German submarine U-116 (1941)

History
Nazi Germany
Name:	U-116
Ordered:	31 January 1939
Builder:	Germaniawerft, Kiel
Yard number:	615
Laid down:	1 July 1939
Launched:	3 May 1941[1]
Commissioned:	26 July 1941[2]
General characteristics [3]
Class and type:	Submarine minelayer
Displacement:	1,763 tonnes (1,735 long tons) surfaced 2,177 tonnes (2,143 long tons) submerged
Length:	89.80 m (294 ft 7 in) o/a 70.90 m (232 ft 7 in) pressure hull
Beam:	9.20 m (30 ft 2 in) o/a 4.75 m (15 ft 7 in) pressure hull
Height:	10.20 m (33 ft 6 in)
Draught:	4.71 m (15 ft 5 in)
Propulsion:	2 × supercharged GW F 46 a 9 pu 9 cylinder, four-stroke diesel engines, 4,800 PS (4,700 bhp; 3,500 kW) 2 × AEG GU 720/8-287 electric motors, 1,100 PS (1,100 shp; 810 kW)
Range:	18,450 nautical miles (34,170 km; 21,230 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) surfaced 93 nmi (172 km; 107 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph) submerged
Test depth:	Calculated crush depth: 220 m (720 ft)
Complement:	5 officers, 47 enlisted
Armament:	2 × 53.3 cm (21 in) stern torpedo tubes 15 × torpedoes 66 × SMA mines 1 × 10.5 cm (4.1 in) deck gun (200 rounds) various AA guns
Service record[4] [5]
Part of:	2nd U-boat Flotilla (26 July 1941 - 31 January 1942) 1st U-boat Flotilla (1 February - 6 October 1942)
Commanders:	K.Kapt. Werner von Schmidt (26 July 1941 - 10 September 1942) Oblt.z.S. Wilhelm Grimme (11 September - 6 October 1942)
Operations:	Four 1st patrol: 25 April - 5 May 1942 2nd patrol: 16 May - 9 June 1942 3rd patrol: 27 June - 23 August 1942 4th patrol: 22 September - 6 October 1942
Victories:	One commercial ship sunk (4,284 GRT) One commercial ship damaged (7,093 GRT)

German submarine U-116 was a Type XB minelaying U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II.

She was ordered on 31 January 1939 and laid down on 1 July at Friedrich Krupp Germaniawerft, Kiel, as yard number 615. She was launched on 3 May 1941 and commissioned under the command of Korvettenkapitän Werner von Schmidt on 26 July of that year.^[4]

Service history

1st patrol

After a period of training as part of the 2nd U-boat Flotilla, U-116 was assigned to the front-line as part of the 1st U-boat Flotilla on 1 February 1942.^[4] She sailed from Kiel on 4 April 1942, bound for Bergen, Norway, via Heligoland, and departed Bergen on 25 April, circling the British Isles before arriving at Lorient in occupied France, on 5 May.^[6]

2nd patrol

U-116 sailed from Lorient on 16 May 1942 on a patrol to the mid-Atlantic lasting 25 days, arriving back at her homeport on 9 June, without any success.^[7]

3rd patrol

U-116 was more successful on her third patrol which took her south to the coast of West Africa, attacking Convoy OS-33 south of the Azores on 12 July 1942. Soon after midnight she fired one torpedo at the 7,093 ton GRT merchant ship Cortona, causing some damage; although the ship was then sunk by U-201.^[8] Nine hours later U-116 fired two torpedoes into the 4,284 ton British merchant ship Shaftesbury, which sank in 15 minutes.^[9] The U-boat returned to Lorient on 23 August, after 58 days at sea.^[10]

4th patrol

For her fourth patrol, U-116 sailed under the command of Oberleutnant zur See Wilhelm Grimme. Leaving Lorient on 22 September 1942,^[11] she sent her last radio message on 6 October whilst in the North Atlantic at position 45°00′N 31°30′W / 45.000°N 31.500°WCoordinates: 45°00′N 31°30′W / 45.000°N 31.500°W, and was never heard from again. 56 men were lost with her.^[2][4]

References

1. Kemp 1999, pp. 92-93.
2. Kemp, pp. 92-93.
3. Gröner 1991, pp. 76-77.
4. Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type XB boat U-116". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 2009-12-20.
5. Helgason, Guðmundur. "War Patrols by German U-boat U-116". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 2009-12-20.
6. Helgason, Guðmundur. "Patrol of U-boat U-116 from 25 Apr 1942 to 5 May 1942". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 2009-12-20.
7. Helgason, Guðmundur. "Patrol of U-boat U-116 from 16 May 1942 to 9 Jun 1942". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 2009-12-20.
8. Helgason, Guðmundur. "Cortona (Steam merchant)". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 2009-12-20.
9. Helgason, Guðmundur. "Shaftesbury (Steam merchant)". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 2009-12-20.
10. Helgason, Guðmundur. "Patrol of U-boat U-116 from 27 Jun 1942 to 23 Aug 1942". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 2009-12-20.
11. Helgason, Guðmundur. "Patrol of U-boat U-116 from 22 Sep 1942 to 6 Oct 1942". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 2009-12-20.

Bibliography

• Busch, Rainer; Röll, Hans-Joachim (1999). Deutsche U-Boot-Verluste von September 1939 bis Mai 1945. Der U-Boot-Krieg (in German) IV (Hamburg, Berlin, Bonn: Mittler). ISBN 3-8132-0514-2.
• Gröner, Erich; Jung, Dieter; Maass, Martin (1991). U-boats and Mine Warfare Vessels. German Warships 1815–1945 2. Translated by Thomas, Keith; Magowan, Rachel (London: Conway Maritime Press). ISBN 0-85177-593-4.
• Kemp, Paul (1999). U-Boats Destroyed - German Submarine Losses in the World Wars. London: Arms & Armour. ISBN 1-85409-515-3.

External links

• Hofmann, Markus. "U 116". Deutsche U-Boote 1935-1945 - u-boot-archiv.de (in German). Retrieved 2014-12-06.
• Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type X boat U-116". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 6 December 2014.