German submarine ''U-49'' 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 ro ...

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

's '' Kriegsmarine'' 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 opposing ...

. She 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 15 September 1938 at the yards of

Friedrich Krupp Germaniawerft Friedrich may refer to: Names *Friedrich (surname), people with the surname ''Friedrich'' *Friedrich (given name), people with the given name ''Friedrich'' Other *Friedrich (board game), a board game about Frederick the Great and the Seven Years' ...

AG in

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as yard number 584. Launched on 24 June 1939, she was commissioned on 12 August and assigned to 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 ''Korvettenkapit� ...

under the command of Kurt von Goßler.

Design

German Type VIIB submarines were preceded by the shorter Type VIIA submarines. ''U-49'' 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

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-ca ...

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 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-49'' 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, s ...

es, one SK C/35 naval gun, 220 rounds, and one C/30 anti-aircraft gun. The boat had a

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of between forty-four and sixty.

Service history

First patrol

Following training exercises, ''U-49'' departed on her first active patrol on 9 November 1939. She was attacked by allied forces twice during this time. On 13 November she was bombed by British aircraft and forced down to , suffering minor damage. Three days later, she was located by the British destroyers and and depth charged. The submarine was forced to dive to to escape. At 09:35 on 19 November ''U-49'' came into contact with the 4,258 GRT

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

merchant ship carrying a cargo of 6,985 tons of maize. A bow torpedo at 11:15 hours and a stern shot at 11.24 both missed their mark, but a third fired at 12:19 hit, and the ship sank slowly by the stern at position . The ship's master and crew were picked up by and later landed at Plymouth by .

Second patrol

''U-49''s second patrol began 29 February 1940 at Kiel and lasted only six days in the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea, epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the ...

. No ships were attacked on this patrol, and she made port at

Wilhelmshaven Wilhelmshaven (, ''Wilhelm's Harbour''; Northern Low Saxon: ''Willemshaven'') is a coastal town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the western side of the Jade Bight, a bay of the North Sea, and has a population of 76,089. Wilhelmsh ...

on 5 March 1940.

Third patrol

On 11 March 1940, U-49 departed Wilhelmshaven for the Norwegian coast, in 19 days at sea, no ships were attacked and the submarine returned to Wilhelmshaven on 29 March 1940.

Fourth patrol

3 April 1940 saw the beginning of ''U-49''s fourth and final patrol. In 13 days off the Norwegian coast, no ships were attacked.

Fate

On 15 April 1940, ''U-49'' was sunk near

Harstad ( se, Hárstták) is the second-most populated municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. It is mostly located on the large island of Hinnøya. The municipal center is the town of Harstad, the most populous town in Central Hålogalan ...

, Norway in position by depth charges from the British destroyers and . Of her crew of 42, one man died but there were 41 survivors.

Wreck Site

The wreck of ''U-49'' was found on 3 March 1993 by the Norwegian submarine . She lies at a depth of .

Summary of raiding history

References

Bibliography

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External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:U0049 1939 ships German Type VIIB submarines Ships built in Kiel U-boats commissioned in 1939 U-boats sunk by depth charges U-boats sunk by British warships U-boats sunk in 1940 World War II shipwrecks in the Norwegian Sea World War II submarines of Germany Maritime incidents in April 1940