German submarine ''U-285'' 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 It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic.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. The submarine was laid down on 7 July 1942 at the ''Bremer Vulkan'' yard at Bremen-Vegesack as yard number 50. She was launched on 3 April 1943 and commissioned on 15 May 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 ...

'' Otto Walter.

Design

German Type VIIC submarines were preceded by the shorter Type VIIB submarines. ''U-285'' 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-285'' 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 two twin C/30

anti-aircraft gun Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based, ...

s. The boat had a complement of between forty-four and sixty.

Service history

''U-285'' served with the

8th U-boat Flotilla The 8th U-boat Flotilla (German ''8. Unterseebootsflottille'') was formed in June 1941 in Königsberg under the command of ''Kapitänleutnant'' Georg-Wilhelm Schulz, who also at this time commanded the 6th U-boat Flotilla in Danzig. It was prim ...

for training from May 1943 to July 1944 and operationally with the 7th flotilla from 1 August. She was then reassigned to the 11th flotilla on 1 October. She carried out three patrols, sinking no ships. The boat's first patrol was preceded by a short voyage from Kiel on 15 August 1944 to Kristiansand in Norway, arriving there on 20 August.

First and second patrols

''U-285''s first patrol proper took her to northwest Scotland. She docked at Bergen on 18 September 1944. Her second sortie was west of Ireland and into the

St. George's Channel St George's Channel ( cy, Sianel San Siôr, ga, Muir Bhreatan) is a sea channel connecting the Irish Sea to the north and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. Historically, the name "St George's Channel" was used interchangeably with "Irish Sea" ...

, (between southeast Ireland and southwest Wales). She had passed between Iceland and the Faroe Islands and into the Atlantic Ocean. The submarine returned to Bergen on 31 January 1945.

Third patrol and loss

The boat was attacked and sunk by

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 dropped from the British frigates and on 15 April 1945 southwest of Ireland. Forty-four men died; there were no survivors.

References

Bibliography

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External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:U0285 German Type VIIC submarines U-boats commissioned in 1943 U-boats sunk in 1943 World War II submarines of Germany World War II shipwrecks in the Atlantic Ocean 1943 ships Ships built in Bremen (state) Submarines lost with all hands U-boats sunk by British warships Maritime incidents in April 1945