 Chief of the German U-boat armKarl Dönitz observing the arrival ofU-94 atSt. Nazaire in June 1941 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 Nazi Germany | |
| Name | U-94 |
| Ordered | 30 May 1938 |
| Builder | Germaniawerft,Kiel |
| Yard number | 599 |
| Laid down | 9 September 1939 |
| Launched | 12 June 1940 |
| Commissioned | 10 August 1940 |
| Fate | Sunk, 28 August 1942 |
| 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 | |
| Part of: |
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| Identification codes: | M 07 970 |
| Commanders: | |
| Operations: |
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| Victories: | |
German submarineU-94 was aType VIICU-boat ofNazi Germany'sKriegsmarine during World War II. She waslaid down on 9 September 1939 at the F. KruppGermaniawerft inKiel as yard number 599,launched on 12 June 1940 andcommissioned on 10 August 1940 underKapitänleutnantHerbert Kuppisch.
She sank 26 ships of 141,852 GRT in ten patrols and was a member of sixwolfpacks but was herself sunk by a US aircraft and a Canadian warship on 28 August 1942.
German Type VIIC submarines were preceded by the shorterType VIIB submarines.U-94 had a displacement of 769 tonnes (757 long tons) when at the surface and 871 tonnes (857 long tons) while submerged.[1] 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).[1]
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).[1] 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-94 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.[1]
The boat left Kiel on 20 November 1940, heading forLorient in France which she reached, via theNorth Sea on 31 December.
On the way, she sankStirlingshire on 2 December, 280 nautical miles (520 km; 320 mi) northwest of theBloody Foreland, (a northwesterly point of the Irish mainland).[2]
She also sentWilhelmina andEmpire Statesman to the bottom on the second and the 11th respectively.
After that, the boat headed for mid-ocean before docking at her French Atlantic base.
U-94 returned to the Atlantic west of Ireland and Scotland for her second patrol. She sank three more ships:Florian on 20 January 1941,West Wales on the 29th andRushpool on the 30th.
For her third sortie, the boat moved into the waters west ofIceland. She sankHarbledown on 4 April 1941 andLincoln Ellsworth on the sixth. The latter ship was destroyed by a combination oftorpedo and fire from thedeck gun.
U-94 was attacked by the escorts ofconvoy OB 318 on 7 May 1941. Some 98depth charges over four hours were dropped. The boat persisted with her attack, however, sinkingEastern Star andIxion.
Two more merchantmen met their end on the 20th:Norman Monarch andJohn P. Pedersen.
Patrol number five was carried out west of theCanary Islands; it was relatively uneventful.
Having left St. Nazaire on 2 September 1941,U-94 operated southeast ofCape Farewell (Greenland). She sankNewbury,Pegasus andEmpire Eland, all on the 15th. On 1 October, she fired five torpedoes atSan Florentino. Three of them struck home; the ship broke in two after the third impact. The bow section remained afloat and was engaged by the U-boat's deck gun, it was eventually finished off byHMCS Alberni.
The boat returned to Kiel on 15 October.
U-94 departed Kiel on 12 January 1942; she negotiated thegap between theFaroe andShetland Islands, docking once more at St. Nazaire on the 30th.
The U-boat continued her successes on the western side of the Atlantic. She sank theEmpire Hail east ofSt. Johns,Newfoundland on 24 February 1942. Following the coast-line to the south, her next victim wasCayrú, about 130 nautical miles (240 km; 150 mi) from New York on 9 March. She also sankHvoslef two miles east ofFenwick Island, offDelaware Bay on the 11th.[3][4]
U-94 left St. Nazaire on 4 May 1942 for what would be her top-scoring patrol, (it was to be carried out once more south of Greenland). Moving into this area, a steady stream of sinkings resulted; theCocle on 12 May,Batna andTolken, both on the 13th - a sailing ship,Maria da Glória on 5 June;Ramsay andEmpire Clough on the tenth. Her last kill wasPontypridd, on the following day.
The boat left St. Nazaire for the last time for theCaribbean on 3 August 1942. On 28 August,U-94 was in operation against convoy TAW 15 offHaiti when attacked by American and Canadian escorts. First, an AmericanPBY swooped down and bombed the U-boat, and then CanadiancorvettesHMCS Halifax andSnowberry attacked.HMCS Oakville fired depth charges which forced the submarine to the surface. The corvette then rammedU-94 twice before it slowed to a stop.Hal Lawrence led a boarding party of eleven sailors fromOakville to capture the boat. They boarded the vessel and entered through the conning tower. Only two Canadians actually went through the hatch, they were surprised by two Germans who came running towards them. After ordering halt, the Canadians fired and killed the attacking Germans when they failed to stop. The rest of the crew surrendered without incident. After just barely capturing the vessel, the Canadian sailors realized the Germans had already scuttled the boat and it was taking on water. The Canadians leftU-94 and she sank with nineteen of her crew;Oakville rescued 26, including the commander,Oberleutnant zur See Otto Ites.[5]
U-94 took part in sixwolfpacks, namely:
| Date | Ship | Nationality | Tonnage | Fate[6] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 December 1940 | Stirlingshire |  United Kingdom | 6,022 | Sunk |
| 2 December 1940 | Wilhelmina | United Kingdom | 6,725 | Sunk |
| 11 December 1940 | Empire Statesman | United Kingdom | 5,306 | Sunk |
| 20 January 1941 | Florian | United Kingdom | 3,174 | Sunk |
| 29 January 1941 | West Wales | United Kingdom | 4,353 | Sunk |
| 30 January 1941 | Rushpool | United Kingdom | 5,125 | Sunk |
| 4 April 1941 | Harbledown | United Kingdom | 5,414 | Sunk |
| 6 April 1941 | Lincoln Ellsworth |  Norway | 5,580 | Sunk |
| 7 May 1941 | Ixon | United Kingdom | 10,263 | Sunk |
| 7 May 1941 | Eastern Star | Norway | 5,658 | Sunk |
| 20 May 1941 | John P. Pedersen | Norway | 6,128 | Sunk |
| 20 May 1941 | Norman Monarch | United Kingdom | 4,718 | Sunk |
| 15 September 1941 | Newbury | United Kingdom | 5,102 | Sunk |
| 15 September 1941 | Pegasus |  Greece | 5,762 | Sunk |
| 15 September 1941 | Empire Eland | United Kingdom | 5,613 | Sunk |
| 1 October 1941 | San Florentino | United Kingdom | 12,842 | Sunk |
| 24 February 1942 | Empire Hail | United Kingdom | 7,005 | Sunk |
| 9 March 1942 | Cayrǘ |  Brazil | 5,152 | Sunk |
| 11 March 1942 | Hvoslef | Norway | 1,630 | Sunk |
| 25 March 1942 | Imperial Transport | United Kingdom | 8,022 | Damaged |
| 12 May 1942 | Cocle |  Panama | 5,630 | Sunk |
| 13 May 1942 | Tolken |  Sweden | 4,471 | Sunk |
| 13 May 1942 | Batna | United Kingdom | 4,399 | Sunk |
| 5 June 1942 | Maria da Glória |  Portugal | 320 | Sunk |
| 10 June 1942 | Ramsay | United Kingdom | 4,855 | Sunk |
| 10 June 1942 | Empire Clough | United Kingdom | 6,147 | Sunk |
| 11 June 1942 | Pontypridd | United Kingdom | 4,458 | Sunk |
