German submarine U-205 was a Type VIIC U-boat of the Kriegsmarine during World War II. The submarine was laid down on 19 June 1940 by the Friedrich Krupp Germaniawerft yard at Kiel as yard number 634; launched on 20 March 1941; and commissioned on 3 May 1941 under the command of Franz-Georg Reschke.
She was sunk on 17 February 1943 by at 32.9333°N 23°W.
German Type VIIC submarines were preceded by the shorter Type VIIB submarines. U-205 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-205 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.
Part of the 3rd U-boat Flotilla, U-205 carried out two patrols in the North Atlantic. Joining 29th U-boat Flotilla, she carried out a further nine patrols in the Mediterranean.
U-205s first patrol began when she left Trondheim on 24 July 1941; she travelled through the gap between Greenland and Iceland (the Denmark Strait) and docked at Brest in occupied France, on 23 August 1941.
Leaving Lorient on 23 September 1941, U-205 was attacked and damaged by aircraft on 27 September and returned to port, arriving in Lorient on 2 October 1941.
On 3 November 1941 U-205 left Lorient and joined Wolfpack Arnauld. Breaking through the Gibraltar barrage, U-205 joined the 29th U-Flotilla in La Spezia on 10 December 1941.
U-205 left La Spezia on 5 January 1942 and returned on 10 February.
Having left La Spezia on 17 March, U-205 reached Salamis on 6 April 1942.
Sailing from La Spezia on 6 May 1942, U-205 reached Salamis on 8 June 1942.
On the return leg, U-205 successfully attacked the British light cruiser on 16 June 1942, guarding convoy MW-11 killing the ship's cat 'Convoy' and 87 of his crew-mates. The U-boat docked in La Spezia on 23 June.
On 3 August 1942, U-205 sailed from La Spezia for Pula, arriving there on 10 September 1942.
Pola, 20 October 1942 – La Spezia, 19 November 1942 and La Spezia, 20 November 1942 – Pola, 24 November 1942
Pola, 12 January 1943 – Salamis 26 January 1943
Leaving Salamis on 2 February 1943, U-205 was manoeuvering to attack a convoy off Apollonia, Cyrenaica on 17 February 1943when she was spotted by a Bristol Blenheim bomber of the South African Air Force and attacked by British destroyer at 32.9333°N 23°W. Forced to surface by depth charges, U-205s crew abandoned ship after opening the sea vents. A boarding party from HMS Paladin managed to salvage documents and radio equipment. A second warship,, attempted to tow the still-floating submarine to the beach, but failed. U-205 sank about 1000m (3,000feet) off shore.
U-205 took part in one wolfpack, namely:
U-205 is widely believed to be the submarine with the erroneous number U-307 in Peter Keeble's book Ordeal by Water, in which he describes his dive to recover encrypting equipment from a sunken U-boat.