German Submarine U-94 (1940)

German submarine ''U-94'' was a Type VIIC U-boat of Nazi Germany's '' Kriegsmarine'' during World War II. She was laid down on 9 September 1939 at the F. Krupp '' Germaniawerft'' in Kiel as yard number 599, launched on 12 June 1940 and commissioned on 10 August 1940 under ''Kapitänleutnant'' Herbert Kuppisch.

She sank 26 ships of in ten patrols and was a member of six wolfpacks but was herself sunk by a US aircraft and a Canadian warship on 28 August 1942.

Design

German Type VIIC submarines were preceded by the shorter Type VIIB submarines. ''U-94'' 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 AEG GU 460/8–27 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-94'' 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, and a C/30 anti-aircraft gun. The boat had a complement of between forty-four and sixty.

Service history

First patrol

The boat left Kiel on 20 November 1940, heading for Lorient in France which she reached, via the North Sea on 31 December.

On the way, she sank ''Stirlingshire'' on 2 December, northwest of the Bloody Foreland, (a northwesterly point of the Irish mainland).

She also sent ''Wilhelmina'' and ''Empire Statesman'' to the bottom on the second and the 11th respectively.

After that, the boat headed for mid-ocean before docking at her French Atlantic base.

Second and third patrols

''U-94'' returned to the Atlantic west of Ireland and Scotland for her second patrol. She sank three more ships: on 20 January 1941, ''West Wales'' on the 29th and ''Rushpool'' on the 30th.

For her third sortie, the boat moved into the waters west of Iceland. She sank ''Harbledown'' on 4 April 1941 and ''Lincoln Ellsworth'' on the sixth. The latter ship was destroyed by a combination of torpedo and fire from the deck gun.

Fourth and fifth patrols

''U-94'' was attacked by the escorts of convoy OB 318 on 7 May 1941. Some 98 depth charges over four hours were dropped. The boat persisted with her attack, however, sinking ''Eastern Star'' and ''Ixion''.

Two more merchantmen met their end on the 20th: ''Norman Monarch'' and ''John P. Pedersen''.

Patrol number five was carried out west of the Canary Islands; it was relatively uneventful.

Sixth patrol

Having left St. Nazaire on 2 September 1941, ''U-94'' operated southeast of Cape Farewell (Greenland). She sank ''Newbury'', ''Pegasus'' and ''Empire Eland'', all on the 15th. On 1 October, she fired five torpedoes at ''San Florentino''. Three of them struck home; the ship broke in two after the third impact. The bow section remained afloat and was engaged by the U-boat's deck gun, it was eventually finished off by .

The boat returned to Kiel on 15 October.

Seventh patrol

''U-94'' departed Kiel on 12 January 1942; she negotiated the gap between the Faroe and Shetland Islands, docking once more at St. Nazaire on the 30th.

Eighth patrol

The U-boat continued her successes on the western side of the Atlantic. She sank the ''Empire Hail'' east of St. Johns, Newfoundland on 24 February 1942. Following the coast-line to the south, her next victim was ''Cayrú'', about from New York on 9 March. She also sank ''Hvoslef'' two miles east of Fenwick Island, off Delaware Bay on the 11th.

Ninth patrol

''U-94'' left St. Nazaire on 4 May 1942 for what would be her top-scoring patrol, (it was to be carried out once more south of Greenland). Moving into this area, a steady stream of sinkings resulted; the ''Cocle'' on 12 May, ''Batna'' and ''Tolken'', both on the 13th - a sailing ship, ''Maria da Glória'' on 5 June; ''Ramsay'' and '' Empire Clough'' on the tenth. Her last kill was ''Pontypridd'', on the following day.

Tenth patrol and loss

The boat left St. Nazaire for the last time for the Caribbean on 3 August 1942. Off Haiti on the 28th, she was sunk by depth charges dropped by a US PBY Catalina from VP-92 and ramming by the Canadian corvette .

Nineteen men died with the U-boat; there were twenty-six survivors.

Wolfpacks

''U-94'' took part in six wolfpacks, namely:
* West (8 – 29 May 1941)
* Süd (22 July – 5 August 1941)
* Seewolf (5 – 15 September 1941)
* Brandenburg (15 – 29 September 1941)
* Robbe (17 – 24 January 1942)
* Hecht (8 May – 16 June 1942)

Summary of raiding history

References

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Bibliography

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External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:U0094
World War II submarines of Germany
U-boats sunk in 1942
U-boats sunk by US aircraft
U-boats sunk by Canadian warships
World War II shipwrecks in the Caribbean Sea
1940 ships
Ships built in Kiel
German Type VIIC submarines
U-boats commissioned in 1940
Maritime incidents in August 1942