and on 20 February 1943, the U-boat left Lorient for her third patrol. While patrolling the West coast of Africa, on 4 March U-515 sank the British freighter, SS California Star and on 9 March U-515 sank a second ship, the French freighter Bamako. On 29 April the U-boat was attacked by CatalinaPBY Catalina
The Consolidated PBY Catalina was an American flying boat of the 1930s and 1940s produced by Consolidated Aircraft. It was one of the most widely used multi-role aircraft of World War II. PBYs served with every branch of the United States Armed Forces and in the air forces and navies of many other...
flying-boats. U-515 fired at the aircraft with her 20 mm anti-aircraft guns, but did not shoot any aircraft down. The aircraft did not cause any damage to U-515, and she submerged after the attack. During a 12-hour period on the night of 30 April and 1 May, U-515 attacked convoy TS 37 off Freetown
Freetown
Freetown is the capital and largest city of Sierra Leone, a country in West Africa. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean located in the Western Area of the country, and had a city proper population of 772,873 at the 2004 census. The city is the economic, financial, and cultural center of...
and sank seven ships:
- Kota Tjandi – Dutch freighter, sunk on 30 April by torpedoes
- Bandar Shapour – British freighter, sunk on 30 April by torpedoes
- Corabella – British freighter, sunk on 30 April by torpedoes
- Nagina – British freighter, sunk on 30 April by torpedoes
- Mokambo – Belgian freighter, attacked on 1 May with torpedoes, sank on 2 May
- City of Singapore – British freighter, sunk on 1 May by torpedoes
- Clan MacPherson – British freighter, sunk on 1 May by torpedoes
A few days after the attack on convoy TS 37, U-515 was re-supplied with fuel and torpedoes by . She continued on her patrol and on 9 May sank the Norwegian freighter Cornville with torpedoes. On 23 June, U-515 completed her third patrol, returning to Lorient. In recognition of a successful patrol, all crewmen were given long leaves and many awarded the Iron Cross
Iron Cross
The Iron Cross is a cross symbol typically in black with a white or silver outline that originated after 1219 when the Kingdom of Jerusalem granted the Teutonic Order the right to combine the Teutonic Black Cross placed above a silver Cross of Jerusalem....
, Second class.
Fourth patrol
Extensive repairs and modifications were carried out at Lorient. The after part of the bridge was expanded and equipped with 20mm anti-aircraft cannon and a 37mm flak gun. She also carried four T5 ZaunkönigG7es torpedo
The G7es or Zaunkönig T-5 was a torpedo employed by German U-boats during World War II. It was known as the GNAT to the British.- Description :...
acoustic homing torpedoes. U-515 left Lorient on 29 August to patrol the west coast of Africa. About one week into her patrol U-515 spotted a convoy off the Azores and started to attack; however, she was detected by a convoy escort and badly damaged by depth charges, which forced her to return to base for repairs, reaching Lorient on 12 September.
Fifth patrol
Repairs took six weeks and were completed by late October. On 1 November 1943, U-515 left Lorient, stopping at St. NazaireSaint-Nazaire
Saint-Nazaire , is a commune in the Loire-Atlantique department in western France.The town has a major harbour, on the right bank of the Loire River estuary, near the Atlantic Ocean. The town is at the south of the second-largest swamp in France, called "la Brière"...
to pick up two T5 Zaunkönig
G7es torpedo
The G7es or Zaunkönig T-5 was a torpedo employed by German U-boats during World War II. It was known as the GNAT to the British.- Description :...
torpedo
Torpedo
The modern torpedo is a self-propelled missile weapon with an explosive warhead, launched above or below the water surface, propelled underwater towards a target, and designed to detonate either on contact with it or in proximity to it.The term torpedo was originally employed for...
es, which were designed to zigzag to improve their chances of finding a target within a convoy. U-515 left St. Nazaire on 9 November and started patrolling off the Azores and Portuguese coast. On the morning of 18 November, she spotted a convoy, but was in turn spotted by aircraft. The U-boat submerged, but was detected by destroyers. Three destroyers depth-charged U-515 for several hours and caused major damage. The main ballast tank and reserve oil tank were ruptured; several batteries, the electronics, and the forward hydroplane motor were also damaged. U-515 fired a T-5 acoustic torpedo at one of the destroyers, , damaging it beyond repair. Several more attacks were made and U-515 had nearly run out of air when the attacks finally stopped, and she was finally able to surface. Despite extensive damage, the crew decided to make repairs at sea, which were completed on 22 November. U-515 started to patrol the west coast of Africa and, on 17 December, torpedoed and sank the British freighter Kingswood. Two days later she sank another ship, the British freighter Phemus. While returning to base, she sank the British freighter on 24 December. On 16 January 1944 U-515 reached Lorient. As she was sailing into port, two British Mosquito
De Havilland Mosquito
The de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito was a British multi-role combat aircraft that served during the Second World War and the postwar era. It was known affectionately as the "Mossie" to its crews and was also nicknamed "The Wooden Wonder"...
bombers were spotted, but anti-aircraft fire from the U-boat's 2-cm guns drove them away.
Sixth and final patrol
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On 9 April U-515 was attacked north of Madeira
Madeira
Madeira is a Portuguese archipelago that lies between and , just under 400 km north of Tenerife, Canary Islands, in the north Atlantic Ocean and an outermost region of the European Union...
by destroyers , , and . Flooding and loss of depth control forced the U-Boat to the surface, where she was sunk by rockets fired from 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....
and Wildcat
F4F Wildcat
The Grumman F4F Wildcat was an American carrier-based fighter aircraft that began service with both the United States Navy and the British Royal Navy in 1940...
aircraft and gunfire from the destroyers.
Sixteen of U-515s crew were killed, but 44 survived the attack. The survivors were picked up by the destroyers and later transferred to the USS Guadalcanal. The commander of U-515, Werner Henke, was among the survivors. Later, in June 1944, he was shot and killed trying to escape a secret interrogation center known as P. O. Box 1142
P. O. Box 1142
P.O. Box 1142 was a secret American military intelligence facility that operated during World War II. The American Military Intelligence Service had two special wings whose core duty was to interview the Prisoners of War , known as MIS -X and MIS -Y. They were known by their codename, the mailing...
in Fort Hunt, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
, while being held as a prisoner of war.
Tonnage sunk
During U-515s career, she sank 23 ships and damaged two others which later sank, plus damaging another two ships which did not sink. Of the 25 total ships sunk, 21 were freighters totaling ; two warships totaling ; one freighter which later sunk totaling ; and one warship which later sunk totaling 1,350 tonTon
The ton is a unit of measure. It has a long history and has acquired a number of meanings and uses over the years. It is used principally as a unit of weight, and as a unit of volume. It can also be used as a measure of energy, for truck classification, or as a colloquial term.It is derived from...
s. U-515 also damaged one freighter totaling and damaged one warship totaling 1,920 tons.