German submarine U-46 (1938)
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German submarine ''U-46'' was a Type VIIB
U-boat U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare role ...
of
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'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 It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic.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 World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. She had a highly successful career during the war.


Design

German Type VIIB submarines were preceded by the shorter Type VIIA submarines. ''U-46'' had a displacement of when at the surface and while submerged. She had a total length of , a
pressure hull A submarine hull has two major components, the ''light hull'' and the ''pressure hull''. The light hull (''casing'' in British usage) of a submarine is the outer non-watertight hull which provides a hydrodynamically efficient shape. The pressure ...
length of , a
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of , a height of , and a draught of . The submarine was powered by two Germaniawerft F46 four-stroke, six-cylinder
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 ...
diesel engine The diesel engine, named after Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of the fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to mechanical compression; thus, the diesel engine is a so-call ...
s producing a total of for use while surfaced, two BBC GG UB 720/8 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-46'' was fitted with five
torpedo tube A torpedo tube is a cylindrical device for launching torpedoes. There are two main types of torpedo tube: underwater tubes fitted to submarines and some surface ships, and deck-mounted units (also referred to as torpedo launchers) installed aboa ...
s (four fitted at the bow and one at the stern), fourteen
torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, su ...
es, one SK C/35 naval gun, 220 rounds, and an anti-aircraft gun. The boat had a
complement A complement is something that completes something else. Complement may refer specifically to: The arts * Complement (music), an interval that, when added to another, spans an octave ** Aggregate complementation, the separation of pitch-class ...
of between forty-four and sixty.


Service history

''U-46'' was ordered on 21 November 1936 and
laid down Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship. Keel laying is one o ...
on 24 February 1937 at
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,
Kiel Kiel () is the capital and most populous city in the northern Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 246,243 (2021). Kiel lies approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the southeast of the J ...
, becoming yard number 581. She was launched on 10 September 1938 and commissioned under her first commander, ''
Kapitänleutnant ''Kapitänleutnant'', short: KptLt/in lists: KL, ( en, captain lieutenant) is an officer grade of the captains' military hierarchy group () of the German Bundeswehr. The rank is rated OF-2 in NATO, and equivalent to Hauptmann in the Heer and ...
'' (''Kptlt.'')
Herbert Sohler Herbert Sohler (25 July 1908, Attendorn, Westphalia – 22 June 1991) was a German U-boat commander during World War II. Career He commanded from 4 April to 31 July 1938. He then commanded from 2 November 1938 to 21 May 1940 for five patrols - ...
, on 2 November of that year. Sohler commanded her during her working up with the
7th U-boat Flotilla The 7th U-boat Flotilla (German ''7. Unterseebootsflottille''), also known as Wegener Flotilla, was the seventh operational U-boat combat unit in the Nazi Germany's ''Kriegsmarine''. Founded on 25 June 1938 under the command of ''Korvettenkapità ...
, she then became a front boat with that flotilla. She set out from
Kiel Kiel () is the capital and most populous city in the northern Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 246,243 (2021). Kiel lies approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the southeast of the J ...
on her first war patrol on 19 August 1939 in the
North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...
, returning on 15 September.


Sohler replaced by Endrass

On 13 April 1940 during the battles around Narvik, Norway ''U-46'' was
depth charge A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) weapon. It is intended to destroy a submarine by being dropped into the water nearby and detonating, subjecting the target to a powerful and destructive Shock factor, hydraulic shock. Most depth ...
d and severely damaged by British
destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...
s supporting . Sohler eventually commanded ''U-46'' for six war patrols, but failed to score any successes against enemy shipping. He was removed from command on 21 May 1940 and was replaced by
Engelbert Endrass Engelbert Endrass (german: Engelbert Endraß) (2 March 1911 – 21 December 1941) was a German U-boat commander in World War II. He commanded the and the , being credited with sinking 22 ships on ten patrols, for a total of of Allied shipping, ...
the following day. Endrass had been
Günther Prien Günther Prien (16 January 1908 â€“ presumed 8 March 1941) was a German U-boat commander during World War II. He was the first U-boat commander to receive the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and the first member of the ''Kriegsmarine'' to r ...
's First Officer aboard when they had infiltrated
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and sunk the
battleship A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of large caliber guns. It dominated naval warfare in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The term ''battleship'' came into use in the late 1880s to describe a type of ...
. ''U-46'' was to be his first command.


Initial successes

Endrass left Kiel on 1 June to patrol the North Sea and into the Atlantic. He was immediately successful, on 6 June ''U-46'' scored her first kill, the
armed merchant cruiser An armed merchantman is a merchant ship equipped with guns, usually for defensive purposes, either by design or after the fact. In the days of sail, piracy and privateers, many merchantmen would be routinely armed, especially those engaging in lo ...
. Endrass followed this up with the
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merchant ship SS ''Margareta'' on 9 June. On 11 June he damaged MV ''Athelprince''; the following day he sank SS ''Barbara Marie'' and SS ''Willowbank''. His final kill was the
Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
SS ''Elpis'' on 17 June. ''U-46'' returned to Kiel on 1 July after 31 days at sea, during which five ships had been sunk for 35,347 tons and another for 8,782 tons, had been damaged. ''U-46'' relocated to
Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula of ...
in August. On 3 August she was spotted by the British submarine . ''Triad'' surfaced and attacked ''U-46'' with her 102mm gun at 2230 hours. Endrass dived, pursued by ''Triad'' but the two submarines subsequently lost contact. ''U-46'' sailed again on 8 August. It was another highly successful patrol. On 16 August she damaged the
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ship SS ''Alcinous'' and on 20 August torpedoed the Greek vessel . The ship was declared a total loss. On 27 August ''U-46'' sank the armed merchant cruiser , followed by SS ''Ville de Hasselt'' on 31 August, SS ''Thornlea'' on 2 September and SS ''Luimneach'', an
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steamship A steamship, often referred to as a steamer, is a type of steam-powered vessel, typically ocean-faring and seaworthy, that is propelled by one or more steam engines that typically move (turn) propellers or paddlewheels. The first steamships ...
sailing under a
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, on 4 September. There are differences in the accounts given by the captains. Endrass claimed that Captain Eric Jones and his crew "lost their heads completely" at the shot across the bows from his U-boat. Jones was an experienced captain. The ''Luimneach'' had survived twelve aerial attacks during the Spanish Civil War. The crew of ''Luimneach'' abandoned ship and Endrass sank her with gunfire, as he had no torpedoes remaining. Following an inquiry on 4 March 1941, Dönitz concluded that the U-boat acted correctly in sinking an abandoned ship. ''U-46'' returned to
Lorient Lorient (; ) is a town (''Communes of France, commune'') and Port, seaport in the Morbihan Departments of France, department of Brittany (administrative region), Brittany in western France. History Prehistory and classical antiquity Beginn ...
on the French Atlantic coast on 6 September, having sunk five ships for 29,883 tons and damaged another for 6,189 tons.


Convoy interception

Her next patrol from
Saint Nazaire Saint-Nazaire (; ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Saint-Nazère/Saint-Nazaer'') is a Communes of France, commune in the Loire-Atlantique Departments of France, department in western France, in traditional Brittany. The town has a major harbour on the ...
(also in France), only lasted seven days but claimed two ships sunk on 26 September, SS ''Coast Wings'' and SS ''Siljan'' for a combined total of 3,920 tons. ''U-46'' sailed again on 13 October. During this patrol she was involved in wolfpack attacks against the inbound convoys SC 7 and HX 79. She sank SS ''Beatus'', SS ''Convallaria'' and SS ''Gunborg'' from SC 7 on 18 October and SS ''Ruperra'' and SS ''Janus'' from HX 79 on 19 October and 20 October respectively. On 25 October ''U-46'' was attacked by three
Lockheed Hudson The Lockheed Hudson is a light bomber and coastal reconnaissance aircraft built by the American Lockheed Aircraft Corporation. It was initially put into service by the Royal Air Force shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War and prim ...
s of
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, fatally wounding one of the crew. ''U-46'' put into Kiel on 29 October after 17 days at sea, during which she had sunk 22,966 tons of shipping. Her next patrol took her from Kiel on 12 February 1941 to St. Nazaire where she arrived on 4 March after 21 days at sea, during which she had not attacked any ships. Her next patrol was more successful. On 29 March SS ''Liguria'' was sunk, followed by SS ''Castor'' on 31 March and SS ''British Reliance'' on 2 April. SS ''Alderpool'' was damaged on 3 April; ''U-46'' returned to port, having sunk three ships for 17,465 tons and damaged another for 4,313 tons. The next patrol damaged SS ''Ensis'' on 8 June and sank SS ''Phidias'' on 9 June. The damaged ''Ensis'' had rammed her attacker, damaging ''U-46''’s
conning tower A conning tower is a raised platform on a ship or submarine, often armored, from which an officer in charge can conn the vessel, controlling movements of the ship by giving orders to those responsible for the ship's engine, rudder, lines, and gro ...
and periscope, the patrol was aborted. Endrass carried out his last patrol with ''U-46'' from 26 July until 26 August but did not attack any ships.


Withdrawal from active service and scuttling

After Endrass left the boat on 24 September, ''U-46'' was designated as a training boat with the
26th U-boat Flotilla ''26th U-boat Flotilla'' ("26. Unterseebootsflottille") was a training flotilla ("Ausbildungsflottille ") of Nazi Germany's '' Kriegsmarine'' during World War II. The flotilla was formed at Pillau in April 1941 under the command of ''Korvettenkapi ...
. She came under a number of commanders: Peter-Ottmar Grau, Konstantin von Puttkamer, Kurt Neubert, Ernst von Witzendorff, Franz Saar, Joachim Knecht and Erich Jewinski, and was moved to the
24th U-boat Flotilla ''24th U-boat Flotilla'' ("24. Unterseebootsflottille") was a training flotilla ("''Ausbildungsflottille''") of Nazi Germany's '' Kriegsmarine'' during World War II. Unit history The flotilla was founded at Danzig in November 1939 under the comma ...
in April 1942. She was decommissioned at Neustadt in October 1943. As the end of the war approached, she was scuttled on 5 May 1945 in Kupfermühlen Bay. She had sunk 20 merchant ships for a total of , two auxiliary warships for a total of and damaged another five ships, one of which was later written off.


Wolfpacks

''U-46'' took part in two wolfpacks, namely: * Rösing (12 – 15 June 1940) *
West West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sunset, Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic languages, German ...
(19 May - 6 June 1941)


Summary of raiding history


References


Notes


Citations


Bibliography

* *


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:U0046 1938 ships German Type VIIB submarines Ships built in Kiel U-boats commissioned in 1938 World War II submarines of Germany Operation Regenbogen (U-boat) Maritime incidents in May 1945