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German submarine U-140 (1940)

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(Redirected from Unterseeboot 140 (1940))
For other ships with the same name, see German submarine U-140.
History
Nazi Germany
NameU-140
Ordered25 September 1939
BuilderDeutsche Werke, Kiel
Yard number269
Laid down16 November 1939
Launched28 June 1940
Commissioned7 August 1940
FateScuttled on 5 May 1945 at Wilhelmshaven
General characteristics
Class and typeType IID coastal submarine
Displacement
  • 314 t (309 long tons) surfaced
  • 364 t (358 long tons) submerged
Length
Beam
  • 4.92 m (16 ft 2 in) (o/a)
  • 4.00 m (13 ft 1 in) (pressure hull)
Height8.40 m (27 ft 7 in)
Draught3.93 m (12 ft 11 in)
Installed power
  • 700 PS (510 kW; 690 bhp) (diesels)
  • 410 PS (300 kW; 400 shp) (electric)
Propulsion
Speed
  • 12.7 knots (23.5 km/h; 14.6 mph) surfaced
  • 7.4 knots (13.7 km/h; 8.5 mph) submerged
Range
  • 3,450 nmi (6,390 km; 3,970 mi) at 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph) surfaced
  • 56 nmi (104 km; 64 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph) submerged
Test depth80 m (260 ft)
Complement3 officers, 22 men
Armament
Service record
Part of:
Identification codes: M 05 988
Commanders:
  • Oblt.z.S. Hans-Peter Hinsch
  • 7 August 1940 - 6 April 1941
  • Oblt.z.S. Hans-Jürgen Hellriegel
  • 7 April - 9 December 1941
  • Oblt.z.S. / Kptlt. Klaus Popp
  • 10 December 1941 - 1 September 1942
  • Lt.z.S. / Oblt.z.S. Albrecht Markert
  • 2 September 1942 - 31 July 1944
  • Oblt.z.S. Herbert Zeissier
  • 1 August - 19 November 1944
  • Oblt.z.S. Wolfgang Scherfling
  • 20 November 1944 - 5 May 1945
Operations:
  • 3 patrols:
  • 1st patrol:
  • a. 20 November - 17 December 1940
  • b. 19–20 December 1940
  • 2nd patrol:
  • 19 - 30 June 1941
  • 3rd patrol:
  • 7 - 24 July 1941
Victories:
  • 3 merchant ships sunk
    (12,410 GRT)
  • 1 warship sunk
    (206 tons)

German submarine U-140 was a Type IID U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II. She carried out three combat patrol. Built at the Kiel shipyards during 1939 and 1940, as a Type IID U-boat, she was too small for major operational work in the Atlantic Ocean, which was now required by the Kriegsmarine as the Battle of the Atlantic expanded.

Design

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German Type IID submarines were enlarged versions of the original Type IIs. U-140 had a displacement of 314 tonnes (309 long tons) when at the surface and 364 tonnes (358 long tons) while submerged. Officially, the standard tonnage was 250 long tons (254 t), however.[1] The U-boat had a total length of 43.97 m (144 ft 3 in), a pressure hull length of 29.80 m (97 ft 9 in), a beam of 4.92 m (16 ft 2 in), a height of 8.40 m (27 ft 7 in), and a draught of 3.93 m (12 ft 11 in). The submarine was powered by two MWM RS 127 S four-stroke, six-cylinder diesel engines of 700 metric horsepower (510 kW; 690 shp) for cruising, two Siemens-Schuckert PG VV 322/36 double-acting electric motors producing a total of 410 metric horsepower (300 kW; 400 shp) for use while submerged. She had two shafts and two 0.85 m (3 ft) propellers. The boat was capable of operating at depths of up to 80–150 metres (260–490 ft).[1]

The submarine had a maximum surface speed of 12.7 knots (23.5 km/h; 14.6 mph) and a maximum submerged speed of 7.4 knots (13.7 km/h; 8.5 mph).[1] When submerged, the boat could operate for 35–42 nautical miles (65–78 km; 40–48 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph); when surfaced, she could travel 3,800 nautical miles (7,000 km; 4,400 mi) at 8 knots (15 km/h; 9.2 mph). U-140 was fitted with three 53.3 cm (21 in) torpedo tubes at the bow, five torpedoes or up to twelve Type A torpedo mines, and a 2 cm (0.79 in) anti-aircraft gun. The boat had a complement of 25.[1]

War patrol

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U-140 carried out three raiding patrols, first under her first captain, Hans-Peter Hinsch. He took her round the north of Scotland in December 1940 following her work-up program, and it was here that she sank her first victim, twelve days into the voyage. Six days later north of Ireland, on 8 December she sank the steel 3-mast barque Penang of neutral Finland, inbound from Stenhouse Bay, South Australia to Cobh in neutral Ireland with a cargo of grain. The Penang and her 18 crew were all lost at 55°15′N 10°09′W / 55.25°N 10.15°W / 55.25; -10.15.[2] Later that day she heard the British freighter Ashcrest broadcast that she needed assistance as her rudder was broken, at 54°35′N 09°20′W / 54.583°N 9.333°W / 54.583; -9.333. U-140 sank Ashcrest with the loss of the entire crew of 37.[3]

She then headed home towards retirement. U-140 was docked, her crew transferred and she was converted into a training boat, designed to operate solely in the Baltic Sea, training submariners for the main U-boat force.

Training boat

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It was during this onerous yet necessary duty that her new captain, Hans-Jürgen Hellriegel, found himself facing a small Soviet submarine on the surface, well into the Baltic, a month after the invasion of the Soviet Union. In a careful attack, U-140 torpedoed and sank her rival with his scratch crew of new recruits. Orders had been pushing U-140 further into the Baltic during the preceding months, with the hope that she might achieve just such a victory.

Following this excitement, U-140 returned to training duties, which she continued for the remainder of the war without further incident, save in the final months, when she was transferred to Wilhelmshaven in a general shipment of equipment and personnel to the West. It was there, on the 5 May 1945 in Jade Bay, that U-140 was scuttled by her crew to prevent her seizure by the advancing British forces. Post-war she was raised and scrapped.

Summary of raiding history

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Date Ship Nationality Tonnage[Note 1] Fate[4]
2 December 1940 Victoria City  United Kingdom 4,739 Sunk
8 December 1940 Penang  Finland 2,019 Sunk
8 December 1940 Ashcrest  United Kingdom 5,652 Sunk
21 July 1941 M-94  Soviet Navy 206 Sunk

References

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Notes

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  1. ^ Merchant ship tonnages are in gross register tons. Military vessels are listed by tons displacement.

Citations

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  1. ^ a b c d Gröner 1991, pp. 39–40.
  2. ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Penang". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 29 April 2010.
  3. ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ashcrest". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 29 April 2010.
  4. ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit by U-140". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 9 December 2014.

Bibliography

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  • Busch, Rainer; Röll, Hans-Joachim (1999). German U-boat commanders of World War II : a biographical dictionary. Translated by Brooks, Geoffrey. London, Annapolis, Md: Greenhill Books, Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-186-6.
  • Busch, Rainer; Röll, Hans-Joachim (1999). Deutsche U-Boot-Verluste von September 1939 bis Mai 1945 [German U-boat losses from September 1939 to May 1945]. Der U-Boot-Krieg (in German). Vol. IV. Hamburg, Berlin, Bonn: Mittler. ISBN 3-8132-0514-2.
  • Gröner, Erich; Jung, Dieter; Maass, Martin (1991). U-boats and Mine Warfare Vessels. German Warships 1815–1945. Vol. 2. Translated by Thomas, Keith; Magowan, Rachel. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-593-4.
  • Sharpe, Peter (1998). U-Boat Fact File. Midland Publishing. ISBN 1-85780-072-9.
[edit]
  • Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type IID boat U-140". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
  • Hofmann, Markus. "U 140". Deutsche U-Boote 1935-1945 - u-boot-archiv.de (in German). Retrieved 30 January 2015.

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