| German submarine U-306 | |
|---|---|
| Career |  |
| Name: | U-306 |
| Ordered: | 20 January 1941 |
| Builder: | Flender Werke, Lübeck |
| Yard number: | 306 |
| Laid down: | 16 September 1941 |
| Launched: | 29 August 1942 |
| Commissioned: | 2 November 1942 |
| Fate: | Sunk, October 1943, in mid-Atlantic, by two British warships[1] |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Type VIIC submarine |
| Displacement: |
769 tonnes (757 long tons) surfaced 871 t (857 long tons) submerged |
| Length: |
67.1 m (220 ft 2 in) o/a 50.5 m (165 ft 8 in) pressure hull |
| Beam: |
6.2 m (20 ft 4 in) o/a 4.7 m (15 ft 5 in) pressure hull |
| Draft: | 4.74 m (15 ft 7 in) |
| Propulsion: |
2 × supercharged Germaniawerft 6-cylinder 4-stroke M6V 40/46 diesel engines, totalling 2,800–3,200 bhp (2,100–2,400 kW). Max rpm: 470-490 2 × electric motors, totalling 750 shp (560 kW) and max rpm: 296. |
| Speed: |
17.7 knots (20.4 mph; 32.8 km/h) surfaced 7.6 knots (8.7 mph; 14.1 km/h) submerged |
| Range: |
15,170 km (8,190 nmi) at 10 kn (19 km/h) surfaced 150 km (81 nmi) at 4 kn (7.4 km/h) submerged |
| Test depth: |
230 m (750 ft) Crush depth: 250–295 m (820–968 ft) |
| Complement: | 44–52 officers and ratings |
| Armament: |
• 5 × 53.3 cm (21 in) torpedo tubes (four bow, one stern) • 14 × G7e torpedoes or 26 TMA mines • 1 × 8.8 cm (3.46 in) deck gun(220 rounds) • Various AA guns |
| Service record[2][3] | |
|---|---|
| Part of: |
8th U-boat Flotilla (21 October 1942–28 February 1943) 1st U-boat Flotilla (1 March 1943–31 October 1943) |
| Commanders: |
Kptlt. Claus von Trotha (21 October 1942–31 October 1943) |
| Operations: |
1st patrol: 25 February–9 May 1943 2nd patrol: 10 June–11 August 1943 3rd patrol: 23–24 September 1943 4th patrol: 7–10 October 1943 5th patrol: 14–31 October 1943 |
| Victories: |
One ship sunk, 10,218 GRT. Two ships damaged, total tonnage 11,195 tons. |
German submarine U-306 was a Type VIIC U-boat of the Nazi German Kriegsmarine during World War II. The submarine was laid down on 16 September 1941 at the Flender Werke yard at Lübeck as 'werk' 306, launched on 29 August 1942 and commissioned on 21 October under the command of Kapitänleutnant Claus von Botha. During her career, the U-boat sailed on five combat patrols, sinking one ship and damaging two others, before she was sunk in October 1943 in mid-Atlantic, northwest of the Azores by British warships.[2]
She was a member of three wolfpacks.
Service history[]
The boat's service life began with training with the 8th U-boat Flotilla in October 1942. She was then transferred to the 1st flotilla for operations on 1 March.
1st patrol[]
The submarine's first patrol began with her departure from Kiel on 25 February 1943. On 24 April she sank the Amerika south of Cape Farewell, Greenland. The next day she damaged the Silvermaple. She arrived in Brest in occupied France, on 9 May.
2nd and 3rd patrols[]
U-306's second foray was relatively uneventful; starting in Brest, it took her as far south as Guinea-Bissau. Off the Gambia, she damaged the Kaipara on 16 July 1943. The boat then docked in Lorient on 11 August.
Her third sortie was rather brief, lasting between 23 and 24 September 1943.
4th patrol[]
On her fourth patrol, she sailed along the French Atlantic coast toward St. Nazaire.
5th patrol and loss[]
The boat was sunk northwest of the Azores by depth charges dropped from the British destroyer HMS Whitehall and the corvette HMS Geranium on 31 October 1943.
Fifty-one men died; there were no survivors.
Summary of raiding history[]
| Date | Name | Nationality | Tonnage (GRT) |
Fate[4] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22 April 1943 | Amerika |  United Kingdom |
10,218 | Sunk |
| 23 April 1943 | Silvermaple | United Kingdom |
5,313 | Damaged |
| 16 July 1943 | Kaipara | United Kingdom |
5,822 | Damaged |
References[]
- Notes
- ↑ Kemp, Paul: U-Boats Destroyed - German Submarine Losses in the World Wars, 1997, Arms & Armour, ISBN 1-85409-515-3, p. 154
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type VIIC boat U-306". uboat.net. http://uboat.net/boats/u306.htm. Retrieved 16 August 2012.
- ↑ Helgason, Guðmundur. "War Patrols by German U-boat U-306". uboat.net. http://uboat.net/boats/patrols/u306.html. Retrieved 16 August 2012.
- ↑ http://uboat.net/boats/patrols/u306.html
- Bibliography
See also[]
The original article can be found at German submarine U-306 and the edit history here.