German submarine U-358 explained

German submarine U-358 was a Type VIIC U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II.

She carried out five patrols before being sunk north of the Azores by British warships on 1 March 1944.

She sank four ships and one warship.

Design

German Type VIIC submarines were preceded by the shorter Type VIIB submarines. U-358 had a displacement of 769t when at the surface and 871t while submerged. She had a total length of 67.1m (220.1feet), a pressure hull length of 50.5m (165.7feet), a beam of 6.2m (20.3feet), a height of 9.6m (31.5feet), and a draught of 4.74m (15.55feet). The submarine was powered by two Germaniawerft F46 four-stroke, six-cylinder supercharged diesel engines producing a total of NaNPS for use while surfaced, two AEG GU 460/8–27 double-acting electric motors producing a total of 750PS for use while submerged. She had two shafts and two 1.23abbr=onNaNabbr=on propellers. The boat was capable of operating at depths of up to .

The submarine had a maximum surface speed of and a maximum submerged speed of . When submerged, the boat could operate for at ; when surfaced, she could travel at . U-358 was fitted with five 53.30NaN0 torpedo tubes (four fitted at the bow and one at the stern), fourteen torpedoes, one 8.82NaN2 SK C/35 naval gun, 220 rounds, and two twin 2sp=usNaNsp=us C/30 anti-aircraft guns. The boat had a complement of between forty-four and sixty.

Service history

The submarine was laid down on 25 June 1940 at the Flensburger Schiffbau-Gesellschaft yard at Flensburg as yard number 477, launched on 30 April 1942 and commissioned on 15 August under the command of Oberleutnant zur See Rolf Manke.

First patrol

The boat's first patrol was in two parts; it began with her departure from Kiel on 12 January 1943. During the second part, which began with her departure from Kristiansand in Norway on the 16th, she negotiated the gap between Iceland and the Faroe Islands and sank the Neva west of these islands on the 22nd. On the 26th, she sank the Nortind east of Cape Farewell, (Greenland). She arrived at St. Nazaire in occupied France on 8 March.

Second patrol

Having left St. Nazaire (which became her base for the rest of her career) on 11 April 1943, U-358 sank and . She was attacked south of Cape Farewell by the British corvette commanded by Lieutenant Robert Atkinson and badly damaged. (This attack had originally credited Pink with the destruction of .)

Third patrol

The submarine's third foray took her south, as far as the Gulf of Guinea, off the west African coast. At 84 days, it was her longest patrol.

Fourth patrol

U-358s fourth patrol was northeast of the Azores.

Fifth patrol and loss

U-358 left St. Nazaire on 14 February 1944. From the 29th, she was hunted by the British frigates,, and north of the Azores. Gore and Garlies had to break off the assault and sail to Gibraltar to re-fuel. The U-boat sank Gould on 1 March, but Affleck persisted with the attack, sinking U-358 with gunfire after the submarine was forced to the surface.

50 men died in the U-boat; there was one survivor, Alfons Eckert.

Wolfpacks

U-358 took part in eleven wolfpacks, namely:

Summary of raiding history

DateShip NameNationalityTonnage[1] Fate[2]
22 January 1943Neva Sweden1,456Sunk
26 January 1943Nortind Norway8,221Sunk
5 May 1943 United Kingdom2,864Sunk
5 May 1943 United Kingdom5,212Sunk
1 March 19441,192Sunk

References

Citations

Bibliography

External links

Notes and References

  1. Merchant ship tonnages are in gross register tons. Naval vessels are listed by tons displacement.
  2. Web site: Ships hit by U-358 . Helgason . Guðmundur . German U-boats of WWII – uboat.net . 26 December 2014.