| History | |
|---|---|
 Nazi Germany | |
| Name | U-432 |
| Ordered | 23 September 1939 |
| Builder | Schichau-Werke,Danzig |
| Yard number | 1473 |
| Laid down | 14 January 1940 |
| Launched | 3 February 1941 |
| Commissioned | 26 April 1941 |
| Fate | Sunk on 11 March 1943[1] |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Type VIICsubmarine |
| Displacement | |
| Length |
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| Beam |
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| Height | 9.60 m (31 ft 6 in) |
| Draught | 4.74 m (15 ft 7 in) |
| Installed power |
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| Propulsion |
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| Speed |
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| Range | |
| Test depth |
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| Complement | 4 officers, 40–56 enlisted |
| Armament |
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| Service record[2] | |
| Part of: |
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| Identification codes: | M 41 658 |
| Commanders: |
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| Operations: |
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| Victories: | |
German submarineU-432 was aType VIICU-boat ofNazi Germany'sKriegsmarine duringWorld War II that carried out eight patrols, sinking 20 enemy ships and one warship. Two other vessels were damaged.U-432 was a member of sevenwolfpacks and was eventually sunk by aFree French Navy escort in mid-Atlantic on 11 March 1943.
German Type VIIC submarines were preceded by the shorterType VIIB submarines.U-432 had a displacement of 769 tonnes (757 long tons) when at the surface and 871 tonnes (857 long tons) while submerged.[3] She had a total length of 67.10 m (220 ft 2 in), apressure hull length of 50.50 m (165 ft 8 in), abeam of 6.20 m (20 ft 4 in), a height of 9.60 m (31 ft 6 in), and adraught of 4.74 m (15 ft 7 in). The submarine was powered by twoGermaniawerft F46 four-stroke, six-cylindersuperchargeddiesel engines producing a total of 2,800 to 3,200 metric horsepower (2,060 to 2,350 kW; 2,760 to 3,160 shp) for use while surfaced, twoAEG GU 460/8–27double-acting electric motors producing a total of 750 metric horsepower (550 kW; 740 shp) for use while submerged. She had two shafts and two 1.23 m (4 ft)propellers. The boat was capable of operating at depths of up to 230 metres (750 ft).[3]
The submarine had a maximum surface speed of 17.7 knots (32.8 km/h; 20.4 mph) and a maximum submerged speed of 7.6 knots (14.1 km/h; 8.7 mph).[3] When submerged, the boat could operate for 80 nautical miles (150 km; 92 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph); when surfaced, she could travel 8,500 nautical miles (15,700 km; 9,800 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph).U-432 was fitted with five 53.3 cm (21 in)torpedo tubes (four fitted at the bow and one at the stern), fourteentorpedoes, one8.8 cm (3.46 in) SK C/35 naval gun, 220 rounds, and a2 cm (0.79 in) C/30 anti-aircraft gun. The boat had acomplement of between forty-four and sixty.[3]
The submarine waslaid down on 14 January 1940 atSchichau-Werke inDanzig (now Gdansk) as yard number 1473,launched on 3 February 1941 andcommissioned on 26 April 1941 under the command ofKapitänleutnantHeinz-Otto Schultze.
She served with the3rd U-boat Flotilla from 26 April 1941 for training and stayed with that unit from 1 August for operations until her loss.
U-432's first patrol was preceded by short 'hops' fromKiel in Germany toHorten Naval Base thenTrondheim in Norway. Her first patrol proper began with her departure from Trondheim on 25 August 1941 and headed for the Atlantic Ocean via thegap betweenIceland and theFaroe Islands.
The boat sank theWinterwijk on 10 September east of Greenland. She went on to sink theStargad close by on the same date. The next day she sank theGarm northeast of the previous successes.
She docked atBrest in occupied France on 19 September.
On her second foray, she sank theUlea on 28 October 1941 east-northeast of theAzores. She finished the patrol inSt. Nazaire on 2 November 1941.
The boat's third sortie commenced with her departure from St. Nazaire on 10 December 1941. This was not only the shortest patrol of her career but the only time she returned to France, (this time toLa Pallice where she would be based for the rest of her time), without success, on the 23rd.
Her fourth patrol was carried out on the eastern seaboard of Canada and the United States, where she sank a number of ships, including the-then neutral Brazilian vesselsBuarque and theOlinda on 15 and 18 February 1942 respectively. She also sent theMiraflores and theAzolea City to the bottom on the 19th and 21st.
U-432 had departed La Pallice on 30 April 1942. On 2 May, she was slightly damaged in an air attack on 2 May west of theBay of Biscay. She returned to her earlier hunting grounds across the Atlantic where she sank ships such as theZurichmoor (on the 23rd) and theMalayan Prince on 9 June.
On 30 May, she torpedoed and sank theLiverpool Packet off the south-eastern tip of Nova Scotia. Of her 21 crew, two were killed when the torpedo struck. U-432 approached the 19 survivors, who had taken to lifeboats, and Schultze gave them directions to the nearest land. After 20 hours rowing, they succeeded in reaching Seal Island, off Cape Sable, Nova Scotia.[4]
The submarine encountered some resistance when she came across thePennmar offCape Farewell (Greenland) on 24 September 1942. Atorpedo fired from the starboard quarter was avoided by evasive action. On surfacing, the U-boat was engaged byPennmar's 4 in gun.U-432 submerged again and fired a spread of four torpedoes, one of which hit and sank the American freighter.
For her seventh journey, the boat headed towards North Africa. She sank the Free-French trawlerPoitou off Morocco on 17 December 1942.[5]
U-432 sankHMS Harvester on 11 March 1943 after the British destroyer was badly damaged while rammingU-444. TheFrench corvette Aconit came toHarvester's assistance. Shedepth charged and sank the U-boat in mid-Atlantic.
Twenty-six men went down withU-432; there were 20 survivors.
U-432 took part in sevenwolfpacks, namely:
| Date | Ship Name | Nationality | Tonnage[Note 1] | Fate[6] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 September 1941 | Muneric |  United Kingdom | 5,229 | Sunk |
| 10 September 1941 | Stargard |  Norway | 1,113 | Sunk |
| 10 September 1941 | Winterswijk |  Netherlands | 3,205 | Sunk |
| 11 September 1941 | Garm |  Sweden | 1,231 | Sunk |
| 17 October 1941 | Barfonn | Norway | 9,739 | Sunk |
| 17 October 1941 | Bold Venture |  Panama | 3,222 | Sunk |
| 17 October 1941 | Evros |  Greece | 5,283 | Sunk |
| 28 October 1941 | Ulea | United Kingdom | 1,574 | Sunk |
| 15 February 1942 | Buarque |  Brazil | 5,152 | Sunk |
| 18 February 1942 | Olinda | Brazil | 4,053 | Sunk |
| 19 February 1942 | Miraflores | United Kingdom | 2,158 | Sunk |
| 21 February 1942 | Azalea City |  United States | 5,529 | Sunk |
| 27 February 1942 | Marore | United States | 8,215 | Sunk |
| 17 May 1942 | Foam | United States | 324 | Sunk |
| 23 May 1942 | Zurichmoor | United Kingdom | 4,455 | Sunk |
| 31 May 1942 | Liverpool Packet |  Canada | 1,188 | Sunk |
| 3 June 1942 | Aeolus | United States | 41 | Sunk |
| 3 June 1942 | Ben and Josephine | United States | 102 | Sunk |
| 9 June 1942 | Kronprinsen | Norway | 7,073 | Damaged |
| 9 June 1942 | Malayan Prince | United Kingdom | 8,593 | Damaged |
| 24 September 1942 | Pennmar | United States | 5,868 | Sunk |
| 17 December 1942 | Poitou |  Free France | 310 | Sunk |
| 11 March 1943 | HMS Harvester |  Royal Navy | 1,340 | Sunk |
Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in March 1943 | |
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| Shipwrecks |
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| Other incidents |
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51°35′00″N28°20′00″W / 51.5833°N 28.3333°W /51.5833; -28.3333
