German submarine ''U-410'' was a
Type VIIC U-boat
U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare role ...
built for
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
'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 It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic.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
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, operating mainly in the
Mediterranean
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...
. Her insignia was a sword & shield, she did not suffer any casualties until she was sunk.
''U-410'' was first commanded by ''
Kapitänleutnant
''Kapitänleutnant'', short: KptLt/in lists: KL, ( en, captain lieutenant) is an officer grade of the captains' military hierarchy group () of the German Bundeswehr. The rank is rated OF-2 in NATO, and equivalent to Hauptmann in the Heer and ...
'' Kurt Sturm during her working up/training period and on her first patrol before being commanded by
Horst-Arno Fenski
The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (german: Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes) and its variants were the highest awards in the military and paramilitary forces of Nazi Germany during World War II. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded ...
for her six combat patrols. ''U-410'' sank seven merchantmen, a
Landing ship, Tank (LST); and a
light cruiser
A light cruiser is a type of small or medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armored cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck. Prior to thi ...
during the Second World War. For his successes, Fenski received the
Knight's Cross
Knight's Cross (German language ''Ritterkreuz'') refers to a distinguishing grade or level of various orders that often denotes bravery and leadership on the battlefield.
Most frequently the term Knight's Cross is used to refer to the Knight's Cr ...
.
Design
German Type VIIC submarines
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
were preceded by the shorter
Type VIIB submarines. ''U-410'' had a displacement of when at the surface and while submerged. She had a total length of , a
pressure hull
A submarine hull has two major components, the ''light hull'' and the ''pressure hull''. The light hull (''casing'' in British usage) of a submarine is the outer non-watertight hull which provides a hydrodynamically efficient shape. The pressure ...
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 engine
The diesel engine, named after Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of the fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to mechanical compression; thus, the diesel engine is a so-call ...
s producing a total of for use while surfaced, two
Siemens-Schuckert
Siemens-Schuckert (or Siemens-Schuckertwerke) was a German electrical engineering company headquartered in Berlin, Erlangen and Nuremberg that was incorporated into the Siemens AG in 1966.
Siemens Schuckert was founded in 1903 when Siemens & Ha ...
GU 343/38–8
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-410'' was fitted with five
torpedo tube
A torpedo tube is a cylindrical device for launching torpedoes.
There are two main types of torpedo tube: underwater tubes fitted to submarines and some surface ships, and deck-mounted units (also referred to as torpedo launchers) installed aboa ...
s (four fitted at the bow and one at the stern), fourteen
torpedo
A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, su ...
es, one
SK C/35 naval gun, 220 rounds, a
twin , on Platform I, a
, on Platform II and two
MG 15
The MG 15 was a German 7.92 mm machine gun designed specifically as a hand-manipulated defensive gun for combat aircraft during the early 1930s. By 1941 it was replaced by other types and found new uses with ground troops.
History
The MG 1 ...
machine guns on the bridge. The boat had a
complement
A complement is something that completes something else.
Complement may refer specifically to:
The arts
* Complement (music), an interval that, when added to another, spans an octave
** Aggregate complementation, the separation of pitch-class ...
of between forty-four and sixty.
She carried two eight-man, one six-man and 58 one-man, rubber boats.
Service history
''U-410'' was ordered by the ''Kriegsmarine'' on 30 October 1939. She was
laid down
Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship.
Keel laying is one o ...
at the
Danziger Werft
Danziger Werft ( en, The International Shipbuilding and Engineering Company Limited, pl, Stocznia Gdańska) was a shipbuilding company, in Danzig (now Gdańsk, Poland), in what was then the Free City of Danzig. It was founded in 1921 on the si ...
yard in
Danzig, on 9 January 1941 and
launched on 14 October 1941. She was formally
commissioned into the ''Kriegsmarine'', on 23 February 1942.
1st and 2nd patrols
''U-410'' departed
Kiel
Kiel () is the capital and most populous city in the northern Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 246,243 (2021).
Kiel lies approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the southeast of the J ...
on 27 August 1942 for her first patrol. The U-boat, under ''Kapitänleutnant'' Kurt Sturm, sank the British ''
Newton Pine'' in mid-Atlantic. She then arrived in
St. Nazaire in France on 28 October 1942, after 63 days at sea.
Her second outing was not so productive; after 33 days she returned to her French base empty-handed.
3rd and 4th patrols
Her third foray was more productive and included the sinking of the British ship ''
Fort Battle River'' on 6 March 1943. She also damaged another British vessel in the same engagement, ''Fort Paskoyac''. Both of these ships were attacked southwest of Portugal. The U-boat returned to St. Nazaire on 27 March 1943.
Her fourth sortie included transiting the heavily defended
Strait of Gibraltar
The Strait of Gibraltar ( ar, مضيق جبل طارق, Maḍīq Jabal Ṭāriq; es, Estrecho de Gibraltar, Archaic: Pillars of Hercules), also known as the Straits of Gibraltar, is a narrow strait that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Medi ...
. She arrived in
La Spezia
La Spezia (, or , ; in the local Spezzino dialect) is the capital city of the province of La Spezia and is located at the head of the Gulf of La Spezia in the southern part of the Liguria region of Italy.
La Spezia is the second largest city ...
in Italy on 13 May 1943, having left St. Nazaire on 26 April.
5th and 6th patrols
''U-410'' left La Spezia on 7 August 1943 and attacked the
convoy UGS-14 off the Algerian coast. Firing three torpedoes in a 'spread', she hit and sank two American ships, ''
John Bell'' and ''
Richard Henderson'' on 26 August 1943. She then sailed to
Toulon
Toulon (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Tolon , , ) is a city on the French Riviera and a large port on the Mediterranean coast, with a major naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, and the Provence province, Toulon is th ...
in France, arriving on 30 August.
The U-boat tried to disrupt the landings at
Anzio
Anzio (, also , ) is a town and ''comune'' on the coast of the Lazio region of Italy, about south of Rome.
Well known for its seaside harbour setting, it is a Port, fishing port and a departure point for ferries and hydroplanes to the Pontine I ...
, sinking a British light cruiser and an American LST (see below).
Combat history
Commanders
*23 February 1942 – 4 February 1943 ''Kapitänleutnant'' Kurt Sturm.
*5 February 1943 – 11 March 1944 ''
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 Imp ...
'' Horst-Arno Fenski
Flotillas
*23 February – 31 August 1942 -
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 '' ...
*1 September 1942 – 31 May 1943 -
7th U-boat Flotilla
The 7th U-boat Flotilla (German ''7. Unterseebootsflottille''), also known as Wegener Flotilla, was the seventh operational U-boat combat unit in the Nazi Germany's ''Kriegsmarine''. Founded on 25 June 1938 under the command of ''Korvettenkapit ...
*1 June 1943 – 11 March 1944 -
29th U-boat Flotilla
Wolfpacks
''U-410'' was part of the following "
wolfpacks":
Rescue of survivors from MV ''Rhakotis''
On 2 January 1943, ''U-410'' rescued 80 survivors from the German blockade-runner after she was sunk by . The survivors were returned to St. Nazaire the next day. Among the survivors were two Englishmen who received a special guard.
Sinking of HMS ''Penelope''
![HMS Penelope 1942 IWM FL 4822](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ac/HMS_Penelope_1942_IWM_FL_4822.jpg)
On 18 February 1944, (Capt. G.D. Belben, DSO, DSC, AM, RN), was leaving
Naples
Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...
to return to the
Anzio
Anzio (, also , ) is a town and ''comune'' on the coast of the Lazio region of Italy, about south of Rome.
Well known for its seaside harbour setting, it is a Port, fishing port and a departure point for ferries and hydroplanes to the Pontine I ...
area when she was torpedoed at by ''U-410''. A torpedo struck the British cruiser in the aft engine room; sixteen minutes later, ''U-410'' fired another torpedo that hit ''Penelope'' in her boiler room, causing her immediate sinking. 415 of the crew, including the captain, went down with the ship. There were 206 survivors.
The cruiser was making when she was hit, the fastest ship ever successfully attacked by a submarine.
Sinking of USS ''LST-348''
On 20 February 1944 ''LST-348'' (
Landing Ship, Tank
Landing Ship, Tank (LST), or tank landing ship, is the naval designation for ships first developed during World War II (1939–1945) to support amphibious operations by carrying tanks, vehicles, cargo, and landing troops directly onto shore with ...
) was returning from
Sicily
(man) it, Siciliana (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 = Ethnicity
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographi ...
, supporting
Operation Shingle
The Battle of Anzio was a battle of the Italian Campaign of World War II that took place from January 22, 1944 (beginning with the Allied amphibious landing known as Operation Shingle) to June 5, 1944 (ending with the capture of Rome). The op ...
and roughly 40 miles South of
Naples
Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...
when she was spotted by ''U-410'', who fired two
torpedoes
A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, su ...
at around 02:00 hrs. Both hit the vessel on her port side, she sank 20 minutes later.
Loss
On 11 March 1944, a
USAAF
The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...
during an air raid on the Port of
Toulon
Toulon (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Tolon , , ) is a city on the French Riviera and a large port on the Mediterranean coast, with a major naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, and the Provence province, Toulon is th ...
, ''U-410'' along with were so seriously damaged, they were declared ''no longer operational''. ''Oberleutnant zur See'' Fenski and his crew transferred to , which was lost around 04:00 on 4 May 1944 in a
battle with Allied warships. Three of the crew were killed as they
scuttled
Scuttling is the deliberate sinking of a ship. Scuttling may be performed to dispose of an abandoned, old, or captured vessel; to prevent the vessel from becoming a navigation hazard; as an act of self-destruction to prevent the ship from being ...
the boat, but Fenski survived and spent two years in a US POW camp.
Summary of raiding history
References
Notes
Citations
Bibliography
*
*
*
*
External links
*
Photos of U-410 and her crewBBC A peoples War - John Alexander MN
{{DEFAULTSORT:U0410
German Type VIIC submarines
World War II submarines of Germany
1941 ships
U-boats commissioned in 1941
U-boats sunk in 1944
U-boats sunk by US aircraft
Ships built in Danzig
Maritime incidents in March 1944