German submarine U-233 explained

German submarine U-233 was a Type XB U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II.She was laid down on 15 August 1941, launched on 8 May 1943 and commissioned on 22 September of the same year. U-233 was commanded throughout her career by Oberleutnant zur See Hans Steen.

Service history

U-233 was assigned to the 4th U-boat Flotilla for training on 22 September 1943 and to the 12th U-boat Flotilla on 1 June 1944 for active service.Her first and only patrol commenced on 27 May 1944 when she departed Kiel to lay mines off Halifax.

Fate

On 5 July 1944 U-233 was intercepted by ships of the hunter-killer group. She was identified by sonar, depth-charged to the surface and fired on by, before being rammed and sunk by .32 of her crew were killed in the action, 29 others being rescued by the escorts. Steen was also picked up, but died of wounds the next day. US Navy report on U-233 survivors 1944^[1]

Bibliography

• Book: Blair, Clay . Hitler's U-boat War: The Hunted, 1942-45 . 2000-07-01 . Weidenfeld & Nicolson . 978-0-304-35261-6 .
• Book: Busch . Rainer . German U-boat commanders of World War II : a biographical dictionary . Röll . Hans-Joachim . Greenhill Books, Naval Institute Press . 1999 . 1-55750-186-6 . London, Annapolis, Md . Brooks . Geoffrey .
• Book: Busch . Rainer . Deutsche U-Boot-Verluste von September 1939 bis Mai 1945 . Röll . Hans-Joachim . Der U-Boot-Krieg . Mittler . 1999 . 3-8132-0514-2 . IV . Hamburg, Berlin, Bonn . German . German U-boat losses from September 1939 to May 1945 .
• Book: Gröner . Erich . U-boats and Mine Warfare Vessels . Jung . Dieter . Maass . Martin . German Warships 1815–1945 . Conway Maritime Press . 1991 . 0-85177-593-4 . 2 . London . Thomas . Keith . CITEREFGröner1991 . Magowan . Rachel.
• Book: Kemp, Paul . U-Boats Destroyed: German Submarine Losses in the World Wars . 2000-03-01 . Arms & Armour Press . 978-1-85409-515-2 .
• Book: Niestlé, Axel . German U-Boat Losses During World War II: Details of Destruction . 1998 . 978-1-85367-352-8 .

External links

• Web site: The Type XB boat U-233 . Helgason . Guðmundur . German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net . 2010-01-09.
• Web site: U 233 . Hofmann . Markus . Deutsche U-Boote 1935-1945 - u-boot-archiv.de . German . 31 January 2015.

Notes and References

1. http://uboatarchive.net/U-233A/U-233INT.htm Uboat archive 1944