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German submarine U-9 was a Type IIB U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine. Her keel was laid down on 8 February 1935, by Germaniawerft in Kiel as yard number 543. She was launched on 30 July 1935 and commissioned on 21 August, with Korvettenkapitän Hans-Günther Looff in command.
 U-9 in 1936, note the submarine's number on the hull which was painted out in wartime
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| History | |
|---|---|
 Nazi Germany | |
| Name | U-9 |
| Ordered | 20 July 1934 |
| Builder | |
| Yard number | 543 |
| Laid down | 8 April 1935 |
| Launched | 30 July 1935 |
| Commissioned | 21 August 1935 |
| Fate | Sunk 20 August 1944 at Constanța, Romania, in a Soviet air raid |
 Soviet Union | |
| Name | TS-16 |
| Acquired | 1945 |
| Fate | Broken up on 12 December 1946 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Type IIB coastal submarine |
| Displacement | |
| Length |
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| Beam |
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| Height | 8.60 m (28 ft 3 in) |
| Draught | 3.90 m (12 ft 10 in) |
| Installed power |
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| Propulsion |
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| Speed |
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| Range |
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| Test depth | 80 m (260 ft) |
| Complement | 3 officers, 22 men |
| Armament |
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| Service record | |
| Part of: |
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| Identification codes: | M 13 068 |
| Commanders: |
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| Operations: |
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| Victories: |
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U-9 conducted 19 patrols under a series of commanders, including U-boat ace Wolfgang Lüth, sinking eight ships totalling 17,221 gross register tons (GRT) and damaging another displacing 412 tons. This included the French Sirène class coastal submarine Doris.
She was sunk by Soviet bombs on 20 August 1944. Her wreck was later raised by the Soviets, repaired and recommissioned as TS-16 but was broken up in December 1946 because of her poor performance.
Design edit
German Type IIB submarines were enlarged versions of the original Type IIs. U-9 had a displacement of 279 tonnes (275 long tons) when at the surface and 328 tonnes (323 long tons) while submerged. Officially, the standard tonnage was 250 long tons (254 t), however.[1] The U-boat had a total length of 42.70 m (140 ft 1 in), a pressure hull length of 28.20 m (92 ft 6 in), a beam of 4.08 m (13 ft 5 in), a height of 8.60 m (28 ft 3 in), and a draught of 3.90 m (12 ft 10 in). The submarine was powered by two MWM RS 127 S four-stroke, six-cylinder diesel engines of 700 metric horsepower (510 kW; 690 shp) for cruising, two Siemens-Schuckert PG VV 322/36 double-acting electric motors producing a total of 460 metric horsepower (340 kW; 450 shp) for use while submerged. She had two shafts and two 0.85 m (3 ft) propellers. The boat was capable of operating at depths of up to 80–150 metres (260–490 ft).[1]
The submarine had a maximum surface speed of 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph) and a maximum submerged speed of 7 knots (13 km/h; 8.1 mph).[1] When submerged, the boat could operate for 35–42 nautical miles (65–78 km; 40–48 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph); when surfaced, she could travel 3,800 nautical miles (7,000 km; 4,400 mi) at 8 knots (15 km/h; 9.2 mph). U-9 was fitted with three 53.3 cm (21 in) torpedo tubes at the bow, five torpedoes or up to twelve Type A torpedo mines, and a 2 cm (0.79 in) anti-aircraft gun. The boat had a complement of twenty.[1]
Service history edit
U-9 was ordered on 20 July 1934, i.e. in violation of the Versailles Treaty, which denied Germany possession of submarines. The U-boat was not laid down until 11 March 1935, and launched on 29 June 1935, within weeks of the Anglo-German Naval Agreement, which granted Germany parity with the British Empire in submarines. On 27 December 1942, at 16:20, off Sochi in the Black Sea, a Soviet minesweeper dropped eight depth charges on the boat, causing minor damage. On 31 Mar 1944 U-9 was lying in Feodosia to refuel when the harbor was attacked by 18 Il-2 ground attack aircraft. The boat was damaged by strafing and a bomb hit made a dent in the pressure hull on port side aft, also wounding the commander, who operated the 20mm AA gun himself, with splinters. The gunners claimed hits on two aircraft that were seen to crash. Eleven day later, again in the Black Sea, south of Yalta, depth charges from a Soviet escort caused minor damage.[2]
Fate edit
To serve in the 30th U-boat Flotilla, the submarine was transported in sections along the Danube to the Romanian port of Galați. She was then re-assembled by the Romanians at the Galați shipyard and sent to the Black Sea.[3] At 10:30 on 20 August 1944, at Constanţa in Romania in position 44°12′N 28°41′E / 44.200°N 28.683°E, U-9 was sunk by bombs from Soviet aircraft. The Soviets raised the boat and brought her into Mykolaiv in 1945. She was repaired and commissioned into the Soviet Navy as TS-16, but did not perform well and was broken up on 12 December 1946.
Summary of raiding history edit
| Date | Name | Nationality | Tonnage[Note 1] | Fate[4] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 January 1940 | Flandria |  Sweden
|
1,179 | Sunk |
| 19 January 1940 | Patria | Sweden
|
1,188 | Sunk |
| 11 February 1940 | Linda |  Estonia
|
1,213 | Sunk |
| 4 May 1940 | San Tiburcio |  United Kingdom
|
5,995 | Sunk (mine) |
| 9 May 1940 | Doris |  French Navy
|
552 | Sunk |
| 11 May 1940 | Tringa | United Kingdom
|
1,930 | Sunk |
| 11 May 1940 | Viiu | Estonia
|
1,908 | Sunk |
| 23 May 1940 | Sigurd Faulbaum |  Belgium
|
3,256 | Sunk |
| 11 May 1944 | Shtorm |  Soviet Navy
|
412 | Damaged |
References edit
Notes edit
- ^ Merchant ship tonnages are in gross register tons. Military vessels are listed by tons displacement.
Citations edit
- ^ a b c d Gröner 1991, pp. 39–40.
- ^ German U-boats of WW II. "The type IIB U-boat U-9". uboat.net. Retrieved 7 January 2018.
- ^ Steel and Ice: The U-boat Battle in the Arctic and Black Sea 1941–45, Chapter 5 – The Black Sea: War in the South 1942–43, page 5
- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit by U-9". German U-boats of WWII – uboat.net. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
Bibliography edit
- 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.
- Gröner, Eric; Jung, Dieter; Maass, Martin (1991). German Warships 1815-1945: U-boats and Mine Warfare Vessels. Vol. 2. Translated by Thomas, Keith; Magowan, Rachel. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-593-4.
- Neistlé, Axel (2014). German U-Boat Losses during World War II: Details of Destruction (2 ed.). Havertown: Frontline Books (published 30 June 2014).
- Sharpe, Peter (1998). U-Boat Fact File. Great Britain: Midland Publishing. ISBN 1-85780-072-9.
External links edit
- Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type IIB boat U-9". German U-boats of WWII – uboat.net. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
- Hofmann, Markus. "U 9". Deutsche U-Boote 1935–1945 – u-boot-archiv.de (in German). Retrieved 18 December 2015.