German submarine U-410

German submarine ''U-410'' was a Type VIIC U-boat built for Nazi Germany's ''Kriegsmarine'' during World War II, operating mainly in the Mediterranean. Her insignia was a sword & shield, she did not suffer any casualties until she was sunk.

''U-410'' was first commanded by ''Kapitänleutnant'' Kurt Sturm during her working up/training period and on her first patrol before being commanded by Horst-Arno Fenski for her six combat patrols. ''U-410'' sank seven merchantmen, a Landing ship, Tank (LST); and a light cruiser during the Second World War. For his successes, Fenski received the Knight's Cross.

Design

German Type VIIC submarines 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 length of , a beam of , a height of , and a draught of . The submarine was powered by two Germaniawerft F46 four-stroke, six-cylinder supercharged diesel engines producing a total of for use while surfaced, two Siemens-Schuckert GU 343/38–8 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-410'' 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, a twin , on Platform I, a , on Platform II and two MG 15 machine guns on the bridge. The boat had a complement 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 at the Danziger Werft 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 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. She arrived in La Spezia 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 in France, arriving on 30 August.

The U-boat tried to disrupt the landings at Anzio, 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'' Horst-Arno Fenski

Flotillas

*23 February – 31 August 1942 - 5th U-boat Flotilla
*1 September 1942 – 31 May 1943 - 7th U-boat Flotilla
*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''

On 18 February 1944, (Capt. G.D. Belben, DSO, DSC, AM, RN), was leaving Naples to return to the Anzio 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) was returning from Sicily, supporting Operation Shingle and roughly 40 miles South of Naples when she was spotted by ''U-410'', who fired two torpedoes 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 during an air raid on the Port of Toulon, ''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 the boat, but Fenski survived and spent two years in a US POW camp.

Summary of raiding history

References

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

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External links

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Photos of U-410 and her crew

BBC 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