German submarine U-75 (1940)

For other ships with the same name, see German submarine U-75.

History
U-52, a typical Type VIIB boat
Nazi Germany
Name:	U-75
Ordered:	2 June 1938
Builder:	Bremer Vulkan, Bremen-Vegesack
Cost:	4,790,000 Reichsmark
Yard number:	3
Laid down:	15 December 1939
Launched:	18 October 1940
Commissioned:	9 December 1940
Fate:	Sunk by a British warship, 28 December 1941
General characteristics
Class and type:	Type VIIB U-boat
Displacement:	753 t (741 long tons) surfaced 857 t (843 long tons) submerged
Length:	66.50 m (218 ft 2 in) o/a 48.80 m (160 ft 1 in) pressure hull
Beam:	6.20 m (20 ft 4 in) o/a 4.70 m (15 ft 5 in) pressure hull
Draught:	4.74 m (15 ft 7 in)
Installed power:	2,800–3,200 PS (2,100–2,400 kW; 2,800–3,200 bhp) (diesels) 750 PS (550 kW; 740 shp) (electric)
Propulsion:	2 shafts 2 × diesel engines 2 × electric motors
Range:	8,700 nmi (16,100 km; 10,000 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) surfaced 90 nmi (170 km; 100 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph) submerged
Test depth:	230 m (750 ft) Calculated crush depth: 250–295 m (820–968 ft)
Boats & landing craft carried:	1 inflatable rubber boat
Complement:	4 officers, 40 to 56 enlisted
Sensors and processing systems:	FuMO 61 Hohentwiel U Gruppenhorchgerät
Armament:	5 × 53.3 cm (21 in) torpedo tubes (four bow, one stern) 14 × torpedoes or 26 TMA mines 1 × 8.8 cm (3.46 in) deck gun (220 rounds) 1 × 2 cm (0.79 in) anti-aircraft gun
Service record
Part of:	7th U-boat Flotilla 19 December 1940 – 1 October 1941 23rd U-boat Flotilla 1 October – 28 December 1941
Commanders:	Kptlt. Helmuth Ringelmann 19 December 1940 – 28 December 1941
Operations:	1st patrol: 10 April – 12 May 1941 2nd patrol: 29 May – 3 July 1941 3rd patrol: 29 July – 25 August 1941 4th patrol: 27 September – 2 November 1941 5th patrol: 22–28 December 1941
Victories:	Seven commercial ships sunk (33,884 GRT); two warships sunk – 744 tons

German submarine U-75 was a Type VIIB U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II. U-75 was moderately successful in her early career in the Battle of the Atlantic, but in autumn 1941 she was dispatched to the Mediterranean Sea with poor results, leading to the eventual destruction of the boat and her crew.

Design

German Type VIIB submarines were preceded by the shorter Type VIIA submarines. U-75 had a displacement of 753 tonnes (741 long tons) when at the surface and 857 tonnes (843 long tons) while submerged.^[1] She had a total length of 66.50 m (218 ft 2 in), a pressure hull length of 48.80 m (160 ft 1 in), a beam of 6.20 m (20 ft 4 in), a height of 9.50 m (31 ft 2 in), and a draught of 4.74 m (15 ft 7 in). The submarine was powered by two MAN M 6 V 40/46 four-stroke, six-cylinder supercharged diesel engines producing a total of 2,800 to 3,200 metric horsepower (2,060 to 2,350 kW; 2,760 to 3,160 shp) for use while surfaced, two BBC GG UB 720/8 double-acting electric motors producing a total of 750 metric horsepower (550 kW; 740 shp) for use while submerged. She had two shafts and two 1.23 m (4 ft) propellers. The boat was capable of operating at depths of up to 230 metres (750 ft).^[1]

The submarine had a maximum surface speed of 17.9 knots (33.2 km/h; 20.6 mph) and a maximum submerged speed of 8 knots (15 km/h; 9.2 mph).^[1] When submerged, the boat could operate for 90 nautical miles (170 km; 100 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph); when surfaced, she could travel 8,700 nautical miles (16,100 km; 10,000 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph). U-75 was fitted with five 53.3 cm (21 in) torpedo tubes (four fitted at the bow and one at the stern), fourteen torpedoes, one 8.8 cm (3.46 in) SK C/35 naval gun, 220 rounds, and one 2 cm (0.79 in) anti-aircraft gun The boat had a complement of between forty-four and sixty.^[1]

Service history

She was laid down on 15 December 1939 at the Bremer Vulkan-Vegesacker Werft (yard), in Bremen as yard number 3, launched on 18 October 1940 and commissioned on 19 December under the command of Kapitänleutnant (Kptlt.) Helmuth Ringelmann.

U-75 carried out training with the 7th U-boat Flotilla in December 1941 until March 1941. She then became operational with the same organization until October. After that, she was reassigned to the 23rd flotilla.

1st patrol

Ringelmann was a good sea officer, who made an impact within three weeks of the boat's initial patrol starting, when on 29 April the submarine torpedoed and sank the 10,000 ton liner City of Nagpur in the Central North Atlantic Ocean, killing fifteen sailors and one passenger.^[2]

2nd and 3rd patrols

This success was followed on her second foray with another victim, this time a Dutch freighter, the Elbergen, which went down about 650 nautical miles (1,200 km) north of the Azores. As the Germans watched her demise, the U-boat was illuminated by a searchlight which was hurriedly extinguished by fire from the boat's AA gun.

On her third patrol U-75 sank two British cargo ships - the Harlingen and the Cape Rodney both west of Ireland on 5 August 1941. The latter ship was taken in tow after being hit, but foundered west of Ushant on the 9th. These operations were conducted from the new submarine base at Saint-Nazaire in France, which provided type VII boats like U-75 with a greater patrol range and cruising ability, thus conferring an essential advantage.

4th patrol

The boat's fourth patrol was more unusual, requiring her to slip unnoticed through the heavily defended Strait of Gibraltar and into the Mediterranean to attack allied shipping operating from Gibraltar, Malta and Egypt. She was accompanied in this task by U-79, U-97, U-331, U-371 and U-559, which together formed the 'Goeben' group, (so-named for the German battleship of the same name which had operated in the Mediterranean in 1914). For these operations, U-75's home base was now Salamis in Greece, where she arrived on 2 November. On the journey there, the boat had taken a successful detour along the Libyan coast to see if she could catch any British resupply convoys. On 12 October she had seen just such a convoy and managed to sink two landing craft with gunfire before she escaped.

5th patrol and loss

Her final patrol was from 22 December 1941, and consisted of a similar sweep along the Libyan coast. On 28 December, six days since leaving Salamis, a small coastal convoy was spotted off Mersa Matruh, U-75 launched an attack which sank the small British freighter Volo.^[3] The convoy's escorts had spotted the U-boat however, and HMS Kipling ran the submarine down and dropped depth charges on the boat. The explosions forced U-75 to the surface, where 30 of her crew were rescued and taken prisoner by her erstwhile opponent before the boat heeled over and sank, taking 15 men with her, including her only captain.

Wolfpacks

U-75 took part in two wolfpacks, namely,

West (2–20 June 1941)
Goeben (27 September – 5 October 1941)

Summary of raiding history

Date	Ship	Nationality	Tonnage^{[Note 1]}	Fate^[4]
29 April 1941	SS City of Nagpur	United Kingdom	10,146	Sunk
3 June 1941	Eibergen	Netherlands	4,801	Sunk
3 June 1941	Inversuir	United Kingdom	9,456	Sunk
25 June 1941	Schie	Netherlands	1,967	Sunk
5 August 1941	Cape Rodney	United Kingdom	4,512	Sunk
5 August 1941	Harlingen	United Kingdom	5,415	Sunk
12 October 1941	HMS TLC-2 (A2)	Royal Navy	372	Sunk
12 October 1941	HMS TLC-7 (A7)	Royal Navy	372	Sunk
28 December 1941	SS Volo	United Kingdom	1,587	Sunk

References

Notes

↑ Merchant ship tonnages are in gross register tons. Military vessels are listed by tons displacement.

Citations

1 2 3 4 Gröner 1991, pp. 43–44.
↑ Helgason, Guðmundur. "City of Nagpur (Steam passenger ship)". Allied Ships hit by U-boats - uboat.net. Retrieved 2009-08-26.
↑ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Volo (Steam merchant)". Allied Ships hit by U-boats - uboat.net. Retrieved 2009-08-26.
↑ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit by U-75". U-boat Successes - German U-boats - uboat.net.

Bibliography

Busch, Rainer; Röll, Hans-Joachim (1999). German U-boat commanders of World War II : a biographical dictionary. Translated by Brooks, Geoffrey. London, Annapolis, Md: Greenhill Books, Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-186-6.
Busch, Rainer; Röll, Hans-Joachim (1999). Deutsche U-Boot-Verluste von September 1939 bis Mai 1945 [German U-boat losses from September 1939 to May 1945]. Der U-Boot-Krieg (in German). IV. Hamburg, Berlin, Bonn: Mittler. ISBN 3-8132-0514-2.
Gröner, Erich; Jung, Dieter; Maass, Martin (1991). U-boats and Mine Warfare Vessels. German Warships 1815–1945. 2. Translated by Thomas, Keith; Magowan, Rachel. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-593-4.
Gröner, Erich (1990). German Warships, 1815-1945. Conway Maritime Press.
Sharpe, Peter (1998). U-Boat Fact File. Great Britain: Midland Publishing. ISBN 1-85780-072-9.

External links

Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type VIIB boat U-75". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 8 December 2014.

German Type VII submarines

Type VIIA	U-27 U-28 U-29 U-30 U-31 U-32 U-33 U-34 U-35 U-36

Type VIIB	U-45 U-46 U-47 U-48 U-49 U-50 U-51 U-52 U-53 U-54 U-55 U-73 U-74 U-75 U-76 U-83 U-84 U-85 U-86 U-87 U-99 U-100 U-101 U-102

Type VIIC	U-69 U-70 U-71 U-72 U-77 U-78 U-79 U-80 U-81 U-82 U-88 U-89 U-90 U-91 U-92 U-93 U-94 U-95 U-96 U-97 U-98 U-132 U-133 U-134 U-135 U-136 U-201 U-202 U-203 U-204 U-205 U-206 U-207 U-208 U-209 U-210 U-211 U-212 U-221 U-222 U-223 U-224 U-225 U-226 U-227 U-228 U-229 U-230 U-231 U-232 U-235 U-236 U-237 U-238 U-239 U-240 U-241 U-242 U-243 U-244 U-245 U-246 U-247 U-248 U-249 U-250 U-251 U-252 U-253 U-254 U-255 U-256 U-257 U-258 U-259 U-260 U-261 U-262 U-263 U-264 U-265 U-266 U-267 U-268 U-269 U-270 U-271 U-272 U-273 U-274 U-275 U-276 U-277 U-278 U-279 U-280 U-281 U-282 U-283 U-284 U-285 U-286 U-287 U-288 U-289 U-290 U-291 U-301 U-302 U-303 U-304 U-305 U-306 U-307 U-308 U-309 U-310 U-311 U-312 U-313 U-314 U-315 U-316 U-331 U-332 U-333 U-334 U-335 U-336 U-337 U-338 U-339 U-340 U-341 U-342 U-343 U-344 U-345 U-346 U-347 U-348 U-349 U-350 U-351 U-352 U-353 U-354 U-355 U-356 U-357 U-358 U-359 U-360 U-361 U-362 U-363 U-364 U-365 U-366 U-367 U-368 U-369 U-370 U-371 U-372 U-373 U-374 U-375 U-376 U-377 U-378 U-379 U-380 U-381 U-382 U-383 U-384 U-385 U-386 U-387 U-388 U-389 U-390 U-391 U-392 U-393 U-394 U-396 U-397 U-398 U-399 U-400 U-401 U-402 U-403 U-404 U-405 U-406 U-407 U-408 U-409 U-410 U-411 U-412 U-413 U-414 U-415 U-416 U-417 U-418 U-419 U-420 U-421 U-422 U-423 U-424 U-425 U-426 U-427 U-428 U-429 U-430 U-431 U-432 U-433 U-434 U-435 U-436 U-437 U-438 U-439 U-440 U-441 U-442 U-443 U-444 U-445 U-446 U-447 U-448 U-449 U-450 U-451 U-452 U-453 U-454 U-455 U-456 U-457 U-458 U-465 U-466 U-467 U-468 U-469 U-470 U-471 U-472 U-473 U-475 U-476 U-477 U-478 U-479 U-480 U-481 U-482 U-483 U-484 U-485 U-486 U-551 U-552 U-553 U-554 U-555 U-556 U-557 U-558 U-559 U-560 U-561 U-562 U-563 U-564 U-565 U-566 U-567 U-568 U-569 U-570 U-571 U-572 U-573 U-574 U-575 U-576 U-577 U-578 U-579 U-580 U-581 U-582 U-583 U-584 U-585 U-586 U-587 U-588 U-589 U-590 U-591 U-592 U-593 U-594 U-595 U-596 U-597 U-598 U-599 U-600 U-601 U-602 U-603 U-604 U-605 U-606 U-607 U-608 U-609 U-610 U-611 U-612 U-613 U-614 U-615 U-616 U-617 U-618 U-619 U-620 U-621 U-622 U-623 U-624 U-625 U-626 U-627 U-628 U-629 U-630 U-631 U-632 U-633 U-634 U-635 U-636 U-637 U-638 U-639 U-640 U-641 U-642 U-643 U-644 U-645 U-646 U-647 U-648 U-649 U-650 U-651 U-652 U-653 U-654 U-655 U-656 U-657 U-658 U-659 U-660 U-661 U-662 U-663 U-664 U-665 U-666 U-667 U-668 U-669 U-670 U-671 U-672 U-673 U-674 U-675 U-676 U-677 U-678 U-679 U-680 U-681 U-682 U-683 U-701 U-702 U-703 U-704 U-705 U-706 U-707 U-708 U-709 U-710 U-711 U-712 U-713 U-714 U-715 U-716 U-717 U-718 U-719 U-720 U-721 U-722 U-731 U-732 U-733 U-734 U-735 U-736 U-737 U-738 U-739 U-740 U-741 U-742 U-743 U-744 U-745 U-746 U-747 U-748 U-749 U-750 U-751 U-752 U-753 U-754 U-755 U-756 U-757 U-758 U-759 U-760 U-761 U-762 U-763 U-764 U-765 U-766 U-767 U-768 U-771 U-772 U-773 U-774 U-775 U-776 U-777 U-778 U-779 U-821 U-822 U-825 U-826 U-901 U-903 U-904 U-905 U-907 U-921 U-922 U-923 U-924 U-925 U-926 U-927 U-928 U-951 U-952 U-953 U-954 U-955 U-956 U-957 U-958 U-959 U-960 U-961 U-962 U-963 U-964 U-965 U-966 U-967 U-968 U-969 U-970 U-971 U-972 U-973 U-974 U-975 U-976 U-977 U-978 U-979 U-980 U-981 U-982 U-983 U-984 U-985 U-986 U-987 U-988 U-989 U-990 U-991 U-992 U-993 U-994 U-1051 U-1052 U-1053 U-1054 U-1055 U-1056 U-1057 U-1058 U-1101 U-1102 U-1131 U-1132 U-1161 U-1162 U-1191 U-1192 U-1193 U-1194 U-1195 U-1196 U-1197 U-1198 U-1199 U-1200 U-1201 U-1202 U-1203 U-1204 U-1205 U-1206 U-1207 U-1208 U-1209 U-1210

Type VIIC/41	U-292 U-293 U-294 U-295 U-296 U-297 U-298 U-299 U-300 U-317 U-318 U-319 U-320 U-321 U-322 U-323 U-324 U-325 U-326 U-327 U-328 U-691 U-827 U-828 U-929 U-930 U-995 U-997 U-998 U-999 U-1000 U-1001 U-1002 U-1003 U-1004 U-1005 U-1006 U-1007 U-1008 U-1009 U-1010 U-1013 U-1014 U-1015 U-1016 U-1017 U-1018 U-1019 U-1020 U-1021 U-1022 U-1023 U-1024 U-1025 U-1063 U-1064 U-1065 U-1103 U-1104 U-1105 U-1106 U-1107 U-1108 U-1109 U-1110 U-1163 U-1164 U-1165 U-1166 U-1167 U-1168 U-1169 U-1170 U-1171 U-1172 U-1271 U-1272 U-1273 U-1274 U-1275 U-1276 U-1277 U-1278 U-1279 U-1301 U-1302 U-1303 U-1304 U-1305 U-1306 U-1307 U-1308

Type VIID	U-213 U-214 U-215 U-216 U-217 U-218

Type VIIF	U-1059 U-1060 U-1061 U-1062

Preceded by: Type II Followed by: Type IX List of U-boats of Germany

Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in December 1941

Shipwrecks	6 Dec: HMS Perseus 7 Dec: USS Arizona, USS California, USS Cassin, USS Downes, Ha-19, M-16, M-18, M-20, M-22, USS Nevada, USS Oglala, USS Oklahoma, Sauternes, USS Shaw, U-208, USS Utah, USS West Virginia, HMCS Windflower 8 Dec: USS Penguin, HMS Peterel, Ravnaas 10 Dec: HMS Banka, USS Bittern, HMS Prince of Wales, HMS Repulse, Takao Maru, No. 10 11 Dec: Hayate, Kisaragi, HMS Lady Shirley 12 Dec: Awazisan Maru, HMS Moth, HMS Tamar 13 Dec: Alberico da Barbiano, Alberto da Giussano 14 Dec: HMS Galatea 15 Dec: Empire Barracuda, HNLMS O 16, U-127 16 Dec: U-557 17 Dec: Corregidor, Shinonome, U-131 18 Dec: U-434 19 Dec: HMS Neptune, HNLMS O 20, HMS Stanley, U-574 20 Dec: Emidio, HMS Kandahar 21 Dec: HMS Audacity, HNLMS K XVII, U-451, U-567 23 Dec: Montebello, Shuntien, U-79 24 Dec: Absaroka, HNLMS K XVI, USS Rochester, Sagiri, HMS Salvia 25 Dec: Empire Dragon, USS Sealion, HMS Thracian 28 Dec: DCH-1, U-75, Volo Unknown date: HMS H31, USS Nereus, HMS Triumph

Other incidents	7 Dec: USS Maryland, USS Vestal 8 Dec: Awazisan Maru 10 Dec: Oigawa Maru, USS Sealion 11 Dec: HMS Jackal 16 Dec: HMS Thracian 31 Dec: Ruth Alexander

1940 1941 1942 November 1941 January 1942

Coordinates: 31°50′N 26°40′E / 31.833°N 26.667°E / 31.833; 26.667

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