German submarine ''U-7'' was a
Type IIB 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 It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic.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 ...
'', based out of
Kiel during
World War II. It was one of the smaller versions, and was first launched on 29 June 1935 with a crew of 29. Its first commander was Kurt Freiwald. ''U-7'' would have 16 commanders over the course of its service, the last being Günther Loeschcke.
During the war ''U-7'' was responsible for sinking two vessels.
On 18 February 1944, west of
Pillau, ''U-7'' sank in what is believed to have been a malfunction during a diving manoeuvre. There were no survivors.
Design
German Type IIB submarine
The Type II U-boat was designed by Nazi Germany as a coastal U-boat, modeled after the CV-707 submarine, which was designed by the Dutch dummy company NV Ingenieurskantoor voor Scheepsbouw Den Haag (I.v.S) (set up by Germany after World ...
s were enlarged versions of the original
Type IIs. ''U-7'' had a displacement of when at the surface and while submerged. Officially, the standard tonnage was , however. The U-boat 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
MWM RS 127 S four-stroke, six-cylinder
diesel engines of for cruising, two
Siemens-Schuckert PG VV 322/36
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-7'' was fitted with three
torpedo tubes at the bow, five
torpedoes or up to twelve Type A torpedo mines, and a
anti-aircraft gun. The boat had a
complement of twentyfive.
Service history
''U-7'' was ordered on 20 July 1934, i.e. in violation of the
Versailles Treaty, which denied Germany possession of submarines. The U-boat was not laid down until 11 March 1935, and
launched on 29 June 1935, within weeks of the
Anglo-German Naval Agreement, which granted Germany parity with the British Empire in submarines.
Commissioned on 18 July 1935 with ''
Kapitänleutnant'' Kurt Freiwald in command, ''U-7'' mainly served as a training boat except for two brief deployments during the
Invasion of Poland in 1939 and
Operation Weserübung in 1940.
On 18 February 1944, west of
Pillau, ''U-7'' sank in what is believed to have been a malfunction during a diving manoeuvre. There were no survivors.
Summary of raiding history
References
Bibliography
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External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:U0007
German Type II submarines
U-boats commissioned in 1935
U-boats sunk in 1944
World War II submarines of Germany
World War II shipwrecks in the Baltic Sea
1935 ships
Ships built in Kiel
U-boat lost in diving accidents
Submarines lost with all hands
Maritime incidents in February 1944