German Submarine U-78 (1940)

German submarine ''U-78'' was a Type VIIC submarine of Nazi Germany's ''Kriegsmarine'' during World War II. She was the only German submarine to be sunk by land-based artillery fire during the war. Built by Bremen-Vegesack.

She was ordered on 25 January 1939, and laid down on 28 March 1940, in the shipyard of Bremer Vulkan in the port city of Bremen-Vegesack as yard number 6. ''U-78'' was launched on 7 December 1940 and formally commissioned into the Kriegsmarine as a "school boat" on 15 February 1941, with a crew of 41 under the command of '' Kapitänleutnant'' Alfred Dumrese.

Design

German Type VIIC submarines were preceded by the shorter Type VIIB submarines. ''U-78'' 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 MAN M 6 V 40/46 four-stroke, six-cylinder supercharged diesel engines producing a total of for use while surfaced, two Brown, Boveri & Cie GG UB 720/8 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-78'' was fitted with two torpedo tubes at the bow, fourteen torpedoes, one SK C/35 naval gun, 220 rounds, and a C/30 anti-aircraft gun. The boat had a complement of between forty-four and sixty.

Service history

''U-78'' spent the majority of her career as a training U-boat, during which time she had several different crews. As a result, she never sank any enemy vessels nor engaged any enemy ships or convoys. On 1 March 1945, she was transferred to the 4th U-boat Flotilla but never saw any combat; prior to beginning her first patrol she was sunk on 16 April 1945. ''U-78'''s fate is notable in that she was the only German U-boat to be sunk by land-based artillery fire during World War II.

Use as a training boat

''U-78'' spent almost her entire career as part of the 22nd U-boat Flotilla as a "school boat", a role which saw her being used to train U-boat crews. During this time, her commander was changed six times: in July 1941 from '' Kapitänleutnant'' (''Kptlt.'') Alfred Dumrese to ''Oberleutnant zur See'' (''O/L'') Kurt Makowski, who remained in command until February 1942 when she was handed over to ''Kptlt.'' Max Bernd Dieterich; in July 1942, ''Kptlt.'' Ernst Ziehm took command of the U-boat from Dieterich in November 1942. ''Kptlt.'' Helmut Sommer took command from Ziehm in May 1943; the sixth commander of ''U-78'' took control of the U-boat when Wilhelm Eisele was named captain and lastly, the seventh commander, ''O/L'' Horst Hübsch, took command of ''U-78'' from Eisele on 27 November 1944. All of ''U-78''s changes of command took place while the U-boat was still serving as a training boat. Crewmembers used her as a practice submarine before being assigned to their operational U-boat.

Sinking

By March 1945, the war was coming to an end, the ''Kriegsmarine'' was faced with a dwindling number of active U-boats. To offset this, the Navy looked to transfer boats away from other duties, such as training. On 1 March 1945, ''U-78'' began active service with the 4th U-boat Flotilla. Just a month and a half later, however, on 16 April 1945, ''U-78'' was sunk after being attacked by Soviet land-based artillery while she was docked near the electricity supply pier in the German port of Pillau in East Prussia.

References

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{{DEFAULTSORT:U0078
German Type VIIC submarines
U-boats commissioned in 1941
U-boats sunk in 1945
World War II submarines of Germany
Ships built in Bremen (state)
1940 ships
Maritime incidents in April 1945