German submarine ''U-488'' was a Type XIV supply and replenishment U-boat ("''Milchkuh''") 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 It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic.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 ...

'' during World War II. Its keel was laid down on 3 January 1942 by Germaniawerft in Kiel as yard number 557. It was launched on 17 October 1942 and commissioned on 1 February 1943, with '' Leutnant zur See'' Erwin Bartke in command. Bartke was promoted to ''

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 ...

'' by February 1944; he was relieved by ''Oblt.z.S.'' Bruno Studt. The boat's service began with training under 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) ...

and culminated with the 12th flotilla for operations.

Design

German Type XIV submarines were shortened versions of the Type IXDs they were based on. ''U-488'' 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 Germaniawerft

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, six-cylinder diesel engines producing a total of for use while surfaced, two Siemens-Schuckert 2 GU 345/38-8 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-488'' was not fitted with torpedo tubes or deck guns, but had two SK C/30 anti-aircraft guns with 2500 rounds as well as a C/30 guns with 3000 rounds. The boat had a complement of fifty-three.

Operational career

''U-488'' conducted three patrols. As a supply boat, it avoided combat.

First patrol

''U-488''s first patrol commenced when it left Kiel on 18 May 1943. It cleared the British Isles, sailing through the gap between the Faroe Islands and Iceland and out into the central Atlantic. On the return journey, it passed to the north-west of the Azores and reached Bordeaux in occupied France on 10 July 1943.

Second patrol

It was attacked on its second patrol on 12 October 1943 by two

Avenger Avenger, Avengers, The Avenger, or The Avengers may refer to: Arts and entertainment In the Marvel Comics universe * Avengers (comics), a team of superheroes ** Avengers (Marvel Cinematic Universe), a central team of protagonist superheroes o ...

s from the escort carrier . The aircraft claimed a sinking, but ''U-488'' was able to continue its mission. On 15 October, ''Maschinenmaat'' Karl Bergmann died of an illness. On 25 November, ''Matrosenobergefreiter'' Heinz Heinlein fell overboard. He was rescued, but died of

heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome, a group of signs and symptoms caused by an impairment of the heart's blood pumping function. Symptoms typically include shortness of breath, excessive fatigue, a ...

shortly afterwards. The U-boat returned to Bordeaux on 12 December 1943.

Third patrol and loss

The boat departed Bordeaux for the last time on 22 April 1944. ''U-488'' was sunk with all hands (64 dead) on the 26th in the mid-Atlantic west of

Cape Verde , national_anthem = () , official_languages = Portuguese , national_languages = Cape Verdean Creole , capital = Praia , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , demonym ...

by depth charges from the American destroyer escorts , , and .

Wolfpacks

''U-488'' took part in one wolfpack, namely: * Trutz (6 – 12 June 1943)

References

Bibliography

* * * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:U0488 German Type XIV submarines U-boats commissioned in 1943 U-boats sunk in 1944 World War II submarines of Germany 1942 ships World War II shipwrecks in the Atlantic Ocean Ships built in Kiel U-boats sunk by depth charges U-boats sunk by US warships Submarines lost with all hands Maritime incidents in April 1944