| History | |
|---|---|
 Nazi Germany | |
| Name | U-77 |
| Ordered | 25 January 1939 |
| Builder | Bremer Vulkan,Bremen-Vegesack |
| Yard number | 5 |
| Laid down | 28 March 1940 |
| Launched | 23 November 1940 |
| Commissioned | 18 January 1941 |
| Fate | Scuttled, 29 March 1943, offCalpe, Spain |
| 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 | 4.72 m (15 ft 6 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 | 44-52 officers and ratings |
| Armament |
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| Service record | |
| Part of: |
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| Identification codes: | M 38 391 |
| Commanders: |
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| Operations: |
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| Victories: | |
German submarineU-77 was aType VIICU-boat ofNazi Germany'sKriegsmarine built by theBremer Vulkan-Vegesacker Werft,Bremen-Vegesack. Her keel waslaid down on 28 March 1940, byBremer Vulkan ofBremen-Vegesack, Germany as yard number 5. She waslaunched on 23 November 1940 andcommissioned on 18 January 1941, withOberleutnant zur See Heinrich Schonder in command until 2 September 1942, when he was succeeded byOblt.z.S. Otto Hartmann, who remained in charge until the U-boat's loss.[1]
The boat was scuttled on 29 March 1943 offCalpe, Spain, after receiving heavy damage by two British aircraft.
German Type VIIC submarines were preceded by the shorterType VIIB submarines.U-77 had a displacement of 769 tonnes (757 long tons) when at the surface and 871 tonnes (857 long tons) while submerged.[2] 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 twoMAN M 6 V 40/46 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, twoBrown, Boveri & Cie GG UB 720/8double-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).[2]
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).[2] 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-77 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.[2]
U-77 conducted 11 patrols, sinking 15 ships totalling 31,171 GRT and 1,050 tons, damaging two others, totalling 5,384 GRT. She also damaged two warships totalling 2,880 tons and caused two ship of 11,637 GRT to be declared a total loss.[1] She was a member of sixwolfpacks.
U-77 departedKiel on 29 May 1941. Her route took in thegap betweenIceland and theFaroe Islands.
She sank theTresillian on 13 June southeast ofCape Race (Newfoundland ). Using herdeck gun, she fired 87 rounds, scoring 60-65 hits; but it needed atorpedo to administer the coup de grâce. She then sank theArakaka, a weather ship, on the 22nd, 450 nmi (830 km; 520 mi) east ofSt. Johns. There were no survivors. It was a similar story with theAnna Bulgaris south ofCape Farewell, (Greenland).
U-77 docked inSt. Nazaire in occupied France on 7 July.
The boat's second foray began with her departure from St. Nazaire on 2 August 1941, but despite covering large tracts of the Atlantic, she returned to the French base on 10 September empty-handed.
For her third sortie,U-77 once more found the cupboard bare west of Ireland and theBay of Biscay. Nothing.
U-77's next patrol was divided into two. Part one was into theMediterranean. Leaving St. Nazaire on 10 December 1941, she slipped past the heavily defendedStrait of Gibraltar and enteredMessina in northeast Sicily on the 19th.
On the way, she sankSS Empire Barracuda 34 nmi (63 km; 39 mi) fromCape Trafalgar [before the Gibraltar experience], on the 15th.
Part two involved the boat's attack on the British destroyerHMS Kimberley offTobruk on 12 January 1942. The warship's stern was blown off, but she was towed toAlexandria for temporary repairs before more permanent restoration was carried out inBombay. The ship returned to service in January 1944.
The submarine docked atSalamis in Greece on 14 January.
Late on 1 April 1942,U-77 was attacked by aFairey Swordfish ofNo. 815 Squadron FAA, north-by-northeast ofSidi Barrani. The damage inflicted meant the boat was unable to dive. She returned to Salamis on the third.
Having moved toLa Spezia in northwest Italy in April,U-77 departed the port for the initial portion of a two-part patrol on 6 June 1942. She sank the destroyerHMS Grove north ofSollum on the 12th. This was during OperationVigorous, [a supply convoy toMalta].
The U-boat was unsuccessfully attacked byHMS Thrasher (N37), a British T-class submarine, off what today is the Israeli coast on 4 July. (Note: there is some confusion over this incident as the U-boat's own page on 'uboat.net' also puts her further west on that day and does not mention an attack).
U-77 finished the patrol in Salamis on 9 July.
Departing Salamis on 16 July 1942, her only victory was the Greek sailing shipVassilliki, which she sank with 10 rounds from the deck gun east ofCyprus on the 22nd.
In late August, the boat briefly moved toPola (or Pula) in Croatia at the 'top' of theAdriatic, from where she sortied on 12 October 1942 before steaming to La Spezia once more on 1 November.
U-77 torpedoed the sloopHMS Stork on 12 November 1942 but was attacked by the corvettesHMS Lotus andPoppy the following day northeast ofAlgiers. The slightly damaged U-boat returned to La Spezia on 5 December.
U-77 sank two more ships - theEmpire Banner and theEmpire Webster, both on 7 February 1943 west of Algiers. She had departed La Spezia on 26 January and returned there on 10 February.
The boat departed La Spezia for the last time on 3 March 1943.On 28 March,U-77 was attacked by two BritishLockheed Hudsons,V ofNo. 48 andL ofNo. 233 Squadron RAF, based inGibraltar, which droppeddepth charges, and heavily damaged U-77. At 01:15 the following day, 29 March, Hartmann ordered his crew off the boat, and scuttled it in position37°42′N00°10′E / 37.700°N 0.167°E /37.700; 0.167 east of Cartagena/Cape de Palos. Of the 47 crew members, nine survived the night and were picked up by Spanish fishing boats.[3]
U-77 took part in sixwolfpacks, namely:
| Date | Ship | Nationality | Tonnage[Note 1] | Fate[4] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 June 1941 | Tresillian |  United Kingdom | 4,743 | Sunk |
| 22 June 1941 | Arakaka | United Kingdom | 2,379 | Sunk |
| 25 June 1941 | Anna Bulgaris |  Greece | 4,603 | Sunk |
| 15 December 1941 | Empire Barracuda | United Kingdom | 4,972 | Sunk |
| 12 January 1942 | HMS Kimberley |  Royal Navy | 1,690 | Damaged |
| 12 June 1942 | HMS Grove | Royal Navy | 1,050 | Sunk |
| 22 July 1942 | Vassiliki | Greece | 140 | Sunk |
| 24 July 1942 | SV Toufic El Rahman |  Syria | 30 | Sunk |
| 30 July 1942 | Fany |  Egypt | 43 | Sunk |
| 1 August 1942 | St. Simon | Egypt | 85 | Sunk |
| 6 August 1942 | Adnan | Egypt | 155 | Damaged |
| 6 August 1942 | Ezzet | Egypt | 158 | Sunk |
| 10 August 1942 | Kharouf |  Mandatory Palestine | 158 | Sunk |
| 16 August 1942 | Daniel | Mandatory Palestine | 100 | Sunk |
| 20 August 1942 | Mahrous | Syria | 18 | Sunk |
| 12 November 1942 | HMS Stork | Royal Navy | 1,190 | Damaged |
| 7 February 1943 | Empire Banner | United Kingdom | 6,699 | Sunk |
| 7 February 1943 | Empire Webster | United Kingdom | 7,043 | Sunk |
| 16 March 1943 | Hadleigh | United Kingdom | 5,222 | Total loss |
| 16 March 1943 | Merchant Prince | United Kingdom | 5,229 | Damaged |
| 26 March 1943 | City of Perth | United Kingdom | 6,415 | Total loss |
Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in March 1943 | |
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| Shipwrecks |
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| Other incidents |
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