German submarine U-89 (1941)

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German submarine U-89 was a Type VIIC U-boat of the Nazi German Kriegsmarine during World War II.

She was laid down at the Flender Werke in Lübeck as 'werk' 293, launched on 20 September 1941 and commissioned on 19 November with Korvettenkapitän Dietrich Lohmann in command.

She was a fairly successful boat, sinking over 13,000 tons of Allied shipping in a career lasting just one year and five patrols. She was a member of ten wolfpacks. After training with the 8th U-boat Flotilla, U-89 was assigned to the 9th flotilla on 1 May 1942 for operations.

1st patrol
U-89 departed Kiel for her first patrol on 14 May 1942. She docked in Brest, on the French Atlantic coast, on the 27th.

2nd patrol
The boat's second foray started from Brest on 6 June 1942 and finishing there on 21 August. Using her deck gun, she sank a Canadian fishing boat, the Lucille M., with 20 incendiary and 15 high explosive rounds off Cable Sable on 25 July

3rd patrol
U-89 sank the British ship, the Jeypore on 3 November 1942 and the Daleby also British, both east of Cape Farewell (Greenland), the following day. On the 5th, she was attacked by a B-24 Liberator of No. 120 Squadron RAF. Originally thought to have sunk U-132, U-89 was severely damaged.

4th patrol
Sortie number four began from Brest on 24 January 1943; it was relatively uneventful but terminated in La Pallice on 28 March.

5th patrol and loss
U-89 left France for the last time on 25 April 1943. On 7 May she sank the Greek Laconikis northeast of the Azores but was herself sunk by a combination of a Fairey Swordfish of 811 Naval Air Squadron from the escort carrier HMS Biter, the destroyer HMS Broadway and the frigate Lagan. U-89 was sunk at position 46.5°N, -25.66667°W.

48 men died with the U-boat; there were no survivors.