German Submarine U-140 (1940)

German submarine ''U-140'' was a Type IID U-boat of Nazi Germany's ''Kriegsmarine'' during World War II. She carried out three combat patrol. Built at the Kiel shipyards during 1939 and 1940, as a Type IID U-boat, she was too small for major operational work in the Atlantic Ocean, which was now required by the ''Kriegsmarine'' as the Battle of the Atlantic expanded.

Design

German Type IID submarines were enlarged versions of the original Type IIs. ''U-140'' had a displacement of when at the surface and while submerged. Officially, the standard tonnage was , however. 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 MWM RS 127 S four-stroke, six-cylinder diesel engines of for cruising, two Siemens-Schuckert PG VV 322/36 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-140'' was fitted with three torpedo tubes at the bow, five torpedoes or up to twelve Type A torpedo mines, and a anti-aircraft gun. The boat had a complement of 25.

War patrol

''U-140'' carried out three raiding patrols, first under her first captain, Hans-Peter Hinsch. He took her round the north of Scotland in December 1940 following her work-up program, and it was here that she sank her first victim, twelve days into the voyage. Six days later north of Ireland, on 8 December she sank the steel 3-mast barque ''Penang'' of neutral Finland, inbound from Stenhouse Bay, South Australia to Cobh in neutral Ireland with a cargo of grain. The ''Penang'' and her 18 crew were all lost at . Later that day she heard the British freighter ''Ashcrest'' broadcast that she needed assistance as her rudder was broken, at . ''U-140'' sank ''Ashcrest'' with the loss of the entire crew of 37.

She then headed home towards retirement. ''U-140'' was docked, her crew transferred and she was converted into a training boat, designed to operate solely in the Baltic Sea, training submariners for the main U-boat force.

Training boat

It was during this onerous yet necessary duty that her new captain, Hans-Jürgen Hellriegel, found himself facing a small Soviet submarine on the surface, well into the Baltic, a month after the invasion of the Soviet Union. In a careful attack, ''U-140'' torpedoed and sank her rival with his scratch crew of new recruits. Orders had been pushing ''U-140'' further into the Baltic during the preceding months, with the hope that she might achieve just such a victory.

Following this excitement, ''U-140'' returned to training duties, which she continued for the remainder of the war without further incident, save in the final months, when she was transferred to Wilhelmshaven in a general shipment of equipment and personnel to the West. It was there, on the 5 May 1945 in Jade Bay, that ''U-140'' was scuttled by her crew to prevent her seizure by the advancing British forces. Post-war she was raised and scrapped.

Summary of raiding history

References

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{{DEFAULTSORT:U0140
1940 ships
German Type II submarines
Ships built in Kiel
U-boats commissioned in 1940
World War II submarines of Germany
Operation Regenbogen (U-boat)
Maritime incidents in May 1945