German World War II submarine
German submarine "U-855" was a Type IXC/40 U-boat built for Nazi Germany's "Kriegsmarine" during World War II.
Design.
German Type IXC/40 submarines were slightly larger than the original Type IXCs. "U-855" 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-855" 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.
"U-855" was ordered on 5 June 1941 from DeSchiMAG AG Weser in Bremen under the yard number 1061. Her keel was laid down on 21 October 1942 and the U-boat was launched the following year on 17 April 1943. She was commissioned into service under the command of "Kapitänleutnant" Albert Sürenhagen (Crew 36) in 4th U-boat Flotilla.
On 3 April 1944 Sürenhagen handed over command to "Oberleutnant zur See" Prosper Ohlsen (Crew 36). "U-855" transferred to the 10th U-boat Flotilla for front-line service and left Kiel for operations in the North Atlantic on 22 June 1944, but experienced engine problems which forced her to return to Kiel. The U-boat left Kiel again on 1 July and served as a weather boat in the North Atlantic until September 1944.
An attack on an unescorted freighter on 6 September 1944 was not successful. The next day "U-855" met with and supplied her with provisions for twelve days. The following day, 9 September, she refuelled "U-516" before making for port. Her last transmission was received on 11 September 1944, after that the U-boat was missing.
Since "U-855" would have had to pass through known mine barrages about a week into her return voyage. Since she failed to report the successful passage, as other U-boats would do, she was probably sunk by a mine in the Northern Barrage on 17 October. That day another U-boat in the vicinity, reported hearing an explosion of a mine. The previous assumption that "U-855" was attacked and sunk by a British aircraft, Liberator 'A' of No. 224 Squadron RAF, on 24 September is not correct as this attack damaged .
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