| German submarine U-251 | |
|---|---|
| Career |  |
| Name: | U-251 |
| Ordered: | 23 September 1941 |
| Builder: | Bremer-Vulkan-Vegesacker Werft, Bremen |
| Yard number: | 16 |
| Laid down: | 18 October 1940 |
| Launched: | 26 July 1941 |
| Commissioned: | 20 September 1941 |
| Fate: | Sunk, April 1945 in the Kattegat by Allied aircraft[1][2] |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Type VIIC submarine |
| Displacement: |
769 tonnes (757 long tons) surfaced 871 t (857 long tons) submerged |
| Length: |
67.1 m (220 ft 2 in) o/a 50.5 m (165 ft 8 in) pressure hull |
| Beam: |
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: |
2 × supercharged Germaniawerft 6-cylinder 4-stroke M6V 40/46 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: |
17.7 knots (20.4 mph; 32.8 km/h) surfaced 7.6 knots (8.7 mph; 14.1 km/h) submerged |
| Range: |
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: |
230 m (750 ft) Crush depth: 250–295 m (820–968 ft) |
| Complement: | 44–52 officers and ratings |
| Armament: |
• 5 × 53.3 cm (21 in) torpedo tubes (four bow, one stern) • 14 × G7e torpedoes or 26 TMA mines • 1 × 8.8 cm (3.46 in) deck gun(220 rounds) • Various AA guns |
| Service record[3][4] | |
|---|---|
| Part of: |
6th U-boat Flotilla (20 September 1941–30 April 1942) 6th U-boat Flotilla (and 1 May–30 June 1942) 11th U-boat Flotilla (1 July 1942–31 May 1943) 24th U-boat Flotilla (1 July–30 November 1943) 21st U-boat Flotilla (1 December 1943–28 February 1945) 31st U-boat Flotilla (1 March–19 April 1945) |
| Commanders: |
Kptlt. Heinrich Timm (20 September 1941–1 September 1943) Oblt. Franz Sack (23 November 1943–19 April 1945) |
| Operations: |
Ten patrols: 20 April–25 April 1942 26 May–29 May 1942 7 June–5 July 1942 14 August–14 August 1942 14 September–3 October 1942 14 February–1 March 1943 18 March–21 April 1943 12 May–29 May 1943 13 June–24 June 1943 16 April–19 April 1945 |
| Victories: | Two |
German submarine U-251 was a Type VIIC U-boat of the Nazi German Kriegsmarine during World War II. The submarine was laid down on 18 October 1940 at the Bremer-Vulkan-Vegesacker Werft (yard) in Bremen as 'werk' 16, launched on 26 July 1941 and commissioned on 20 September under the command of Kapitänleutnant Heinrich Timm.[3]
In ten patrols, she sank two ships of 11,408 GRT. She was a member of three wolf packs.
She was sunk by British and Norwegian aircraft in the Kattegat in April 1945.
Service history[]
After training with the 6th U-boat Flotilla, she became operational on 1 May 1942. U-245 was transferred to the 11th flotilla on 1 July and the 13th flotilla on 1 June 1943. There followed spells with the 24th, 21st and 31st flotillas,[3] (see infobox for dates).
1st patrol[]
The boat's first patrol was preceded by a short trip between Kiel and Kristiansand in Norway. Her first sortie proper began with her departure from Kristiansand on 20 April 1942. The second part of this patrol was marked by sinking the Jutland south of Bear Island on 3 May after the ship had been hit by bombs from German aircraft. She then made three forays from Kirkenes, Skjomenfjord and Trondheim over the rest of May.
2nd patrol[]
Her second patrol was also in May and covered the eastern Norwegian Sea.
3rd patrol[]
The submarine sank the El Capitan on 17 July 1942 near northeast Iceland. This ship was with Convoy PQ-17 before being attacked by Luftwaffe Ju-88s. The ship had been abandoned; U-251 finished her off.
For the rest of her career, the U-boat patrolled northern waters; at one time steaming as far north and east as Novaya Zemlya in the Kara Sea.
10th patrol and loss[]
By the time of her tenth sortie, the Allies dominated the air. This situation was dramatically demonstrated when the boat was sunk by rockets from no less than eight British and Norwegian Mosquitos of 143, 235 and 248 squadrons in the Kattegat on 19 April 1945. Thirty-nine men died; there were four survivors.
Summary of raiding history[]
| Date | Name | Nationality | Tonnage (GRT) |
Fate[5] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 May 1942 | Jutland |  United Kingdom |
6,153 | Sunk |
| 10 July 1942 | El Capitan |  Panama |
5,255 | Sunk |
See also[]
References[]
- Notes
- ↑ Kemp, Paul: U-Boats Destroyed - German Submarine Losses in the World Wars, 1997, Arms & Armour, ISBN 1-85409-515-3, p. 251
- ↑ http://uboat.net/boats/u251/htm
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "The Type VIIC boat U-251 - German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net". uboat.net. http://www.uboat.net/boats/u251.htm. Retrieved 31 July 2012.
- ↑ "War Patrols by German U-boat U-251 - Boats - uboat.net". uboat.net. http://www.uboat.net/boats/patrols/u251.html. Retrieved 31 July 2012.
- ↑ http://uboat.net/boats/successes/u251/html
- Bibliography
External links[]
The original article can be found at German submarine U-251 and the edit history here.