German submarine U-803

History

Nazi Germany
Name:	U-803
Ordered:	7 December 1940
Builder:	DeSchiMAG Seebeckwerft, Bremerhaven
Yard number:	712
Laid down:	30 June 1942
Launched:	1 April 1943
Commissioned:	7 September 1943
Fate:	Sunk by a mine, 27 April 1944
General characteristics
Class and type:	Type IXC/40 submarine
Displacement:	1,144 t (1,126 long tons) surfaced 1,257 t (1,237 long tons) submerged
Length:	76.76 m (251 ft 10 in) o/a 58.75 m (192 ft 9 in) pressure hull
Beam:	6.86 m (22 ft 6 in) o/a 4.44 m (14 ft 7 in) pressure hull
Height:	9.60 m (31 ft 6 in)
Draught:	4.67 m (15 ft 4 in)
Installed power:	4,400 PS (3,200 kW; 4,300 bhp) (diesels) 1,000 PS (740 kW; 990 shp) (electric)
Propulsion:	2 shafts 2 × diesel engines 2 × electric motors
Speed:	18.3 knots (33.9 km/h; 21.1 mph) surfaced 7.3 knots (13.5 km/h; 8.4 mph) submerged
Range:	13,850 nmi (25,650 km; 15,940 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) surfaced 63 nmi (117 km; 72 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph) submerged
Test depth:	230 m (750 ft)
Complement:	4 officers, 44 enlisted
Armament:	6 × torpedo tubes (4 bow, 2 stern) 22 × 53.3 cm (21 in) torpedoes 1 × 10.5 cm (4.1 in) deck gun (180 rounds) 1 × 3.7 cm (1.5 in) AA gun 1 × twin 2 cm FlaK 30 AA guns
Service record
Part of:	4th U-boat Flotilla
Commanders:	Kptlt. Karl Schimpf July 1943 – April 1944
Operations:	None
Victories:	None

German submarine U-803 was a Type IXC/40 U-boat built for Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II at Bremerhaven.

Design

German Type IXC/40 submarines were slightly larger than the original Type IXCs. U-803 had a displacement of 1,144 tonnes (1,126 long tons) when at the surface and 1,257 tonnes (1,237 long tons) while submerged.^[1] The U-boat had a total length of 76.76 m (251 ft 10 in), a pressure hull length of 58.75 m (192 ft 9 in), a beam of 6.86 m (22 ft 6 in), a height of 9.60 m (31 ft 6 in), and a draught of 4.67 m (15 ft 4 in). The submarine was powered by two MAN M 9 V 40/46 supercharged four-stroke, nine-cylinder diesel engines producing a total of 4,400 metric horsepower (3,240 kW; 4,340 shp) for use while surfaced, two Siemens-Schuckert 2 GU 345/34 double-acting electric motors producing a total of 1,000 shaft horsepower (1,010 PS; 750 kW) for use while submerged. She had two shafts and two 1.92 m (6 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 18.3 knots (33.9 km/h; 21.1 mph) and a maximum submerged speed of 7.3 knots (13.5 km/h; 8.4 mph).^[1] When submerged, the boat could operate for 63 nautical miles (117 km; 72 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph); when surfaced, she could travel 13,850 nautical miles (25,650 km; 15,940 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph). U-803 was fitted with six 53.3 cm (21 in) torpedo tubes (four fitted at the bow and two at the stern), 22 torpedoes, one 10.5 cm (4.13 in) SK C/32 naval gun, 180 rounds, and a 3.7 cm (1.5 in) as well as a 2 cm (0.79 in) anti-aircraft gun. The boat had a complement of forty-eight.^[1]

Service history

She was completed in September 1943 and spent the next seven months on working up cruises in the Baltic Sea near Swinemunde in order to get the crew and boat ready for operational cruising in the Battle of the Atlantic, which was at a critical stage.

As the boat worked up on 27 April 1944, just days off its intended first cruise, she struck a sea mine in the bay and sank, nine of her crew going down with the boat, and 35 being rescued by nearby ships. The boat was salvaged in August 1944, but was too badly damaged to repair, and was broken up for components for use in other U-boats. Her surviving crew were largely transferred to other units, principally U-3009, on which they surrendered in May 1945. The mine had been air-dropped over the bay by the Royal Air Force, who had realised the use that the area was being put to through photo-reconnaissance flights. The air-dropping of mines was a frequent tactic of the RAF, and achieved dividends off many German harbours.

References

1 2 3 4 Gröner 1991, p. 68.

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.
Sharpe, Peter (1998). U-Boat Fact File. Great Britain: Midland Publishing. ISBN 1-85780-072-9.

External links

Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type IXC/40 boat U-803". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 7 December 2014.
Hofmann, Markus. "U 803". Deutsche U-Boote 1935-1945 - u-boot-archiv.de (in German). Retrieved 2 February 2015.

Coordinates: 53°55′N 14°17′E / 53.917°N 14.283°E / 53.917; 14.283

German Type IXC/40 submarines

U-167 U-168 U-169 U-170 U-183 U-184 U-185 U-186 U-187 U-188 U-189 U-190 U-191 U-192 U-193 U-194 U-525 U-526 U-527 U-528 U-529 U-530 U-531 U-532 U-533 U-534 U-535 U-536 U-537 U-538 U-539 U-540 U-541 U-542 U-543 U-544 U-545 U-546 U-547 U-548 U-549 U-550 U-801 U-802 U-803 U-804 U-805 U-806 U-841 U-842 U-843 U-844 U-845 U-846 U-853 U-854 U-855 U-856 U-857 U-858 U-865 U-866 U-867 U-868 U-869 U-870 U-877 U-878 U-879 U-880 U-881 U-889 U-1221 U-1222 U-1223 U-1224 U-1225 U-1226 U-1227 U-1228 U-1229 U-1230 U-1231 U-1232 U-1233 U-1234 U-1235

Preceded by: Type IXC Followed by: Type IXD

List of U-boats of Germany

Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in April 1944

Shipwrecks	2 Apr: U-360 3 Apr: U-288 6 Apr: U-302, U-455 7 Apr: U-856 8 Apr: U-2, U-962 9 Apr: U-515 10 Apr: USS SC-497, U-68 11 Apr: Akigumo, U-108 12 Apr: I-174 13 Apr: Ikazuchi 14 Apr: Fort Stikine, U-448 15 Apr: No. 7 16 Apr: U-550 17 Apr: U-342, U-986 18 Apr: USS Gudgeon, Pan-Pennsylvania 19 Apr: U-974 20 Apr: USS Lansdale, Paul Hamilton, Voorbode 21 Apr: M 553 22 Apr: U-311 23 Apr: Amagiri 26 Apr: I-180, U-488, Yoshida Maru No. 1 27 Apr: U-803, Yūbari 28 Apr: USS LST-507 29 Apr: HMCS Athabaskan, I-183, USS PT-346, U-421 Unknown date: Ro-45, U-193, U-355

Other incidents	10 Apr: USS Holder 14 Apr: Bombay explosion, HMHS Chantilly 16 Apr: Pan-Pennsylvania 20 Apr: Bergen explosion 27 Apr: USS Etamin

1943 1944 1945 March 1944 May 1944

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