German World War II submarine
German submarine "U-843" was a Type IXC/40 U-boat of the German "Kriegsmarine" during World War II. The submarine was laid down on 21 April 1942 at the DeSchiMAG AG Weser yard in Bremen, launched on 15 December 1942, and commissioned on 24 March 1943 under the command of "Kapitänleutnant" Oskar Herwartz. After training with 4th U-boat Flotilla in the Baltic Sea, "U-843" was transferred to 2nd U-boat Flotilla on 1 November 1943 for front-line service, and was transferred to 33rd U-boat Flotilla on 1 October 1944. She carried out three war patrols, sinking one ship, and was sunk by a British aircraft on 9 April 1945.
Design.
German Type IXC/40 submarines were slightly larger than the original Type IXCs. "U-843" had a displacement of when at the surface and while submerged. The U-boat had a total length of , a pressure hull length of , a beam of , a height of , and a draught of . The submarine was powered by two MAN M 9 V 40/46 supercharged four-stroke, nine-cylinder diesel engines producing a total of for use while surfaced, two Siemens-Schuckert 2 GU 345/34 double-acting electric motors producing a total of for use while submerged. She had two shafts and two 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-843" was fitted with six torpedo tubes (four fitted at the bow and two at the stern), 22 torpedoes, one SK C/32 naval gun, 180 rounds, and a SK C/30 as well as a C/30 anti-aircraft gun. The boat had a complement of forty-eight.
Service history.
First patrol.
"U-843" first sailed from Kiel on 7 October 1943, arriving at Trondheim, Norway, on the 12th. She commenced her first war patrol on 15 October, and headed out into the northern Atlantic. However, she had no successes, and finally arrived at Lorient, France, on 15 December after a voyage lasting 62 days.
Second patrol.
The U-boat left Lorient on 19 February 1944, bound for the Indian Ocean. En route, on 8 April, she torpedoed and sank the unescorted 8,261 GRT British merchant ship "Nebraska", dispersed from Convoy OS-71, south-west of Ascension Island. Two crew members were lost, while the master, 55 crewmen, eight gunners, and two stowaways were rescued. Oskar Herwarts surfaced U-843 and offered assistance to the three lifeboats launched from the "Nebraska". This included charts torn from a chart atlas and gave position and course to steer to Brazil. Two lifeboats made landfall close to Recife months later. A third lifeboat was rescued by a British warship after several weeks.
An American B-24 bomber of US Navy Squadron VB-107 attacked the U-boat on 10 April, damaging its stern torpedo tubes. The U-boat abandoned its planned operations off Cape Town and continued into the Indian Ocean. "U-843" arrived at the Japanese-controlled port of Batavia, Dutch East Indies, on 11 June after 114 days at sea. The U-boat then sailed to Singapore on 13–15 June, remaining there until 1 November, before returning to Batavia.
Third patrol.
"U-843" departed Batavia on 10 December 1944 with a cargo of zinc (according to a letter from Oskar Herwartz this cargo was not zinc but Wolfram). On the night of 17 December, they were refueled by . They then sailed back across the Indian Ocean, around the Cape, and up through the Atlantic, arriving back in Bergen, Norway, on 3 April 1945.
Fate.
Leaving Bergen on 6 April 1945, "U-843" was sunk on 9 April, in the Kattegat, west of Gothenburg, in position , by rockets from a British Mosquito fighter-bomber of No. 235 Squadron RAF. Of the U-boat's crew of 56, only 12 survived.
In 1958 the wreck was raised and transported to Moss in Norway, where it was scavenged due to its valuable contents such as tungsten in the keel, natural rubber and one metric ton of opium. The wreckage was then broken up at Gothenburg.
Wolfpacks.
"U-843" took part in five wolfpacks during its first patrol:
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