 U-52, a typical Type VIIB boat | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 Nazi Germany | |
| Name | U-101 |
| Ordered | 15 December 1937 |
| Builder | Germaniawerft,Kiel |
| Yard number | 595 |
| Laid down | 31 March 1939 |
| Launched | 13 January 1940 |
| Commissioned | 11 March 1940 |
| Decommissioned | 22 October 1943 |
| Fate | Scuttled on 3 May 1945; wreck later scrapped |
| Badge |  |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Type VIIBU-boat |
| Displacement | |
| Length | |
| Beam |
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| 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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| Boats & landing craft carried | 1 inflatable rubber boat |
| Complement | 4 officers, 40–56 enlisted |
| Sensors & processing systems | Gruppenhorchgerät |
| Armament |
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| Service record | |
| Part of: |
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| Identification codes: | M 15 344 |
| Commanders: |
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| Operations: |
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| Victories: | |
German submarineU-101 was aType VIIBU-boat ofNazi Germany'sKriegsmarine duringWorld War II. She had a highly successful career.
German Type VIIB submarines were preceded by the shorterType VIIA submarines.U-101 had a displacement of 753 tonnes (741 long tons) when at the surface and 857 tonnes (843 long tons) while submerged.[1] She had a total length of 66.50 m (218 ft 2 in), apressure hull length of 48.80 m (160 ft 1 in), abeam of 6.20 m (20 ft 4 in), a height of 9.50 m (31 ft 2 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, twoAEG GU 460/8-276double-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).[1]
The submarine had a maximum surface speed of 17.9 knots (33.2 km/h; 20.6 mph) and a maximum submerged speed of 8 knots (15 km/h; 9.2 mph).[1] When submerged, the boat could operate for 90 nautical miles (170 km; 100 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph); when surfaced, she could travel 8,700 nautical miles (16,100 km; 10,000 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph).U-101 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 one2 cm (0.79 in)anti-aircraft gun The boat had acomplement of between forty-four and sixty.[1]
U-101 was ordered on 15 December 1937 and laid down on 31 March 1939 atGermaniawerft,Kiel, as yard number 595. She waslaunched on 13 January 1940 andcommissioned under her first commanderKapitänleutnantFritz Frauenheim on 23 September of that year. Frauenheim commanded her for her work-up with the7th U-boat Flotilla between 11 March and 18 November 1940. She then became a front (operational) boat, also with the 7th Flotilla and set out from Kiel toTrondheim in Norway on her first war patrol on 28 April 1940 in theNorth Sea.[2]
Her first patrol took her to Trondheim and back to Kiel; it was largely uneventful. She sailed again from Kiel on 21 May on a second patrol that was to last 36 days and be highly successful, taking her around the perimeter of the British Isles, to theWestern Approaches and thePortuguese coast.[3] She sank a total of seven ships, for a total tonnage of 42,022 gross register tons (GRT).[4] On 22 May she sighted an enemy submarine. On the 23rd she again sighted either the original enemy craft or another. Atorpedo track was seen, but it passed 50 metres across her bow and she continued her journey.[2] On 29 May, at 16:30 she was spotted and attacked by an aircraft, which dropped two bombs onU-101 as she was west of theEnglish Channel. She suffered minor damage in this attack.[2]
Her first victim was the British merchant shipStanhall on 30 May. The next day she sank the BritishOrangemoor, but following this attack she was hunted by convoy escorts for four hours, during which they dropped 34depth charges. WhenU-101 risked rising to periscope depth she was spotted by an armed trawler, which dropped another seven depth charges at 22:00, causing some damage.[2]U-101 survived this encounter and went on to sinkPolycarp on 2 June. She was attacked again on 4 June at 20.14 hours, this time by an aircraft which dropped a bomb as she sailed west of the English Channel. She escaped damage.
On 11 June she torpedoed and sank theGreekMount Hymettus and on 12 June she claimed the BritishEarlspark. The final two successes came when she sank the GreekAntonis Georgandis on 14 June followed by the BritishWellington Star on the 16th.[4] Between 12 and 15 JuneU-101 operated as part ofwolfpackRösing. She was attacked again on 23 June at 04:08 while in the North Sea returning to base, when an aircraft dropped three bombs, damaging theperiscope.[2] She returned to Kiel on 25 June.
U-101's next patrol was less successful, but still claimed three merchantmen, totalling 2,311 GRT.[5] She left Kiel on 9 August, passed north of the British Isles and the north-west coast of Ireland and arrived atLorient in France 39 days later on 16 September. She sank the BritishAmpleforth on 19 August, theFinnishElle on 28 August and the GreekEfploia on 1 September. While searching for a convoy west of Ireland on 3 September, she was attacked by an escort with depth charges in five separate efforts, when she suffered considerable damage and began to flood, which was controlled by the crew.[2]
U-101 sailed again on 5 October for a shorter war patrol lasting 20 days. She operated in the North Atlantic, working to intercept convoys sailing to Britain. She sank theCanadianSaint-Malo on 12 October, before being one of a number of U-boats to launch a successful 'wolfpack' attack onConvoy SC 7. She damagedSS Blairspey and sankSS Creekirk on 18 October. The next day she sankSS Assyrian andSS Soesterberg. While carrying out a final attack she was sighted by one of the merchantmen, which shelled her. She was able to fire her last torpedoes and escape the shells that fell behind her. The merchant ship had turned away and began zig-zagging, and so escaped without being hit.[2]U-101 returned to Lorient having sunk four ships totalling 14,562 GRT and damaged another for 4,155 GRT.[6] On his return Frauenheim was relieved byKptlt.Ernst Mengersen.
Mengersen undertook one last war patrol during 1940, sailing from Lorient on 24 November. Despite only lasting 14 days, this was another successful voyage. On 31 November the BritishAractaca was sunk. The following dayU-101 attackedconvoy HX 90, sinkingAppalachee and damagingLoch Ranza on 1 December. The following day she sank a further two ships from the convoy,Kavak andLady Glanely.U-101 returned to Lorient on 7 December having sunk 22,483 GRT of shipping and damaged a further 4,958 GRT.[7]
The boat's next patrol started with her departure from Lorient on 23 January. Despite spending 28 days at sea, this was one ofU-101’s less successful cruises. While attempting to attackconvoy SC 19 at 04:16 on 29 January, an escortingdestroyer fired on her, forcing her to dive. The warship then dropped three depth charges, but these failed to cause any damage.[2]U-101 later sank two ships,Belcrest on 14 February andGairsoppa on the 17th.[8] She arrived back at base on 19 February, having accounted for a further 10,699 GRT of Allied shipping.[9] She sailed again on 24 March for her longest war patrol, lasting 40 days. This took her deep into the North Atlantic in search of enemy shipping. On 23 April she encountered a British submarine which fired two torpedoes at her, but both missed.[2]U-101 returned to base on 2 May without having sunk or damaged any enemy ships.[9]
Her next patrol began on 28 May and was slightly more successful. While operating further to the south of her previous location, she discovered theconvoys OB 327 and329 and sank the British merchant shipsTrecarrell andTrevarrack on 4 and 9 June respectively. Also on 4 June she lost a man,Matrosenobergefreiter Horst Jackl, overboard.[2] She returned to base on 4 July having accounted for 10,541 GRT of shipping.[10]
U-101's next patrol took her from Lorient on 7 August. On 24 August at 09:53, she was attacked by an aircraft while offRockall. Two bombs were dropped but failed to damage her. Nevertheless,U-101 was forced to crash-dive another five times that day and the next to avoid aircraft operating in the area. She then attempted to attackconvoy OS-4 on 28 August but was forced to dive by a destroyer at 03:03. She was hunted for three hours by several of the convoy's escorts, which dropped 30 depth charges. Despite the accuracy of these attacks, the only serious damage sustained was a disabled periscope.[2]U-101 put intoSaint Nazaire (also on the French Atlantic coast), on 4 September after 29 days at sea during which she had not been able to sink or damage any ships.[11]
U-101’s final patrol took her from Saint Nazaire back to Kiel around the British Isles once more, departing from her French base on 11 October. While outward bound through the Bay of Biscay on 13 October she was attacked at 10:45 by a twin-engine aircraft. Three bombs were dropped. Some damage must have been visible on the surface as she was attacked again while submerged with a further three bombs at 16:42.[2] She carried out an attack onConvoy SC 48 on 18 October, during which she torpedoed and sank the convoy escortHMS Broadwater.
She did not have any further success and arrived in Kiel on 16 November having spent 37 days at sea. This marked the end of her active wartime career. She had sunk 22 merchant ships, totalling 112,618 GRT and a warship of 1,190 tons; she also damaged a further two vessels for a total of 9,113 GRT.[2]
Oberleutnant zur See (Oblt.z.S.)Karl-Heinz Marbach briefly became commander ofU-101 on 1 January 1942, serving as such until 3 February.Oblt.z.S. Friedrich Bothe then took over until 31 March. On 1 MarchU-101 was part of the26th Flotilla for crew training, until the end of March. Between 1 April and 31 August, she became atraining boat for the21st U-boat Flotilla.[2] On 1 September she joined the24th Flotilla, again in a training capacity, terminating these duties on 31 August 1943. Between May 1942 and 25 October 1942 she was commanded by Ernst von Witzendorff. He was replaced byOblt.z.S. Helmut Münster who commandedU-101 until she was decommissioned. She was moved to the23rd Flotilla on 1 September 1943 until 22 October 1943.
She was then decommissioned atNeustadt.[2] She was laid up until being scuttled on 3 May 1945 prior to the German surrender. The wreck was laterbroken up.[2]
U-101 took part in fourwolfpacks, namely:
| Date | Ship | Nationality | Tonnage[Note 1] | Fate[12] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26 May 1940 | Stanhall |  United Kingdom | 4,831 | Sunk |
| 31 May 1940 | Orangemoor | United Kingdom | 5,775 | Sunk |
| 2 June 1940 | Polycarp | United Kingdom | 3,577 | Sunk |
| 11 June 1940 | Mount Hymettus |  Greece | 5,820 | Sunk |
| 12 June 1940 | Earlspark | United Kingdom | 5,250 | Sunk |
| 14 June 1940 | Antonis Georgandis | Greece | 3,557 | Sunk |
| 16 June 1940 | Wellington Star | United Kingdom | 13,212 | Sunk |
| 19 August 1940 | Ampleforth | United Kingdom | 4,576 | Sunk |
| 28 August 1940 | Elle |  Finland | 3,868 | Sunk |
| 1 September 1940 | Efploia | Greece | 3,867 | Sunk |
| 12 October 1940 | Saint-Malo |  Canada | 5,779 | Sunk |
| 18 October 1940 | Blairspey | United Kingdom | 4,155 | Damaged |
| 18 October 1940 | Creekirk | United Kingdom | 3,917 | Sunk |
| 19 October 1940 | Assyrian | United Kingdom | 2,962 | Sunk |
| 19 October 1940 | Soesterberg |  Netherlands | 1,904 | Sunk |
| 30 November 1940 | Aracataca | United Kingdom | 5,378 | Sunk |
| 1 December 1940 | Appalachee | United Kingdom | 8,826 | Sunk |
| 1 December 1940 | Loch Ranza | United Kingdom | 4,958 | Damaged |
| 2 December 1940 | Kavak | United Kingdom | 2,782 | Sunk |
| 2 December 1940 | Lady Glanely | United Kingdom | 5,497 | Sunk |
| 14 February 1941 | Belcrest | United Kingdom | 4,517 | Sunk |
| 17 February 1941 | Gairsoppa | United Kingdom | 5,237 | Sunk |
| 4 June 1941 | Trecarrell | United Kingdom | 5,271 | Sunk |
| 9 June 1941 | Trevarrack | United Kingdom | 5,270 | Sunk |
| 18 October 1941 | HMS Broadwater |  Royal Navy | 1,190 | Sunk |
54°07′N10°50′E / 54.117°N 10.833°E /54.117; 10.833
