German submarine U-116 (1941) explained

German submarine U-116 was a Type XB minelaying U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II.

She was ordered on 31 January 1939 and laid down on 1 July at Friedrich Krupp Germaniawerft, Kiel, as yard number 615. She was launched on 3 May 1941 and commissioned under the command of Korvettenkapitän Werner von Schmidt on 26 July of that year.

Service history

1st patrol

After a period of training as part of the 2nd U-boat Flotilla, U-116 was assigned to the front-line as part of the 1st U-boat Flotilla on 1 February 1942. She sailed from Kiel on 4 April 1942, bound for Bergen, Norway, via Heligoland, and departed Bergen on 25 April, circling the British Isles before arriving at Lorient in occupied France, on 5 May.^[1]

2nd patrol

U-116 sailed from Lorient on 16 May 1942 on a patrol to the mid-Atlantic lasting 25 days, arriving back at her homeport on 9 June, without any success.^[2]

3rd patrol

U-116 was more successful on her third patrol which took her south to the coast of West Africa, attacking Convoy OS-33 south of the Azores on 12 July 1942. Soon after midnight she fired one torpedo at the merchant ship Cortona, causing some damage; although the ship was then sunk by .^[3] Nine hours later U-116 fired two torpedoes into the 4,284 GRT British merchant ship Shaftesbury, which sank in 15 minutes.^[4] The U-boat returned to Lorient on 23 August, after 58 days at sea.^[5]

4th patrol

For her fourth patrol, U-116 sailed under the command of Oberleutnant zur See Wilhelm Grimme. Leaving Lorient on 22 September 1942,^[6] she sent her last radio message on 6 October whilst in the North Atlantic at position 45°N -61°W, and was never heard from again. 56 men were lost with her.

Summary of raiding history

Date	Name	Nationality	Tonnage (GRT)	Fate^[7]
12 July 1942	Cortona	United Kingdom	7,093	Damaged
12 July 1942	Shaftesbury	United Kingdom	4,284	Sunk

Bibliography

• Book: Busch . Rainer . Röll . Hans-Joachim . Brooks . Geoffrey . German U-boat commanders of World War II : a biographical dictionary . Greenhill Books, Naval Institute Press . London, Annapolis, Md . 1999 . 1-55750-186-6 .
• Book: Busch. Rainer. Röll. Hans-Joachim. Deutsche U-Boot-Verluste von September 1939 bis Mai 1945. German U-boat losses from September 1939 to May 1945. Der U-Boot-Krieg. IV. Mittler. Hamburg, Berlin, Bonn. 1999. 3-8132-0514-2. de.
• Book: Gröner. Erich. Jung. Dieter. Maass. Martin. Thomas. Keith. Magowan. Rachel. 1991. U-boats and Mine Warfare Vessels. 2. German Warships 1815–1945. London. Conway Maritime Press. 0-85177-593-4. CITEREFGröner1991.
• Book: Kemp , Paul . U-Boats Destroyed - German Submarine Losses in the World Wars. London. 1999. Arms & Armour. 1-85409-515-3.

External links

• Web site: U 116. Hofmann. Markus. Deutsche U-Boote 1935-1945 - u-boot-archiv.de. de. 2014-12-06.
• Web site: The Type X boat U-116 . Helgason . Guðmundur . German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net . 6 December 2014.

Notes and References

1. Web site: Patrol of U-boat U-116 from 25 Apr 1942 to 5 May 1942 . Helgason . Guðmundur . German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net . 2009-12-20.
2. Web site: Patrol of U-boat U-116 from 16 May 1942 to 9 Jun 1942 . Helgason . Guðmundur . German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net . 2009-12-20.
3. Web site: Cortona (Steam merchant) . Helgason . Guðmundur . German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net . 2009-12-20.
4. Web site: Shaftesbury (Steam merchant) . Helgason . Guðmundur . German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net . 2009-12-20.
5. Web site: Patrol of U-boat U-116 from 27 Jun 1942 to 23 Aug 1942 . Helgason . Guðmundur . German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net . 2009-12-20.
6. Web site: Patrol of U-boat U-116 from 22 Sep 1942 to 6 Oct 1942 . Helgason . Guðmundur . German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net . 2009-12-20.
7. Web site: Ships hit by U-116 . Helgason . Guðmundur . German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net . 3 October 2014.