German submarine U-744 explained

German submarine U-744 was a type VIIC U-boat, launched on 11 March 1943, commanded by Oberleutnant zur See Heinz Blischke.

Design

German Type VIIC submarines were preceded by the shorter Type VIIB submarines. U-744 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-744 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

She had two patrols, one from 2 December 1943 until 15 January 1944 and 24 February 1944 until 6 March 1944. She sank two ships in total, on 3 January 1944, and the landing ship tank HMS LST-362 on 2 March 1944.^[1]

U-744 was forced to surface on 6 March 1944, after a 31-hour pursuit by British and Canadian ships. She was depth-charged by, causing her crew to abandon her. They were picked up by the corvette, the Canadian frigate, corvettes and and destroyers HMCS Chaudiere and in the North Atlantic. U-744 was then boarded by Allied sailors, who retrieved code books and other documents. Most of this was lost while being transferred between the U-Boat and the Allied ships. After attempts to tow the submarine into port failed, U-744 was scuttled by the allied warships.^[2]

Wolfpacks

U-744 took part in five wolfpacks, namely:

• Coronel 1 (15 – 17 December 1943)
• Sylt (18 – 23 December 1943)
• Rügen 2 (23 – 28 December 1943)
• Rügen 1 (28 December 1943 – 3 January 1944)
• Preussen (26 February – 6 March 1944)

Summary of raiding history

Date	Ship Name	Nationality	Tonnage^[3]	Fate^[4]
3 January 1944	Empire Housman	United Kingdom	7,359	Sunk
2 March 1944	HMS LST-362		1,625	Sunk

References

Citations

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 . Der U-Boot-Krieg, 1939-1945: Deutsche U-Boot-Verluste von September 1939 bis Mai 1945. German U-boat losses from September 1939 to May 1945 . 1999. IV . Mittler. Hamburg, Berlin, Bonn . 3-8132-0514-2 . de.
• Book: Gröner . Eric . Jung . Dieter . Maass . Martin . Thomas. Keith. Magowan. Rachel . German Warships 1815-1945: U-boats and Mine Warfare Vessels . 1991 . Conway Maritime Press . London . 2 . 0-85177-593-4 . CITEREFGröner1991.

External links

• Web site: The Type VIIC boat U-744 . Helgason . Guðmundur . German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net . 29 December 2014.
• Web site: U 744. Hofmann. Markus. Deutsche U-Boote 1935-1945 - u-boot-archiv.de. de. 29 December 2014.

Notes and References

1. Web site: The Type VIIC boat U-744 . Helgason . Guðmundur . German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net . 2011-12-02.
2. "U-744 is boarded" U Boat Archive http://www.uboatarchive.net/U-257-U-744Photos.htm
3. Merchant ship tonnages are in gross register tons. Military vessels are listed by tons displacement.
4. Web site: Ships hit by U-744 . Helgason . Guðmundur . German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net . 30 January 2014.