German submarine U-410

German submarine U-410 was a Type VIIC U-boat built for Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II, operating mainly in the Mediterranean. Her insignia was a sword & shield,[3] she did not suffer any casualties until she was sunk.

History
Nazi Germany
NameU-410
Ordered30 October 1939
BuilderDanziger Werft, Danzig
Yard number111
Laid down9 January 1941
Launched14 October 1941
Commissioned23 February 1942
FateSunk on 11 March 1944 by US aircraft[1]
General characteristics
Class and typeType VIIC submarine
Displacement
  • 769 tonnes (757 long tons) surfaced
  • 871 t (857 long tons) submerged
Length
Beam
  • 6.20 m (20 ft 4 in) o/a
  • 4.70 m (15 ft 5 in) pressure hull
Height9.60 m (31 ft 6 in)
Draught4.74 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
Speed
  • 17.7 kn (32.8 km/h; 20.4 mph) surfaced
  • 7.6 knots (14.1 km/h; 8.7 mph) submerged
Range
  • 8,500 nmi (15,700 km; 9,800 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) surfaced
  • 80 nmi (150 km; 92 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph) submerged
Test depth
  • 230 m (750 ft)
  • Crush depth: 250–295 m (820–968 ft)
Complement4 officers, 40–56 enlisted
Armament
Service record[2]
Part of:
Commanders:
  • K.Kapt. Kurt Sturm
  • 23 February 1942 – 4 February 1943
  • Oblt.z.S. Horst-Arno Fenski
  • 5 February 1943 - 11 March 1944
Operations:
  • 7 patrols:
  • 1st patrol:
  • 27 August - 28 October 1942
  • 2nd patrol:
  • 3 December 1942 - 4 January 1943
  • 3rd patrol:
  • 9 February - 27 March 1943
  • 4th patrol:
  • 26 April - 13 May 1943
  • 5th patrol:
  • 7 - 30 August 1943
  • 6th patrol:
  • 12 September - 3 October 1943
  • 7th patrol:
  • 3 - 28 February 1944
Victories:
  • 7 merchant ships sunk
    (47,244 GRT)
  • 2 warships sunk
    (6,895 tons)
  • 1 merchant ship total loss
    (3,722 GRT)
  • 1 merchant ship damaged
    (7,134 GRT)

U-410 was first commanded by Kapitänleutnant Kurt Sturm during her working up/training period and on her first patrol before being commanded by Horst-Arno Fenski for her six combat patrols. U-410 sank seven merchantmen, a Landing ship, Tank (LST); and a light cruiser during the Second World War. For his successes, Fenski received the Knight's Cross.

Design
A cross-section of a Type VIIC submarine

German Type VIIC submarines were preceded by the shorter Type VIIB submarines. U-410 had a displacement of 769 tonnes (757 long tons) when at the surface and 871 tonnes (857 long tons) while submerged.[4] She had a total length of 67.10 m (220 ft 2 in), a pressure hull length of 50.50 m (165 ft 8 in), a beam of 6.20 m (20 ft 4 in), a height of 9.60 m (31 ft 6 in), and a draught of 4.74 m (15 ft 7 in). The submarine was powered by two Germaniawerft F46 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 Siemens-Schuckert GU 343/38–8 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).[4]

The submarine had a maximum surface speed of 17.7 knots (32.8 km/h; 20.4 mph) and a maximum submerged speed of 7.6 knots (14.1 km/h; 8.7 mph).[4] When submerged, the boat could operate for 80 nautical miles (150 km; 92 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph); when surfaced, she could travel 8,500 nautical miles (15,700 km; 9,800 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph). U-410 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, a twin 2 cm (0.79 in), on Platform I, a 3.7 cm (1.5 in), on Platform II and two MG 15 machine guns on the bridge. The boat had a complement of between forty-four and sixty.[4]

She carried two eight-man, one six-man and 58 one-man, rubber boats.

Service history

U-410 was ordered by the Kriegsmarine on 30 October 1939. She was laid down at the Danziger Werft yard in Danzig, on 9 January 1941 and launched on 14 October 1941. She was formally commissioned into the Kriegsmarine, on 23 February 1942.

1st and 2nd patrols

U-410 departed Kiel on 27 August 1942 for her first patrol. The U-boat, under Kapitänleutnant Kurt Sturm, sank the British Newton Pine in mid-Atlantic. She then arrived in St. Nazaire in France on 28 October 1942, after 63 days at sea.

Her second outing was not so productive; after 33 days she returned to her French base empty-handed.

3rd and 4th patrols

Her third foray was more productive and included the sinking of the British ship Fort Battle River on 6 March 1943.[5] She also damaged another British vessel in the same engagement, Fort Paskoyac. Both of these ships were attacked southwest of Portugal. The U-boat returned to St. Nazaire on 27 March 1943.

Her fourth sortie included transiting the heavily defended Strait of Gibraltar. She arrived in La Spezia in Italy on 13 May 1943, having left St. Nazaire on 26 April.

5th and 6th patrols

U-410 left La Spezia on 7 August 1943 and attacked the convoy UGS-14 off the Algerian coast. Firing three torpedoes in a 'spread', she hit and sank two American ships, John Bell and Richard Henderson on 26 August 1943. She then sailed to Toulon in France, arriving on 30 August.

The U-boat tried to disrupt the landings at Anzio, sinking a British light cruiser and an American LST (see below).

Combat history

Commanders
  • 23 February 1942 – 4 February 1943 Kapitänleutnant Kurt Sturm.
  • 5 February 1943 – 11 March 1944 Oberleutnant zur See Horst-Arno Fenski

Flotillas

Wolfpacks

U-410 was part of the following "wolfpacks":

Name From To Notes
Lohs13 September 194222 September 1942
Blitz22 September 194226 September 1942
Tiger26 September 194229 September 1942
Letzte Ritter29 September 19421 October 1942
Wotan5 October 194217 October 1942
Raufbold11 December 194220 December 1942
Robbe16 February 194313 March 1943

Rescue of survivors from MV Rhakotis

On 2 January 1943, U-410 rescued 80 survivors from the German blockade-runner MV Rhakotis after she was sunk by HMS Scylla. The survivors were returned to St. Nazaire the next day.[6] Among the survivors were two Englishmen who received a special guard.

Sinking of HMS Penelope
HMS Penelope
HMS Penelope

On 18 February 1944, HMS Penelope (Capt. G.D. Belben, DSO, DSC, AM, RN), was leaving Naples to return to the Anzio area when she was torpedoed at 40.55°N 13.25°E / 40.55; 13.25 by U-410. A torpedo struck the British cruiser in the aft engine room; sixteen minutes later, U-410 fired another torpedo that hit Penelope in her boiler room, causing her immediate sinking. 415 of the crew, including the captain, went down with the ship. There were 206 survivors. The cruiser was making 26 knots (48 km/h; 30 mph) when she was hit, the fastest ship ever successfully attacked by a submarine.[7]

Sinking of USS LST-348

On 20 February 1944 LST-348 (Landing Ship, Tank) was returning from Sicily, supporting Operation Shingle and roughly 40 miles South of Naples when she was spotted by U-410, who fired two torpedoes at around 02:00 hrs. Both hit the vessel on her port side, she sank 20 minutes later.[8]

Loss

On 11 March 1944, a USAAF during an air raid on the Port of Toulon, U-410 along with U-380 were so seriously damaged, they were declared no longer operational.[1] Oberleutnant zur See Fenski and his crew transferred to U-371, which was lost around 04:00 on 4 May 1944 in a battle with Allied warships. Three of the crew were killed as they scuttled the boat, but Fenski survived and spent two years in a US POW camp.[9]

Summary of raiding history
Date Ship Name Nationality Tonnage[Note 1] Fate[10]
11 October 1942 Newton Pine  United Kingdom 4,212 Sunk
6 March 1943 Fort Battle River  United Kingdom 7,133 Sunk
6 March 1943 Fort Paskoyac  United Kingdom 7,134 Damaged
26 August 1943 John Bell  United States 7,242 Sunk
26 August 1943 Richard Henderson  United States 7,194 Sunk
26 September 1943 Christian Michelsen  Norway 7,176 Sunk
1 October 1943 Empire Commerce  United Kingdom 3,722 Total loss
1 October 1943 Fort Howe  United Kingdom 7,133 Sunk
15 February 1944 Fort St. Nicholas  United Kingdom 7,154 Sunk
18 February 1944 HMS Penelope  Royal Navy 5,270 Sunk
20 February 1944 USS LST-348  United States Navy 1,625 Sunk

References

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

Citations
  1. Kemp 1999, p. 176.
  2. Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type VIIC boat U-410". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
  3. U-Boat Insignia & Emblems http://www.uboataces.com/ref-insignia32.shtml#U-410
  4. Gröner 1991, pp. 43–46.
  5. "Fort Battle River Cargo Ship 1942-1943". Wrecksite. Retrieved 6 October 2023.
  6. http://www.wrecksite.eu/wreck.aspx?58439%7C MV Rhakotis at wrecksite
  7. Helgason, Guðmundur. "HMS Penelope (97) of the Royal Navy - British Light cruiser of the Arethusa class". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
  8. "Tank Landing Ship LST". www.navsource.org.
  9. "Horst-Arno Fenski". uboat.net. Retrieved 31 December 2019.
  10. Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit U-410". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 26 December 2014.

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). Vol. 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. Vol. 2. Translated by Thomas, Keith; Magowan, Rachel. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-593-4.
  • Kemp, Paul (1999). U-Boats Destroyed - German Submarine Losses in the World Wars. London: Arms & Armour. ISBN 1-85409-515-3.
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