German submarine U-205

German submarine U-205 was a Type VIIC U-boat of the Kriegsmarine during World War II. The submarine was laid down on 19 June 1940 by the Friedrich Krupp Germaniawerft yard at Kiel as 'werk' 634; launched on 20 March 1941; and commissioned on 3 May 1941 under the command of Franz-Georg Reschke.

She was sunk on 17 February 1943 by HMS Paladin at 32.93333°N, 22.01667°W.

Operational career
Part of the 3rd U-boat Flotilla, U-205 carried out two patrols in the North Atlantic. Joining 29th U-boat Flotilla, she carried out a further ten patrols in the Mediterranean.

1st patrol
U-205's first patrol began when she left Trondheim on 24 July 1941; she travelled through the 'gap' between Greenland and Iceland (the Denmark Strait) and docked at Brest in occupied France, on 23 August 1941.

2nd patrol
Leaving Lorient on 23 September 1941, U-205 was attacked and damaged by aircraft on the 27th and returned to port, arriving in Lorient on 2 October 1941.

3rd patrol
On 3 November 1941 U-205 left Lorient and joined Wolfpack Arnauld. Breaking through the Gibraltar barrage, U-205 joined the 29th U-Flotilla in La Spezia on 10 December 1941.

4th patrol
U-205 left La Spezia on 5 January 1942 and returned on 10 February.

5th patrol
Having left La Spezia on the 17th, U-205 encountered the fleet tanker RFA Slavol on her way to Tobruk on 26 March 1942 and sank her with a torpedo from her stern torpedo tube after a four-torpedo-screen failed to generate any hits.

6th patrol
Saling from La Spezia on 6 May, 1942, U-205 reached Salamis on 8 June 1942.

7th patrol
On the return leg, U-205 successfully attacked the British light cruiser HMS Hermione (74) on 16 June 1942, guarding convoy MW-11. The U-boat docked in La Spezia on the 23rd.

8th patrol
On 3 August 1942, U-205 sailed from La Spezia for Pula, arriving there on 10 September 1942.

9th patrol
Pola, 20 October 1942 – La Spezia, 19 November 1942

10th patrol
La Spezia, 20 November 1942 – Pola, 24 November 1942

11th patrol
Pola, 12 January 1943 – Salamis 26 January 1943

Last patrol and sinking
Leaving Salamis on 2 February 1943, U-205 was manoeuvering to attack a convoy off Apollonia, Cyrenaica on 17 February 1943 when she was spotted by a Bristol Blenheim bomber of the South African Air Force and attacked by British destroyer HMS Paladin at 32.56N 22.01E. Forced to surface by depth charges, U-205's crew abandoned ship after opening the sea vents. A boarding party from HMS Paladin managed to salvage documents and radio equipment. A second warship, HMS Gloxinia, attempted to tow the still-floating submarine to the beach, but failed. U-205 sank about 1,000 metres off shore.

Aftermath
U-205 is widely believed to be the submarine with the erroneous number U-307 in Peter Keeble's book Ordeal by Water, in which he describes his dive to recover encrypting equipment from a sunken U-boat.