German submarine ''U-235'' was a

Type VIIC Type VII U-boats were the most common type of German World War II U-boat. 703 boats were built by the end of the war. The lone surviving example, , is on display at the Laboe Naval Memorial located in Laboe, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. Conc ...

U-boat of Nazi Germany's ''

Kriegsmarine The (, ) was the navy of Germany from 1935 to 1945. It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic. The was one of three official branches, along with the a ...

'' during World War II.

Design

German Type VIIC submarines were preceded by the shorter Type VIIB submarines. ''U-235'' had a displacement of when at the surface and while submerged. She had a total length of , a pressure hull length of , a

beam Beam may refer to: Streams of particles or energy *Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy **Laser beam *Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles **Charged particle beam, a spatially localized grou ...

of , a height of , and a draught of . The submarine was powered by two Germaniawerft F46 four-stroke, six-cylinder

supercharged In an internal combustion engine, a supercharger compresses the intake gas, forcing more air into the engine in order to produce more power for a given displacement. The current categorisation is that a supercharger is a form of forced induct ...

diesel engines producing a total of for use while surfaced, two

AEG Allgemeine Elektricitäts-Gesellschaft AG (AEG; ) was a German producer of electrical equipment founded in Berlin as the ''Deutsche Edison-Gesellschaft für angewandte Elektricität'' in 1883 by Emil Rathenau. During the Second World War, AEG ...

GU 460/8–27 double-acting electric motors producing a total of for use while submerged. She had two shafts and two

propeller A propeller (colloquially often called a screw if on a ship or an airscrew if on an aircraft) is a device with a rotating hub and radiating blades that are set at a pitch to form a helical spiral which, when rotated, exerts linear thrust upon ...

s. 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-235'' was fitted with five torpedo tubes (four fitted at the bow and one at the stern), fourteen torpedoes, one SK C/35 naval gun, 220 rounds, and an anti-aircraft gun. The boat had a complement of between forty-four and sixty.

Service history

The submarine was laid down on 25 February 1942 at the Friedrich Krupp Germaniawerft yard at Kiel as yard number 665, launched on 4 November and commissioned on 19 December under the command of ''

Oberleutnant zur See ''Oberleutnant zur See'' (''OLt zS'' or ''OLZS'' in the German Navy, ''Oblt.z.S.'' in the ''Kriegsmarine'') is traditionally the highest rank of Lieutenant in the German Navy. It is grouped as OF-1 in NATO. The rank was introduced in the Imper ...

'' Goske von Möllendorf. After training with the

5th U-boat Flotilla The 5th U-boat Flotilla (German ''5. Unterseebootsflottille''), also known as Emsmann Flotilla, was a U-boat flotilla of Nazi Germany's ''Kriegsmarine'' during World War II. The flotilla was formed in December 1938 in Kiel under the command of '' ...

at Kiel, ''U-235'' was transferred to the 22nd flotilla on 29 October 1943, following her sinking in May by US bombs in Kiel. She had been raised, repaired and returned to service. She was reassigned to the

31st U-boat Flotilla ''31st U-boat Flotilla'' ("31. Unterseebootsflottille") was a training flotilla ("''Ausbildungsflottille''") of Nazi Germany's ''Kriegsmarine'' during World War II. The flotilla was formed in Hamburg in September 1943 under the command of ''Kapi ...

on 2 April 1945, less than two weeks before her second sinking.

Loss

On 14 April 1945, ''U-235'' was heading to Norway with when they encountered a small German convoy accompanied by the torpedo boat ''T17''. All vessels had not been warned of the others' presence but the convoy had been warned that a British submarine was in the area. ''U-1272'' dived deep and out of trouble, but ''U-235'' surfaced, possibly to identify herself and then as if changing her mind, also dived. ''T17'' attacked, dropping

depth charge A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) weapon. It is intended to destroy a submarine by being dropped into the water nearby and detonating, subjecting the target to a powerful and destructive Shock factor, hydraulic shock. Most depth ...

s. Any celebration on ''T17'' was abruptly stilled when amongst the wreckage appearing were bodies in ''Kriegsmarine'' uniform. Forty-six men died; there were no survivors.

References

Bibliography

* * * *

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:U0235 German Type VIIC submarines World War II submarines of Germany World War II shipwrecks in the Kattegat U-boats commissioned in 1942 U-boats sunk in 1943 U-boats sunk in 1945 U-boats sunk by German warships 1942 ships Ships built in Kiel Submarines lost with all hands Friendly fire incidents of World War II Maritime incidents in May 1943 Maritime incidents in April 1945