| History | |
|---|---|
 Nazi Germany | |
| Name | U-468 |
| Ordered | 15 August 1940 |
| Builder | Deutsche Werke,Kiel |
| Yard number | 299 |
| Laid down | 1 July 1941 |
| Launched | 16 May 1942 |
| Commissioned | 12 August 1942 |
| Fate | Sunk on 11 August 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][3] | |
| Part of: |
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| Identification codes: | M 49 533 |
| Commanders: |
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| Operations: |
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| Victories: | 1 merchant ship sunk (6,537 GRT) |
German submarineU-468 was aType VIICU-boat ofNazi Germany'sKriegsmarine duringWorld War II. The submarine waslaid down on 1 July 1941 as yard number 299 at theDeutsche Werke yard inKiel,launched on 16 May 1942 andcommissioned on 12 August 1942 under the command ofOberleutnant zur See Klemens Schamong. She sailed on three war patrols and sank only one ship before being sunk by aRNZAF plane on 11 August 1943.[2] The airplane pilot (who died in the action, along with his crew and most of the submariners) was subsequently awarded theVictoria Cross – one of only three occasions on which a VC has been awarded solely on the testimony of an enemy combatant in WW2.[4]
German Type VIIC submarines were preceded by the shorterType VIIB submarines.U-468 had a displacement of 769 tonnes (757 long tons) when at the surface and 871 tonnes (857 long tons) while submerged.[5] 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, twoSiemens-Schuckert GU 343/38–8double-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).[5]
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).[5] 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-468 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 one twin2 cm (0.79 in) C/30anti-aircraft gun. The boat had acomplement of between forty-four and sixty.[5]
The boat began her service career by training with the5th U-boat Flotilla, before moving on to the3rd flotilla for operations.
U-468 sailed for the first time from Kiel on 28 January 1943, stopping briefly atKristiansand in Norway,[3] before heading out into the mid-Atlantic.[6] On 12 March,U-468 sank the British 6,537 GRT tankerEmpire Light southeast ofCape Farewell (Greenland) with two torpedoes. The tanker, a straggler from Convoy ON 168, had been damaged by a torpedo fromU-638 on 7 March, and abandoned by her surviving crew.[7] The U-boat arrived at her new home port ofLa Pallice in occupied France on 27 March.[3]
U-468 departed La Pallice for the mid-Atlantic on 19 April 1943, but had no successes.[3] At 08:35 on 22 May the U-boat came under attack by aGrumman TBF Avengertorpedo bomber of SquadronVC-9 flying from theescort carrierUSS Bogue. Barely an hour later another aircraft from the same squadron attacked and the U-boat was damaged. At 15:57,U-468 was attacked for a third time by an aircraft of theRoyal Navy's819 Naval Air Squadron. The boat defended itself with flak without destroying the aircraft.[8]U-468 had suffered serious damage and was forced to abandon her patrol, returning to base on 29 May.[9]
The U-boat sailed for her third and final war patrol on 7 July 1943 from La Pallice. She headed south to the West African coast. There on 11 August, she was attacked and sunk by aB-24 Liberator from200 Squadron RAF, south-west ofDakar in position12°20′N20°07′W / 12.333°N 20.117°W /12.333; -20.117. The U-boat's flak hit the aircraft several times and set it on fire, but the Liberator continued to turn into its attack and dropped sixdepth charges before crashing into the sea, killing all eight crewmen aboard. Two depth charges fell very close to the U-boat with devastating effect.U-468 sank within 10 minutes, and only the commander and six crewmen managed to haul themselves into a rubber dinghy that floated free from the aircraft wreck, and were picked up by thecorvetteHMS Clarkia on 13 August.[4]
The pilot of the Liberator,Flying OfficerLloyd Allan TriggRNZAF was subsequently awarded theVictoria Cross for this action.[4] This is one of the only three occasions such a decoration has been awarded solely on the testimony of an enemy combatant – the others being Lieutenant CommanderGerard Roope ofHMS Glowworm (H92) (recommended by Kapitän zur See (Captain)Hellmuth Heye of theGerman cruiser Admiral Hipper) andSergeantThomas Frank Durrant of No 1Commando duringSt Nazaire Raid (on recommendation of Kapitänleutnant F. K. Paul of the German torpedo boat (small destroyer)Jaguar. It was the first to be awarded to ASW (anti-submarine-warfare) aircrew.[1][10]
U-468 took part in ninewolfpacks, namely:
| Date | Ship Name | Nationality | Tonnage (GRT) | Fate[11] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 March 1943 | Empire Light |  United Kingdom | 6,537 | Sunk |
Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in August 1943 | |
|---|---|
| Shipwrecks |
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| Other incidents |
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