German submarine U-116 (1941)

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

For other ships with the same name, see German submarine U-116.

History
Nazi Germany
NameU-116
Ordered31 January 1939
BuilderGermaniawerft, Kiel
Yard number615
Laid down1 July 1939
Launched3 May 1941[1]
Commissioned26 July 1941[2]
FateMissing since 6 October 1942 in the North Atlantic[2]
General characteristics [3]
Class and typeType X submarine minelayer
Displacement
  • 1,763 tonnes (1,735 long tons) surfaced
  • 2,177 tonnes (2,143 long tons) submerged
Length
Beam
  • 9.20 m (30 ft 2 in) o/a
  • 4.75 m (15 ft 7 in) pressure hull
Height10.20 m (33 ft 6 in)
Draught4.71 m (15 ft 5 in)
Propulsion
Speed
  • 16.4–17 knots (30.4–31.5 km/h; 18.9–19.6 mph) surfaced
  • 7 knots (13 km/h; 8.1 mph) submerged
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 depthCalculated crush depth: 220 m (720 ft)
Complement5 officers, 47 enlisted
Armament
Service record[4] [5]
Part of:
Commanders:
  • K.Kapt. Werner von Schmidt
  • 26 July 1941 - 10 September 1942
  • Oblt.z.S. Wilhelm Grimme
  • 11 September - 6 October 1942
Operations:
  • 4 patrols:
  • 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:
  • 1 merchant ship sunk
    (4,284 GRT)
  • 1 merchant ship damaged
    (7,093 GRT)

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 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 GRT 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, and was never heard from again. 56 men were lost with her.[2][4]

Summary of raiding history
Date Name Nationality Tonnage
(GRT)		 Fate[12]
12 July 1942 Cortona  United Kingdom 7,093 Damaged
12 July 1942 Shaftesbury  United Kingdom 4,284 Sunk

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 20 December 2009.
  5. Helgason, Guðmundur. "War Patrols by German U-boat U-116". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 20 December 2009.
  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 20 December 2009.
  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 20 December 2009.
  8. Helgason, Guðmundur. "Cortona (Steam merchant)". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 20 December 2009.
  9. Helgason, Guðmundur. "Shaftesbury (Steam merchant)". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 20 December 2009.
  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 20 December 2009.
  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 20 December 2009.
  12. Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit by U-116". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 3 October 2014.

Bibliography
  • Busch, Rainer; Röll, Hans-Joachim (1999). German U-boat commanders of World War II : a biographical dictionary. Translated by Brooks, Geoffrey. London, Annapolis, Md: Greenhill Books, Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-186-6.
  • Busch, Rainer; Röll, Hans-Joachim (1999). Deutsche U-Boot-Verluste von September 1939 bis Mai 1945 [German U-boat losses from September 1939 to May 1945]. Der U-Boot-Krieg (in German). Vol. 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. Vol. 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.
  • Hofmann, Markus. "U 116". Deutsche U-Boote 1935-1945 - u-boot-archiv.de (in German). Retrieved 6 December 2014.
  • Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type X boat U-116". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
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