German submarine U-82 (1941)

German submarine U-82 was a Type VIIC U-boat of the German Kriegsmarine during World War II.

Her keel was laid down on 15 May 1940 by Bremer Vulkan-Vegesacker Werft of Bremen as 'werk' 10. She was launched on 15 March 1941 and commissioned on 14 May with Oberleutnant Siegfried Rollmann in command. U-82 conducted three patrols, sinking eight merchant ships for a total of, one warship of 1,190 tons and damaging another merchantman of 1,999 GRT.

Operational history
U-82 conducted three patrols whilst serving with the 3rd U-boat Flotilla from 14 May 1941 to 6 February 1942 when she was sunk. She was a member of four wolfpacks.

1st patrol
The boat's first patrol began with her departure from Trondheim in Norway on 11 August 1941 after moving from Kiel in July. Her route took her across the Norwegian Sea and through the 'gap' separating Iceland and the Faroe Islands toward the Atlantic Ocean.

She sank the Empire Hudson northeast of Greenland on the 10 September 1941 followed by four more ships: the Bulysees, the Gypsum Queen, the Empire Crossbill and the Scania, all on the 11th.

U-82 then docked at Lorient on the French Atlantic coast on 5 July.

2nd patrol
The boat sank two more ships on her second foray but when she returned to France she went to La Pallice on 19 November 1941.

3rd patrol and loss
On her final patrol, U-82 sank Athelcrown, and Leiesten in mid-Atlantic. At the end of January she attacked and sank HMS Belmont, a US-built, Town class destroyer, south of Newfoundland. On 6 February 1942, while returning from patrol, she encountered convoy OS 18 north-east of the Azores. While attempting to attack she was sunk with all 45 of her crew by depth charges from the British sloop HMS Rochester (L50) and the corvette HMS Tamarisk (K216).