German submarine U-436 explained

German submarine U-436 was a Type VIIC U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II.

She carried out eight patrols.

She sank seven ships, total and 291 tons; Two ships were damaged, totalling 15,575 GRT.

She was a member of ten wolfpacks.

She was sunk by Allied warships in mid-Atlantic on 26 May 1943.

Design

German Type VIIC submarines were preceded by the shorter Type VIIB submarines. U-436 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-436 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 a 2sp=usNaNsp=us C/30 anti-aircraft gun. The boat had a complement of between forty-four and sixty.

Service history

The submarine was laid down on 25 April 1940 at Schichau-Werke in Danzig (now Gdansk, Poland) as yard number 1478, launched on 21 June 1941 and commissioned on 27 September 1941 under the command of Kapitänleutnant Günther Seibicke.

She served with the 5th U-boat Flotilla from 27 September 1941 for training and the 7th flotilla from 1 February 1942 for operations. She was reassigned, first to the 11th flotilla on 1 July, then the 6th flotilla on 1 September.

First patrol

U-436s first patrol was from Kiel in Germany and took in the Norwegian and Barents Seas. She docked at Kirkenes, not far from the border between Norway and the Soviet Union on 17 February 1942.

Second and third patrols

The boat's initial success came when she sank the Soviet trawler RT-19 Komitern on 1 March 1942 east of Murmansk.

The submarine's third sortie commenced with her departure from Kirkenes on 7 April 1942. On the 13th, she sank the Soviet Kiev north of the North Cape. The vessel went down in seven minutes.

Fourth and fifth patrols

U-436 carried out her fourth and fifth patrols from Kirkenes and Trondheim. They were followed by a series of journeys which were not recognized as patrols. At their end, she was back in Kiel.

Sixth patrol

The U-boat left Kiel once more on 6 October 1942, but this time she was headed for the Atlantic Ocean, via the gap separating the Faroe and Shetland Islands.

On the 27th, she torpedoed, but did not sink, the Norwegian Frontenac in mid-Atlantic. The ship's bow section was badly damaged, so much so that her propeller was raised out of the water. The accompanying fire was extinguished by a large wave; the ship was pumped out and she was capable of moving under her own power. During the same attack, she sank the Sourabaya. Also lost was the landing craft HMS LCT-2281 which had been carried on deck. Two days later, the boat sank the Barrwhinn.

She arrived at Lorient in occupied France on 12 November.

Seventh patrol

Patrol number seven saw U-436 sink the Albert L. Ellsworth south of the Azores on 8 January 1943. The ship had been abandoned after being hit by a torpedo but remained afloat. The wreck was sunk by gunfire from the U-boat the following evening.

Eighth patrol and loss

By now based at St. Nazaire, she left the French port on 25 April 1943. On 26 May 1943 she was attacked and sunk west of Cape Ortegal in northwest Spain by depth charges from the frigate and the corvette .

Forty-seven men went down with U-436; there were no survivors.

Wolfpacks

U-436 took part in ten wolfpacks, namely:

Summary of raiding history

DateShip NameNationalityTonnage[1] Fate[2]
1 March 1942RT-19 Komintern577Sunk
13 April 1942Kiev5,823Sunk
27 October 1942Frontenac Norway7,350Damaged
27 October 1942Gurney E. Newlin United States8,225Damaged
27 October 1942Sourabaya United Kingdom10,107Sunk
27 October 1942HMS LCT-2281[3] 291Sunk
29 October 1942Barrwhin United Kingdom4,998Sunk
8 January 1943Albert L. Ellsworth Norway8,309Sunk
8 January 1943Oltenia II United Kingdom6,394Sunk

References

Citations

Bibliography

External links

Notes and References

  1. Merchant ship tonnages are in gross register tons. Military vessels are listed by tons displacement.
  2. Web site: Helgason . Guðmundur . Ships hit by U-436 . 26 December 2014 . German U-boats of WWII – uboat.net.
  3. Carried by Sourabaya.