German Submarine U-103 (1940)

German submarine ''U-103'' was a Type IXB U-boat of Nazi Germany's '' Kriegsmarine'' that operated during World War II. She was one of the most successful boats in the entire war, sinking of Allied shipping in 11 patrols, in a career lasting more than four years.

''U-103'' was laid down on 6 September 1939 at DeSchiMAG AG Weser in Bremen as yard number 966. She was launched on 12 April 1940 and commissioned on 5 July under the command of ''Korvettenkapitän'' Victor Schütze. After her warm-up, (designed to give her an opportunity to train and repair minor faults), she was deployed into the North Atlantic in September 1940 and saw overwhelming success, sinking 45 ships and damaging three other vessels.

Design

German Type IXB submarines were slightly larger than the original German Type IX submarines, later designated IXA. ''U-103'' had a displacement of when at the surface and while submerged. The U-boat had a total length of , a pressure hull length of , a beam of , a height of , and a draught of . The submarine was powered by two MAN M 9 V 40/46 supercharged four-stroke, nine-cylinder diesel engines producing a total of for use while surfaced, two Siemens-Schuckert 2 GU 345/34 double-acting electric motors producing a total of for use while submerged. She had two shafts and two propellers. The boat was capable of operating at depths of up to .

The submarine had a maximum surface speed of and a maximum submerged speed of . When submerged, the boat could operate for at ; when surfaced, she could travel at . ''U-103'' was fitted with six torpedo tubes (four fitted at the bow and two at the stern), 22 torpedoes, one SK C/32 naval gun, 180 rounds, and a SK C/30 as well as a C/30 anti-aircraft gun. The boat had a complement of forty-eight.

Service history

First patrol

The boat entered the Atlantic via the gap between the Faroe and Shetland Islands. Her first victory was sinking ''Nina Borthen'' in mid-ocean on 6 October. After being hit by a torpedo, the ship developed a list, which the crew corrected. The ship was hit by two more projectiles, which also caused a list. Another torpedo hit broke the vessel in two and she sank. There were no survivors.

A steady stream of victories followed; ''Zanes Gounaris'' on 9 October, ''Graigwen'' (damaged) also on the ninth, as was ''Delphin'', although she did not sink until the next day. The ''Nora'' went down on 13 October; ''Thistlegarth'' was the last victim – sinking west northwest of Rockall on 15 October.

''U-103'' docked at her new base – Lorient on the French Atlantic coast, on 19 October.

Second patrol

''U-103''s second foray commenced with her being unsuccessfully attacked by the northwest of Ireland on 11 November 1940.

She then added to her score: ''Daydawn'' on the 21st, ''Victoria'' on the same day; ''Glenmoor'' on the 27th, ''Mount Athos'' on the 28th and ''St. Elwyn'', also on the 28th. There was a slight pause before the attacks continued: the on 8 December and ''Empire Jaguar'' the next day.

The submarine returned to Lorient on 12 December.

Third patrol

The list of sunk and damaged ships grew. The ''Arthur F. Corwin'' was damaged by ''U-103'' 13 February 1941 and sunk by later that same day. ''U-96'' went on to sink ''Edwy R. Brown'' (17 October), (18th) and ''Benjamin Franklin'' (19th).
MS BENJAMIN FRANKLIN (LTK001192701) Torpedoed and sunk 19/02 by the German submarine U 103 (Korvettenkapitän Viktor Schütze) in position 58.50N- 16.30W whilst on a voyage from San Francisco, CA, USA via Bermuda to Liverpool, England with 8.400 t general cargo. 7 of her crew was saved by HMS PIMPERNELL and landed in Liverpool. 29 of her crew was taken aboard Egyptian SS MEMPHIS who was broken down and sank 28/02 in bad weather North West of Ireland. No survivors.

Fourth patrol

A change of operational area saw ''U-103'' conduct her fourth sortie off the coast of West Africa. This patrol was also notable, because at 103 days, it was her longest. She sank ''Polyana'' southwest of the Cape Verde Islands on 24 April 1941. The ship went down in one minute, there were no survivors.

The tally increased: ''Samsø'', ''Wray Castle'', ''Surat'' and ''Dunkwa'' were all sent to the bottom in the first week of May. When ''Dunkwa'' met her end, it was noticed that there were 39 survivors in one lifeboat; the U-boat-men righted another and provided water.

On 25 May, she sank the merchantman ''Radames'' off the coast of Liberia. The sinking of the ''Radames'' was filmed and is often shown on documentaries concerning the Battle of the Atlantic.

''U-103'' sank another seven ships in the vicinity of the 'dark continent' before returning to Lorient on 12 July.

Fifth patrol

Patrol number five was relatively modest in terms of ships sunk. 'Only' two vessels went under; (''Niceto de Larrinaga'' and ''Edward Blyden''), west of the Canary Islands on 22 September 1941.

Sixth patrol

The boat's sixth patrol centred around the eastern US coast. She sank ''W. L. Stead'' about off the Delaware River on 2 February 1942. The torpedo hit set the ship on fire but wave action soon extinguished it. Using her deck gun, ''U-103'' fired 83 rounds, scoring 17 hits and reigniting the fire. She fired a further two torpedoes, the second missed, but the third caused the tanker's cargo to explode, sending flames into the air.

''U-103'' also sank ''San Gil'' on 4 February, ''India Arrow'' on the fifth and ''China Arrow'' on the same date.

Seventh patrol

Her seventh patrol began with her departure from Lorient on 15 April 1942. She sank ''Stanbank'' northeast of Bermuda on 5 May. Moving into the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico, she caused more mayhem among the unprotected merchant ships in May. In all, she destroyed nine vessels on this voyage.

''U-103'' returned to Lorient on 22 June.

Eighth patrol

''U-103'' sank two more ships: ''Tasmania'' north of Madeira on 31 October 1942 and in mid-Atlantic northwest of the Azores on 6 December. ''Henry Stanley''s master was taken prisoner and eventually sent to the POW camp for merchant seamen at Milag Nord.

''U-103'' also damaged ''Horata'' north of the Azores on 13 December.

Ninth and tenth patrols

The boat experienced something that was relatively novel on her ninth sally – she sank no ships. Despite scouring the Atlantic off Spain as far west as the Azores and as far south as Morocco, she came across no convoys. Having departed Lorient on 7 February 1943, she returned there on 26 March.

''U-103'' was attacked by a Leigh Light equipped Vickers Wellington of No. 172 Squadron RAF on 27 April, during her tenth patrol. The aircraft had found the U-boat with its radar; six depth charges were dropped, but no damage inflicted. The boat was also attacked by a Whitley bomber of No. 10 OTU (Operational Training Unit) on 22 May. A hit from the boat's AA fire prevented the aircraft from dropping its depth charges. Plane and submarine both returned safely to their bases.

11th patrol

''U-103''s last operational patrol was officially divided into two parts; the first of which saw her arrive in Brest in France only two days after her departure from 'Lorient. She then returned to the west African coast but could not repeat her earlier success. She sailed to Bergen in Norway via a reverse in the course of her first patrol and arrived at the Nordic port on 1 January 1944.

Fate

The boat moved from Bergen on 3 January 1944 and arrived in Kiel on the seventh. In March ''U-103'' was taken out of service and used as a ''Schulboot'' (training boat). She went from Gotenhafen to Hamburg in January 1945 and in April from Hamburg back to Kiel. On 3 May 1945 she was scuttled at Kiel.

Wolfpacks

''U-103'' took part in nine wolfpacks, namely:
* Störtebecker (5 – 7 November 1941)
* Streitaxt (29 October – 2 November 1942)
* Schlagetot (9 – 21 November 1942)
* Westwall (21 November – 16 December 1942)
* Robbe (16 February – 12 March 1943)
* Wohlgemut (12 – 19 March 1943)
* Amsel 4 (4 – 6 May 1943)
* Rhein (7 – 10 May 1943)
* Elbe 2 (10 – 14 May 1943)

Summary of raiding history

See also

* List of successful U-boats

References

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

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External links

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uboataces.com webpage with insignia for ''U-103''

{{DEFAULTSORT:U0103
German Type IX submarines
U-boats commissioned in 1940
U-boats sunk in 1945
World War II submarines of Germany
World War II shipwrecks in the Baltic Sea
1940 ships
Ships built in Bremen (state)
U-boats sunk by Canadian aircraft
Maritime incidents in April 1945