German submarine ''U-848'' was a Type IXD2

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 ...

built for

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 ...

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 ...

in Bremen and commissioned on 20 February 1943, the boat was a long-range Type IX, with four bow and two stern

torpedo tubes 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 abo ...

. She was commanded throughout her brief service life by ''

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 off ...

Wilhelm Rollmann Wilhelm Rollmann (5 August 1907 – 5 November 1943) was a German U-boat commander during World War II, in which he commanded the and . He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross of Nazi Germany. He was killed in action in 1943, ...

, who led her through her sea trials and onto her first war patrol on 18 September 1943.

Design

German Type IXD2 submarines were considerably larger than the original Type IXs. ''U-848'' had a displacement of when at the surface and while submerged. The U-boat 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 beam of , a height of , and a draught of . The submarine was powered by two

MAN A man is an adult male human. Prior to adulthood, a male human is referred to as a boy (a male child or adolescent). Like most other male mammals, a man's genome usually inherits an X chromosome from the mother and a Y chromo ...

M 9 V 40/46 supercharged four-stroke, nine-cylinder

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 plus two MWM RS34.5S six-cylinder four-stroke diesel engines for cruising, producing a total of for use while surfaced, two

Siemens-Schuckert Siemens-Schuckert (or Siemens-Schuckertwerke) was a German electrical engineering company headquartered in Berlin, Erlangen and Nuremberg that was incorporated into the Siemens AG in 1966. Siemens Schuckert was founded in 1903 when Siemens & H ...

2 GU 345/34 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-848'' was fitted with six

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 two at the stern), 24

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/32 naval gun, 150 rounds, and a SK C/30 with 2575 rounds as well as two C/30 anti-aircraft guns with 8100 rounds. 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-clas ...

of fifty-five.

Service history

''U-848''s first patrol was to join the

Monsun Gruppe The ''Gruppe Monsun'' or Monsoon Group was a force of German U-boats (submarines) that operated in the Pacific and Indian Oceans during World War II. Although similar naming conventions were used for temporary groupings of submarines in the Atla ...

, based in the Indian Ocean. On 2 November 1943, she torpedoed and sank the unescorted British steamship ''Baron Semple'' NW of Ascension Island. All hands were lost. U-848 5-11-43 a

Fate

She was intercepted after 49 days on 5 November 1943, off the coast of Brazil, by the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

aircraft from VB-107. She was depth charged by 3 PB4Y-1 Liberators. All 63 hands were lost.

Summary of raiding history

References

Bibliography

* * * * * Bridgland, Tony, ''Waves of Hate'', Leo Cooper, Great Britain: 2002. .

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:U0848 World War II submarines of Germany German Type IX submarines World War II shipwrecks in the Atlantic Ocean World War II shipwrecks in the South Atlantic U-boats sunk by US aircraft U-boats commissioned in 1943 U-boats sunk in 1943 1942 ships Ships built in Bremen (state) Ships lost with all hands Maritime incidents in November 1943