| German submarine U-322 | |
|---|---|
| Career |  |
| Name: | U-322 |
| Ordered: | 14 October 1941 |
| Builder: | Flender Werke, Lübeck |
| Yard number: | 322 |
| Laid down: | 13 February 1943 |
| Launched: | 18 December 1943 |
| Commissioned: | 5 February 1944 |
| Fate: | Sunk by a Canadian warship, in the English Chanel, December 1944 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Type VIIC/41 submarine |
| Displacement: |
769 long tons (781 t) surfaced 871 long tons (885 t) submerged |
| Length: |
67.23 m (220 ft 7 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: |
15,725 km (8,491 nmi) at 10 kn (19 km/h) surfaced 150 km (81 nmi) at 4 kn (7.4 km/h) submerged |
| Test depth: |
250 m (820 ft) Crush depth: 275–325 m (902–1,066 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[1][2] | |
|---|---|
| Part of: |
4th U-boat Flotilla (5 February–31 October 1944) 11th U-boat Flotilla (1 November–29 December 1944) |
| Commanders: |
Oblt. Gerhard Wysk (5 February–29 December 1944) |
| Operations: |
Two patrols: 2–6 November 1944 15 November–29 December 1944 |
| Victories: |
One ship of 5,149 GRT sunk Two vessels of 14,367 tons declared a total loss |
German submarine U-322 was a Type VIIC/41 U-boat of the Nazi German Kriegsmarine during World War II.
She carried out two patrols, sinking one ship of 5,149 GRT and causing two others, for a total of 14,367 tons, to be declared total losses.
The boat was sunk in December 1944 by a Canadian frigate in the English Channel.
Service history[]
The submarine was laid down on 13 February 1943 by the Flender Werke yard at Lübeck as 'werk' 322, launched on 18 December and commissioned on 5 February 1944 under the command of Oberleutnant Gerhard Wysk. She served with the 4th U-boat Flotilla for training, from 5 February 1944 to 31 October and the 11th flotilla for operations until her sinking on 29 December.
1st patrol[]
U-322 departed Kiel on 2 November 1944 and arrived in Horten (south of Oslo), on the 6th.
2nd patrol and loss[]
The boat left Horten on 15 November 1944, heading for the 'gap' between the Faroe and Shetland Islands and passing west of Ireland. On 23 December, she sank the Dumfries off St Catherine's Point, Isle of Wight in the English Channel. On the 29th, seven miles off the Portland lighthouse near Weymouth, she attacked the Arthur Sewall and the Black Hawk, causing both vessels to be declared a total loss. She was sunk on the same day by depth charges dropped from the Canadian frigate HMCS Calgary.
Fifty two men died; there were no survivors.
Previously recorded fate[]
U-322 was sunk on 25 November 1944 west of the Shetland Islands by the British frigate HMS Ascension.[3]
Discovery[]
The wreck has been found; although it was originally thought to be that of U-772, it has been identified as U-322.
Summary of raiding history[]
| Date | Name | Nationality | Tonnage (GRT) |
Fate[4] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23 December 1944 | Dumfries |  United Kingdom |
5,149 | Sunk |
| 29 December 1944 | Arthur Sewall |  USA |
7,176 | Total loss |
| 29 December 1944 | Black Hawk | USA |
7,191 | Total loss |
References[]
- Notes
- ↑ "The Type VIIC/41 boat U-322 - German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net". www.uboat.net. http://www.uboat.net/boats/u322.htm. Retrieved 19 August 2012.
- ↑ "War Patrols by German U-boat U-322 - Boats - uboat.net". www.uboat.net. http://www.uboat.net/boats/patrols/u322.html. Retrieved 19 August 2012.
- ↑ http://www.u-boot-archiv.de/dieboote/u0322html U-322 at u-boot-archiv.de
- ↑ http://uboat.net/boats/successes/u315/html
- Bibliography
External links[]
- U-321 at u-boot-archiv.de (German)
See also[]
The original article can be found at German submarine U-322 and the edit history here.