German submarine ''U-84'' was a
Type VIIB 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 ...
of
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 It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic.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 ...
.
She was
launched on 26 February 1941 and
commissioned on 29 April 1941. She operated during the
Battle of the Atlantic
The Battle of the Atlantic, the longest continuous military campaign in World War II, ran from 1939 to the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945, covering a major part of the naval history of World War II. At its core was the Allied naval blockade ...
during the Second World War.
Design
German Type VIIB 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 VIIA submarines. ''U-84'' 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
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 460/8-276
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-84'' 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, and one
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, ...
The boat had a
complement of between forty-four and sixty.
Service history
''U-84'' carried out eight patrols and accounted for six ships sunk and one ship damaged during World War II. She operated in the Gulf of Mexico for a time. Commanded by Captain Uphoff, ''U-84'' torpedoed the freighter ''Baja California'' just forward of midships whilst in the Gulf of Mexico on 19 July 1942 at 06:45. ''Baja California'' sank in about of water about southwest of
Fort Myers, Florida
Fort Myers (or Ft. Myers) is a city in southwestern Florida and the county seat and commercial center of Lee County, Florida, United States. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated that the city's population was 92,245 in 20 ...
. ''Baja California'', en route from
to
Key West
Key West ( es, Cayo Hueso) is an island in the Straits of Florida, within the U.S. state of Florida. Together with all or parts of the separate islands of Dredgers Key, Fleming Key, Sunset Key, and the northern part of Stock Island, it cons ...
, was carrying a load of general cargo which included glassware.
Fate
''U-84'' was sunk while under the command of Horst Uphoff on 7 August 1943 in the North Atlantic, in position by a
Mk 24 homing torpedo dropped on it by a US
B24 Liberator aircraft (VB-105/B-4 USN). 46 dead (all hands lost).
Wolfpacks
''U-84'' took part in seventeen
wolfpacks, namely:
* Grönland (16 – 27 August 1941)
* Markgraf (27 August – 13 September 1941)
* Schlagetot (20 October – 1 November 1941)
* Raubritter (1 – 4 November 1941)
* Seydlitz (27 December 1941 – 13 January 1942)
*
Zieten (13 – 22 January 1942)
*
Endrass (12 – 17 June 1942)
* Panther (6 – 20 October 1942)
*
Veilchen (20 October – 5 November 1942)
*
Kreuzotter (9 – 19 November 1942)
* Sturmbock (21 – 26 February 1943)
* Wildfang (26 February – 5 March 1943)
*
Raubgraf (7 – 20 March 1943)
*
Seewolf (24 – 30 March 1943)
* Adler (7 – 13 April 1943)
* Meise (13 – 20 April 1943)
* Specht (21 – 25 April 1943)
Summary of raiding history
References
Bibliography
*
*
*
External links
*
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{{DEFAULTSORT:U0084
German Type VIIB submarines
U-boats commissioned in 1941
U-boats sunk in 1943
U-boats sunk by US aircraft
World War II submarines of Germany
1941 ships
Ships built in Lübeck
Submarines lost with all hands
Maritime incidents in August 1943