German submarine U-108 (1940)
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German submarine ''U-108'' was a Type IXB 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 It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic.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 ...
'' that operated during World War II. She was laid down at
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 ...
AG Weser 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 ...
as yard number 971 on 27 December 1938, launched on 15 July 1940 and commissioned on 22 October under ''
Korvettenkapitän () is the lowest ranking senior officer in a number of Germanic-speaking navies. Austro-Hungary Belgium Germany Korvettenkapitän, short: KKpt/in lists: KK, () is the lowest senior officer rank () in the German Navy. Address The offici ...
''
Klaus Scholtz Klaus Scholtz (22 March 1908 – 1 May 1987) was a commander in the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) of Nazi Germany during World War II. He commanded the Type IXB U-boat . Scholtz was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves. ...
. Her service career began with training as part of the
2nd U-boat Flotilla The 2nd U-boat Flotilla (German ''2. Unterseebootsflottille''), also known as the Saltzwedel Flotilla, was the second operational U-boat unit in Nazi Germany's ''Kriegsmarine''. Founded on 1 September 1936 under the command of ''Fregattenkapitän'' ...
; she went on to operations, first with the second flotilla, then with the
8th U-boat Flotilla The 8th U-boat Flotilla (German ''8. Unterseebootsflottille'') was formed in June 1941 in Königsberg under the command of ''Kapitänleutnant'' Georg-Wilhelm Schulz, who also at this time commanded the 6th U-boat Flotilla in Danzig. It was prim ...
.


Design

German Type IXB submarine The German Type IXB submarine was a sub-class of the German Type IX submarine built for Nazi Germany's ''Kriegsmarine'' between 1938 and 1940. The U-boats themselves were designed to be fairly large ocean-going submarines. The inspiration for the ...
s were slightly larger than the original
German Type IX 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 **Ge ...
, later designated IXA. ''U-108'' 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-108'' 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 SK C/30 as well as a C/30 anti-aircraft gun. The boat had a complement of forty-eight.


Service history

''U-108'' carried out eleven war patrols, during which she sank 25 ships, a total of and one auxiliary warship of 16,644 GRT. She was a member of seven wolfpacks.


First, second and third patrols

The boat's first patrol began with her departure from Wilhelmshaven on 15 February 1941. She crossed the North Sea and entered the Atlantic via the gap between Iceland and the Faroe Islands, sinking ''Texelstroom'' on 22 February. She also sank ''Effna'' on the 28th; both ships met their end south of Iceland. She then docked at Lorient in occupied France on 12 March. She would be based there for most of the rest of her career. Her second foray involved the sinking of , an armed merchant cruiser, west of Reykjavík on 13 April 1941. The Convoy Commodore, four officer and 35 ratings were lost. ''U-108'' sank ''Michael E.'', a CAM ship or 'Catapult Armed Merchantman', on the submarine's third patrol on 2 June 1941 in mid-Atlantic. She went on to sink ''Baron Nairn'' west of Cape Race (eastern Newfoundland and Labrador) on the eighth; the Greek ship ''Dirphys'' east of
Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...
, also on 8 July; ''Christian Krohg'' on the tenth; ''Ellinco'' on the 25th; ''Nicholas Pateras'' on the same day and ''Toronto'' on 1 July. The latter was a weather ship situated about north of the Azores.


Fourth, fifth and sixth patrols

Patrol number four saw the boat covering the 'gap' between South America and Africa. She departed Lorient on 19 August 1941 and returned on 21 October. She sank ''Cassequel'', a neutral vessel, on 14 December 1941, southwest of
Cape St. Vincent Cape St. Vincent ( pt, Cabo de São Vicente, ) is a headland in the municipality of Vila do Bispo, in the Algarve, southern Portugal. It is the southwesternmost point of Portugal and of mainland Europe. History Cape St. Vincent was already sacr ...
, Portugal and ''Ruckinge'' (
convoy HG 76 HG 76 (19 to 23 December 1941) was an Allied convoy of the HG (Homeward from Gibraltar) series, during the Second World War. It was notable for the destruction of five German U-boats (the true total was not known to the British until after the ...
) on the 19th, west of Lisbon as part of her fifth sortie. The boat's sixth patrol, as part of Operation Drumbeat (''Paukenschlag''), took her to the east coast of North America where she was again successful, sinking ''Ocean Venture'' on 8 February 1942, ''Tolosa'' on the ninth and ''Blink'' on the 12th. The U-boat had chased ''Blink'', which had been hit by a non-detonating torpedo, the two vessels almost collided; which was only avoided by ''U-108'' diving underneath the merchant ship. She also sank ''Ramapo'' northwest of Bermuda on 16 February and ''Somme'' on the 18th.


Seventh, eighth and ninth patrols

The boat's seventh patrol was almost as successful as her sixth, sinking ''Modesta'' on 25 April 1942, ''Mobiloil'' on the 29th (which required a total of six torpedoes and many rounds from the 20mm and 37mm guns), ''Afoundria'' on 5 May, and ''Abgara'' a day later. On the return leg she encountered ''Norland'' on the 25th. More success pennants were flown after her eighth patrol, which took her almost to the northern South American coast. She sank ''Tricula'' on 3 August 1942, ''Breňas'' on the seventh and ''Louisiana'' on the 17th. The boat's ninth patrol was carried out in opposition to Operation '' Torch'', (the Allied landings in North Africa). The submarine had not been off Morocco long before being attacked by a destroyer. The damage incurred was serious enough that the boat was obliged to return to France where effective repairs might be carried out.


Tenth and eleventh patrols

The U-boat was attacked by a
Catalina Catalina may refer to: Arts and media * ''The Catalina'', a 2012 American reality television show * ''Catalina'' (novel), a 1948 novel by W. Somerset Maugham * Catalina (''My Name Is Earl''), character from the NBC sitcom ''My Name Is Earl'' ...
flying boat of 202 Squadron RAF on 10 February 1943 west of Morocco. The damage to the forward torpedo tubes forced her to return to Lorient. In her last operational patrol, she departed Lorient on 1 April 1943. On 19 April 1943 U-108 sank the American ''Robert Gray'' from Convoy HX 234. The Liberty ship had straggled behind the convoy. She was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean (50°57′N 40°35′W) with the loss of all 62 crew. U-108 was attacked by a destroyer on the 22nd but continued to shadow Convoy ON (S) 4 southeast of Greenland. She arrived at
Stettin Szczecin (, , german: Stettin ; sv, Stettin ; Latin language, Latin: ''Sedinum'' or ''Stetinum'') is the capital city, capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the Po ...
in modern-day Poland on 16 May. Bombed and sunk there 11 April, raised and decommissioned 17 July 1944. Scuttled there 24 April 1945.


Wolfpacks

''U-108'' took part in seven wolfpacks, namely. * West (2 – 20 June 1941) * Seeräuber (14 – 22 December 1941) * Schlagetot (9 – 17 November 1942) * Rochen (28 January - 11 February 1943) * Adler (7 – 13 April 1943) * Meise (13 – 27 April 1943) * Specht (27 – 28 April 1943)


Summary of raiding history


References


Notes


Citations


Bibliography

* * * *


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:U0109 German Type IX submarines U-boats commissioned in 1940 U-boats sunk in 1944 U-boats sunk by US aircraft World War II submarines of Germany 1940 ships Ships built in Bremen (state) U-boats sunk by depth charges Maritime incidents in April 1944 Maritime incidents in April 1945