German Submarine U-256
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German submarine ''U-256'' was a
Type VIIC Type may refer to: Science and technology Computing * Typing, producing text via a keyboard, typewriter, etc. * Data type, collection of values used for computations. * File type * TYPE (DOS command), a command to display contents of a file. * Ty ...
U-boat U-boats are Submarine#Military, naval submarines operated by Germany, including during the World War I, First and Second World Wars. The term is an Anglicization#Loanwords, anglicized form of the German word , a shortening of (), though the G ...
of
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...
's ''
Kriegsmarine The (, ) was the navy of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic. The was one of three official military branch, branche ...
'' during
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, she also served for a short time as an anti-aircraft submarine under the designation ''U-flak 2''. During her career, ''U-256'' completed five wartime patrols and sank one warship of 1,300
tons Tons may refer to: * Tons River, a significant river in India * Tamsa River, locally known as Tons in its lower parts (Allahabad district, Uttar Pradesh, India) * The plural of ton, a unit of mass, force, volume, energy, or power, which includes: ...
. The submarine was
laid down Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship. Keel laying is one ...
on 15 February 1941 at the
Bremer Vulkan Bremer Vulkan AG was a prominent German shipbuilding company located at the Weser river in Bremen-Vegesack. It was founded in 1893 and closed in 1997 because of financial problems and mismanagement. All together Bremer Vulkan built about 1100 s ...
yard at
Bremen-Vegesack Vegesack is a northern district of Bremen, the capital of the German state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (Freie Hansestadt Bremen). Geography ''Vegesack'' is located about north from the centre of Bremen-city at the mouth of the river Lesum, b ...
as yard number 21. She was launched on 28 October and commissioned on 18 December under the command of ''
Oberleutnant zur See (''OLt zS'' or ''OLZS'' in the German Navy, ''Oblt.z.S.'' in the ''Kriegsmarine'') is traditionally the highest rank of Lieutenant in the German Navy. It is grouped as Ranks and insignia of officers of NATO Navies, OF-1 in NATO. The rank was ...
'' Odo Loewe. ''U-256'' was assigned to the
8th U-Boat Flotilla The 8th U-boat Flotilla (German ''8. Unterseebootsflottille'') was formed in June 1941 in Königsberg under the command of ''Kapitänleutnant'' Georg-Wilhelm Schulz, who also at this time commanded the 6th U-boat Flotilla in Danzig. It was prim ...
for training, then transferred to the
9th U-boat Flotilla The 9th U-boat Flotilla (German ''9. Unterseebootsflottille'') was formed in October 1941 in Brest. It became operational in April 1942, after the first combat ready U-boat, , reached the Brest base on 20 March 1942. The flotilla operated mostly ...
for operational service.


Design

German Type VIIC submarines German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ger ...
were preceded by the shorter Type VIIB submarines. ''U-256'' had a displacement of when at the surface and while submerged. She had a total length of , a
pressure hull A submarine hull has two major components, the ''superstructure'' and the ''pressure hull''. The external portion of a submarine’s hull—that part that does not resist sea pressure and is free-flooding—is known as the “superstructure” i ...
length of , a
beam Beam may refer to: Streams of particles or energy *Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy **Laser beam *Radio beam *Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles **Charged particle beam, a spatially lo ...
of , a height of , and a draught of . The submarine was powered by two
Germaniawerft Friedrich Krupp Germaniawerft (often just called Germaniawerft, "Germania (personification), Germania shipyard") was a German shipbuilding company, located in the harbour at Kiel, and one of the largest and most important builders of U-boats for ...
F46 four-stroke, six-cylinder
supercharged In an internal combustion engine, a supercharger compresses the intake gas, forcing more air into the engine in order to produce more power for a given displacement. It is a form of forced induction that is mechanically powered (usually by ...
diesel engine The diesel engine, named after the German engineer Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which Combustion, ignition of diesel fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to Mechanics, mechanical Compr ...
s producing a total of for use while surfaced, two
AEG The initials AEG are used for or may refer to: Common meanings * AEG (German company) ; AEG) was a German producer of electrical equipment. It was established in 1883 by Emil Rathenau as the ''Deutsche Edison-Gesellschaft für angewandte El ...
GU 460/8–27 double-acting electric motors producing a total of for use while submerged. She had two shafts and two
propeller A propeller (often called a screw if on a ship or an airscrew if on an aircraft) is a device with a rotating hub and radiating blades that are set at a pitch to form a helical spiral which, when rotated, exerts linear thrust upon a working flu ...
s. 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-256'' was fitted with five
torpedo tube A torpedo tube is a cylindrical device for launching torpedoes. There are two main types of torpedo tube: underwater tubes fitted to submarines and some surface ships, and deck-mounted units (also referred to as torpedo launchers) installed aboa ...
s (four fitted at the bow and one at the stern), fourteen
torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, such ...
es, one SK C/35 naval gun, 220 rounds, and two twin C/30
anti-aircraft gun Anti-aircraft warfare (AAW) is the counter to aerial warfare and includes "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It encompasses surface-based, subsurface ( submarine-launched), and air-ba ...
s. The boat had a
complement Complement may refer to: The arts * Complement (music), an interval that, when added to another, spans an octave ** Aggregate complementation, the separation of pitch-class collections into complementary sets * Complementary color, in the visu ...
of between forty-four and sixty.


Service history


First patrol

''U-256''s first patrol began on 28 July 1942 during her transfer from
Kiel Kiel ( ; ) is the capital and most populous city in the northern Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein. With a population of around 250,000, it is Germany's largest city on the Baltic Sea. It is located on the Kieler Förde inlet of the Ba ...
, Germany to the ''9. Unterseebootsflottille'' at Brest in occupied France. During the patrol, ''U-256'' unsuccessfully pursued
Convoy SC 94 Convoy SC 94 was the 94th of the numbered series of World War II Slow Convoys of merchant ships from Sydney, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, to Liverpool.Hague 2000 p.133 The ships departed Sydney on 31 July 1942 and were met by Mid-Ocean E ...
, and early on 25 August was detected by the radar of the Norwegian astern of
convoy ON 122 Convoy ON 122 was a trade convoy of merchant ships during the Second World War. It was the 122nd of the numbered series of ON convoys Outbound from the British Isles to North America. The ships departed Liverpool on 15 August 1942 and were join ...
. The U-boat crash-dived when illuminated by
star shell A shell, in a modern military context, is a projectile whose payload contains an explosive, incendiary, or other chemical filling. Originally it was called a bombshell, but "shell" has come to be unambiguous in a military context. A shell c ...
s, the corvette attacked with
depth charge A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) weapon designed to destroy submarine A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited ...
s. The boat eventually made her escape when the corvette was obliged to return to convoy protection duties, but the submarine was damaged enough to have to abort the patrol. On the return journey, on the morning of 2 September, the U-boat was attacked by a British Whitley bomber of
No. 77 Squadron RAF No. 77 Squadron RAF was a squadron of the Royal Air Force which was active in various incarnations between 1916 and 1963. History No. 77 Squadron was formed on 1 October 1916 at Edinburgh, and was equipped with B.E.2 and Royal Aircraft Factor ...
in the
Bay of Biscay The Bay of Biscay ( ) is a gulf of the northeast Atlantic Ocean located south of the Celtic Sea. It lies along the western coast of France from Point Penmarc'h to the Spanish border, and along the northern coast of Spain, extending westward ...
. The aircraft strafed and dropped several bombs, but the U-boat's flak hit the aircraft and it crashed into the sea. ''U-256'' limped into
Lorient Lorient (; ) is a town (''Communes of France, commune'') and Port, seaport in the Morbihan Departments of France, department of Brittany (administrative region), Brittany in western France. History Prehistory and classical antiquity Beginn ...
the next day, due to the extensive damage from the two attacks, she was withdrawn from service in November 1942.


Second patrol

During an overhaul which included extensive repairs, ''U-256'' was converted to a ''Flakboot'' (Flak boat) in May 1943. One of just four U-boats so modified, she was given an increased complement of anti-aircraft guns, to give her and other German submarines a better chance of fighting off enemy aircraft. ''U-256'' was re-commissioned as ''U-flak 2'' on 16 August 1943. The boat's second wartime patrol started on 4 October under the command of ''Oblt.z.S.'' Wilhelm Brauel; her mission was to rendezvous with and protect , a '' Milchkuh'' ('Milk cow' or re-supply U-boat). Such submarines could re-supply multiple U-boats at sea, and were consequently the prime target of Allied aircraft trying to disrupt U-boat activities. On 8 October, the outbound boat was attacked by a
Leigh light The Leigh Light (L/L) was a British World War II era anti-submarine device used in the Battle of the Atlantic. It was a powerful (22 million candelas) carbon arc searchlight of diameter fitted to a number of the British Royal Air Force' ...
-equipped British
Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...
bomber of No. 612 Squadron RAF in the Bay of Biscay. ''U-256'' was not damaged by the six depth charges that straddled her, and escaped by crash-diving. ''U-256''s return fire had hit the starboard elevator and rear turret of the aircraft, but it returned safely to base. ''U-flak 2'' was caught on the surface by the American destroyer USS ''Borie'' on 31 October. The U-boat escaped, but with minor depth charge damage. On 16 November the inbound boat encountered a Halifax Mk.II aircraft of No. 502 Squadron RAF in the Bay of Biscay. The aircraft was damaged by flak and turned away. When the Halifax returned to the area, the U-boat had already escaped by crash-diving. ''U-flak 2'' returned to her base at Brest on 17 November. The Flak conversion was not considered a success, ''U-flak 2'' was converted back to her original configuration in the winter of 1943–44 and renamed ''U-256''.


Third patrol

''U-256''s third patrol started on 25 January 1944. She steamed west and southwest of Ireland and on 20 February damaged the anti-submarine sloop, which later sank while under tow. On 19 March, inbound in the Bay of Biscay, the U-boat was strafed by a Leigh light-equipped British Liberator of 224 Squadron. The Germans observed hits from their 20 mm and 37 mm AA guns, before the aircraft dropped six depth charges, then crashed 500 meters away. The boat was not damaged in the attack, and returned to Brest on the 22nd.


Fourth patrol

''U-256'' sailed from Brest on 6 June 1944 " (D-Day)", but was seriously damaged when attacked by another Liberator, also of 224 Squadron the next day, and returned to Brest on the eighth.


Fifth patrol

On 4 September 1944, under the command of ''
Korvettenkapitän (; ) is the lowest ranking Field officer, senior officer in the German navy. Germany Korvettenkapitän, short: KKpt/in lists: KK, () is the lowest senior officer military rank, rank () in the German Navy. Address The official manner, in li ...
''
Heinrich Lehmann-Willenbrock Fregattenkapitän Heinrich Lehmann-Willenbrock (11 December 1911 – 18 April 1986) was a submarine commander in the ''Kriegsmarine'' of Nazi Germany during World War II. He commanded four U-boats, including , a German Type VII submarine, Type V ...
, ''U-256'' became the last U-boat to leave Brest before the port was captured by the Allies. The transit from Brest to
Bergen Bergen (, ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county on the Western Norway, west coast of Norway. Bergen is the list of towns and cities in Norway, second-largest city in Norway after the capital Oslo. By May 20 ...
in Norway, would be ''U-256''s last patrol. She reached her destination on 17 October, and was decommissioned there on 23 October.


Wolfpacks

''U-256'' took part in five wolfpacks, namely: * Steinbrinck (7 – 11 August 1942) * Lohs (11 – 25 August 1942) * Igel 2 (3 – 17 February 1944) * Hai 1 (17 – 22 February 1944) * Preussen (22 February - 13 March 1944)


Summary of raiding history


References


Notes


Citations


Bibliography

* * * * *


External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:U0256 German Type VIIC submarines U-boats commissioned in 1941 World War II submarines of Germany 1941 ships Ships built in Bremen (state)