German submarine ''U-805'' was a Type IXC/40 U-boat built for 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 It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic.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 ...

'' during World War II.

Design

German Type IXC/40 submarines were slightly larger than the original Type IXCs. ''U-805'' 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-805'' 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

''U-805'' was ordered on 10 April 1941 from

DeSchiMAG Deutsche Schiff- und Maschinenbau Aktiengesellschaft (abbreviated Deschimag) was a cooperation of eight German shipyards in the period 1926 to 1945. The leading company was the shipyard AG Weser in Bremen. History The Deschimag was founded in 19 ...

Seebeckwerft Seebeckwerft A.G. was a German shipbuilding company, located in Bremerhaven at the mouth of the river Weser. Founded in 1876, it became later one of the leading shipbuilding companies in the region. History Seebeckwerft was founded in 1876 in ...

Geestemünde Bremerhaven (, , Low German: ''Bremerhoben'') is a city at the seaport of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen, a state of the Federal Republic of Germany. It forms a semi-enclave in the state of Lower Saxony and is located at the mouth of the Riv ...

under the yard number 363. Her keel was laid down on 24 December 1942, and the U-boat was launched the following year sometime in October 1943. On 12 February 1944 she was commissioned into service under the command of '' Kapitänleutnant'' Richard Bernardelli (Crew 32) in the

4th U-boat Flotilla Fourth or the fourth may refer to: * the ordinal form of the number 4 * Fourth (album), ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971 * Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision * Fourth (music), a musical interval * The Fourth (1972 film) ...

. She spent the next year as a training boat with the flotilla, then was transferred to the

33rd U-boat Flotilla ''33rd U-boat Flotilla'' ("33. Unterseebootsflottille") was a front-line unit of Nazi Germany's '' Kriegsmarine'' during World War II. The flotilla was founded at Flensburg in September 1944 under the command of ''Korvettenkapitän'' Georg Schewe ...

and deployed on her one and only war patrol in March 1945. At the end of the war ''U-805'' was operating in the West Atlantic as part of the ''Seewolf'' group, when she received orders to make for an Allied port in order to surrender. The U-boat reached

Portsmouth, New Hampshire Portsmouth is a city in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. At the 2020 census it had a population of 21,956. A historic seaport and popular summer tourist destination on the Piscataqua River bordering the state of Maine, Portsmou ...

on 15 May 1945, where the crew surrendered and handed the boat over to the US Navy. The US Navy took ''U-805'' on several ''Victory Visits'' to ports on the east coast of the United States before sinking her off the coast in position on 4 February 1946.

References

Bibliography

* * *

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:U0805 World War II submarines of Germany German Type IX submarines 1943 ships U-boats commissioned in 1944 U-boats sunk in 1946 Ships built in Bremen (state)