| German submarine U-731 | |
|---|---|
| Career (Nazi Germany) |  |
| Name: | U-731 |
| Ordered: | 5 June 1941 |
| Builder: | F. Schichau, Danzig |
| Laid down: | 1 October 1941 |
| Launched: | 25 July 1942 |
| Commissioned: | 3 October 1942 |
| Fate: | Sunk 15 May 1944 near Tangier by British patrol vessels |
| General characteristics [1] | |
| Class & type: | Type VIIC submarine |
| Displacement: |
769 t (757 long tons) surfaced 871 t (857 long tons) submerged |
| Length: |
67.10 m (220 ft 2 in) (o/a) 50.50 m (165 ft 8 in) (pressure hull) |
| Beam: |
6.20 m (20 ft 4 in) (o/a) 4.70 m (15 ft 5 in) (pressure hull) |
| Height: | 9.60 m (31 ft 6 in) |
| Draft: | 4.74 m (15 ft 7 in) |
| Propulsion: |
2 × supercharged Germaniawerft 6-cylinder 4-stroke F46 diesel engines, totalling 2,800–3,200 PS (2,800–3,200 bhp; 2,100–2,400 kW). Max rpm: 470-490 2 × AEG double-acting electric motors, totaling 750 PS (740 shp; 550 kW) and max rpm: 296. |
| Speed: |
17.7 knots (32.8 km/h; 20.4 mph) surfaced 7.6 knots (14.1 km/h; 8.7 mph) submerged |
| Range: |
8,500 nmi (15,700 km; 9,800 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) surfaced 80 nmi (150 km; 92 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph) submerged |
| Test depth: |
230 m (750 ft) Crush depth: 250–295 m (820–968 ft) |
| Complement: | 44–52 officers & ratings |
| Armament: |
|
| Service record | |
|---|---|
| Identification codes: | M 50 791 |
| Commanders: |
|
| Operations: | 4 war patrols |
| Victories: | no ships sunk |
German submarine U-731 was a Type VIIC U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II. The submarine was laid down on 1 October 1941 at the Schichau-Werke yard at Danzig, launched on 25 July 1942, and commissioned on 3 October 1942 under the command of Oberleutnant zur See Werner Techand.
Attached to 8th U-boat Flotilla based at Kiel, U-731 completed her training period on 30 April 1943 and was assigned to front-line service.
Service history[]
On the fourth and final war patrol, U-731 was detected on 15 May 1944 by two Catalinas, P-14 and P-1, of VP-63 off Tangiers, when the U-boat tried to force the Strait of Gibraltar. Two British patrol craft, HMS Kilmarnock and HMS Blackfly, received reports of the U-boat and attackedwith hedgehogs. U-731 was sunk in position 35°54′N 5°45′W / 35.9°N 5.75°WCoordinates: 35°54′N 5°45′W / 35.9°N 5.75°W, all 54 crew members perished in the attack.[2]
References[]
- ↑ Gröner 1985, pp. 72-74.
- ↑ Busch, Röll 1999, p. 236.
Bibliography[]
- Busch, Rainer; Röll, Hans-Joachim (1999) (in German). Deutsche U-Boot-Verluste von September 1939 bis Mai 1945. IV. Hamburg, Berlin, Bonn: Mittler. ISBN 3-8132-0514-2.
- Gröner, Erich (1985) (in German). U-Boote, Hilfskreuzer, Minenschiffe, Netzleger, Sperrbrecher. III. Koblenz: Bernard & Graefe. ISBN 3-7637-4802-4.
External links[]
- Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type VIIC boat U-731". http://www.uboat.net/boats/u731.html. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
The original article can be found at German submarine U-731 and the edit history here.