German submarine ''U-865'' was a
Type IXC/40 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 It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic.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 ...
'' built for service during the
Second World War. She was
laid down in
Bremen
Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (german: Stadtgemeinde Bremen, ), is the capital of the German state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (''Freie Hansestadt Bremen''), a two-city-state consis ...
, Germany on 5 January 1943, and
launched on 12 July 1943.
Design
German Type IXC/40 submarines were slightly larger than the original
Type IXCs. ''U-865'' had a displacement of when at the surface and while submerged. The U-boat had a total length of , a
pressure hull 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
MAN M 9 V 40/46
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 ...
four-stroke, nine-cylinder
diesel engines producing a total of for use while surfaced, two
Siemens-Schuckert 2 GU 345/34
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-865'' was fitted with six
torpedo tubes (four fitted at the bow and two at the stern), 22
torpedoes, one
SK C/32 naval gun, 180 rounds, and a
Flak M42 as well as two twin
C/30 anti-aircraft guns. The boat had a
complement of forty-eight.
Service history
She had one commander, ''
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 Imper ...
'' Dietrich Stellmacher, for her two patrols. She had a crew complement of 59.
She did not sink any shipping on her two patrols, and went missing after leaving
Trondheim in Norway on 9 September 1944, with all hands lost.
In late June/ early July 1944, she was attacked by an
RAF B-24 Liberator
The Consolidated B-24 Liberator is an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and some initial production aircraft were laid down as export models des ...
, which did some damage to her, however she in turn did some damage to the attacking aircraft with the submarine's flak gun, setting the aircraft on fire. Both the U-boat and aircraft were forced to return to their respective bases.
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References
Bibliography
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External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:U0865
German Type IX submarines
U-boats commissioned in 1943
1943 ships
World War II submarines of Germany
Ships built in Bremen (state)
U-boats sunk in 1944
Missing U-boats of World War II
U-boats sunk by unknown causes
Maritime incidents in September 1944