German submarine U-453
History | |
---|---|
Nazi Germany | |
Name | U-453 |
Ordered | 30 October 1939 |
Builder | Deutsche Werke AG, Kiel |
Yard number | 284 |
Laid down | 4 July 1940 |
Launched | 30 April 1941 |
Commissioned | 26 June 1941 |
Fate | Sunk by depth charges on 21 May 1944 off the south coast of Italy at position 38°13′N 16°30′E / 38.217°N 16.500°E by Royal Navy surface warships. |
General characteristics | |
Type | Type VIIC submarine |
Displacement | list error: <br /> list (help) 769 tonnes (757 long tons) surfaced 871 t (857 long tons) submerged |
Length | list error: <br /> list (help) 67.1 m (220 ft 2 in) o/a 50.5 m (165 ft 8 in) pressure hull |
Beam | list error: <br /> list (help) 6.2 m (20 ft 4 in) o/a 4.7 m (15 ft 5 in) pressure hull |
Draft | 4.74 m (15 ft 7 in) |
Propulsion | list error: <br /> list (help) 2 × supercharged Germaniawerft 6-cylinder 4-stroke F46 diesel engines, totalling 2,800–3,200 bhp (2,100–2,400 kW). Max rpm: 470-490 2 × electric motors, totalling 750 shp (560 kW) and max rpm: 296 |
Speed | list error: <br /> list (help) 17.7 knots (32.8 km/h; 20.4 mph) surfaced 7.6 knots (14.1 km/h; 8.7 mph) submerged |
Range | list error: <br /> list (help) 15,170 km (8,190 nmi) at 10 kn (19 km/h) surfaced 150 km (81 nmi) at 4 kn (7.4 km/h) submerged |
Test depth | list error: <br /> list (help) 230 m (750 ft) Crush depth: 250–295 m (820–968 ft) |
Complement | 44–52 officers & ratings |
Armament | list error: <br /> list (help) 5 × 53.3 cm (21 in) torpedo tubes (4 bow, 1 stern) 14 × torpedoes or 26 TMA mines 1 × 8.8 cm (3.46 in) deck gun (220 rounds) Various AA guns |
Service record[1]
Part of:
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7th U-boat Flotilla
(26 June 1941 - 1 November 1941) - Training
7th U-boat Flotilla
(1 November 1941 - 31 December 1941)
29th U-boat Flotilla
(1 January 1942 - 21 May 1944)Commanders:
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Kptlt. Gert Hetschko
(26 June 1941 - 8 July 1941)
Kptlt. Egon-Reiner von Schlippenbach
(9 July 1941 - 6 December 1943)
Oblt. Dierk Lührs
(7 December 1943 – 21 May 1944)Operations:
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1st patrol:
12 November 1941 - 17 December 1941
2nd patrol:
17 January 1942 - 1 February 1942
3rd patrol:
22 March 1942 - 21 April 1942
4th patrol:
25 May 1942 - 14 June 1942
5th patrol:
18 June 1942 - 21 July 1942
6th patrol:
17 September 1942 - 15 October 1942
7th patrol:
29 November 1942 - 17 December 1942
8th patrol:
11 January 1943 - 16 February 1943
9th patrol:
1 April 1943 - 5 May 1943
10th patrol:
23 June 1943 - 24 July 1943
11th patrol:
31 July 1943 - 14 August 1943
12th patrol:
21 October 1943 - 27 October 1943
13th patrol:
2 November 1943 - 13 November 1943
14th patrol:
24 November 1943 - 1 December 1943
15th patrol:
12 January 1944 - 9 February 1944
16th patrol:
8 March 1944 - 25 March 1944
17th patrol:
30 April 1944 - 21 May 1944Victories:
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9 merchant ships sunk (23,289 GRT)
2 merchant ships damaged (16,610 GRT)
2 warships sunk (2,540 tons)
German submarine U-453 was a Type VIIC U-boat built for Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine for service during World War II.
She was laid down on 4 July 1940 by Deutsche Werke AG in Kiel as 'werk' 284, launched on 30 April 1941 and commissioned on 26 June 1941 under Kapitänleutnant Egon-Reiner von Schlippenbach (Knight’s Cross).
The boat's service began on 26 June 1941 with training as part of the 7th U-boat Flotilla, followed by active service until being transferred to the 29th flotilla on 1 January 1942, based in La Spezia in Italy.
Service History
In 17 patrols she sank 9 merchant ships for a total of 23,289 GRT, plus 2 warships and damaged 2 merchant ships.
Fate
She was depth charged and sunk by on 21 May 1944 off the south coast of Italy at position 38°13′N 16°30′E / 38.217°N 16.500°E by Royal Navy destroyers HMS Termagant, HMS Tenacious and the escort destroyer HMS Liddesdale.
Summary of Raiding Career
Date | Name | Nationality | Tonnage (GRT) |
Fate[2] |
---|---|---|---|---|
13 December 1941 | Badalona | Spain | 4,202 | Sunk |
7 April 1942 | HMHS Somersetshire | Royal Navy | 9,716 | Damaged |
20 January 1943 | Jean Jadot | Belgium | 5,859 | Sunk |
30 June 1943 | Oligarch | United Kingdom | 6,894 | Damaged |
6 July 1943 | Shahjehan | United Kingdom | 5,454 | Sunk |
15 November 1943 | HMS Quail | Royal Navy | 1,705 | Total loss - mined |
20 November 1943 | Jela | Yugoslavia | 335 | Sunk - mined |
22 November 1943 | HMS Hebe | Royal Navy | 835 | Sunk - mined |
1 February 1944 | Agia Paraskevi | Greece | 80 | Sunk |
1 February 1944 | Salem | Lebanon | 81 | Sunk |
1 February 1944 | Himli | Lebanon | 67 | Sunk |
1 February 1944 | Yahiya | Syria | 64 | Sunk |
19 May 1944 | Fort Missanabie | United Kingdom | 7,147 | Sunk |
See also
Sources
- ^ "The Type VIIC boat U-453 - German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net". www.uboat.net. Retrieved 27 April 2014.
- ^ "U-453 successes". UBoat.net. Retrieved 27 April 2014.
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