German submarine U-419

{{Infobox ship image

|Ship image=

|Ship caption=

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{{Infobox ship career

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|Ship country=Nazi Germany

|Ship flag={{shipboxflag|Nazi Germany|naval}}

|Ship name=U-419

|Ship ordered=20 January 1941

|Ship builder=Danziger Werft, Danzig

|Ship yard number=120

|Ship laid down=7 November 1941

|Ship launched=22 August 1942

|Ship commissioned=18 November 1942

|Ship homeport=

|Ship motto=

|Ship nickname=

|Ship fate=Sunk by a British aircraft in mid-Atlantic on 8 October 1943{{sfn|Kemp|1999|p=149}}

|Ship notes=

}}

{{Infobox ship characteristics

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|Header caption=

|Ship class=Type VIIC submarine

|Ship displacement=

{{convert|769|t|LT|0|lk=on}} surfaced
{{convert|871|t|LT|0|abbr=on}} submerged

|Ship length=

{{convert|67.10|m|ftin|abbr=on}} o/a
{{convert|50.50|m|ftin|abbr=on}} pressure hull

|Ship beam=

{{convert|6.20|m|ftin|abbr=on}} o/a
{{convert|4.70|m|ftin|abbr=on}} pressure hull

|Ship height={{convert|9.60|m|ftin|abbr=on}}

|Ship draught={{convert|4.74|m|ftin|abbr=on}}

|Ship power=

{{convert|2800|–|3200|PS|kW bhp|abbr=on}} (diesels)
{{convert|750|PS|kW shp|abbr=on}} (electric)

|Ship propulsion=

2 shafts
2 × diesel engines
2 × electric motors.

|Ship speed=

{{convert|17.7|kn|lk=in}} surfaced
{{convert|7.6|kn}} submerged

|Ship range=

{{convert|8500|nmi|abbr=on|lk=on}} at {{convert|10|kn}} surfaced
{{convert|80|nmi|abbr=on}} at {{convert|4|kn}} submerged

|Ship test depth=

{{convert|230|m|ft|abbr=on}}
Crush depth: {{convert|250|–|295|m|ft|abbr=on}}

|Ship complement=4 officers, 40–56 enlisted

|Ship sensors=

|Ship EW=

|Ship armament=

5 × {{convert|53.3|cm|in|0|abbr=on}} torpedo tubes (four bow, one stern)
14 × torpedoes
1 × 8.8 cm SK C/35 naval gun (220 rounds)
2 × twin 2 cm FlaK 30 anti-aircraft guns

|Ship notes=

}}

{{Infobox service record

|is_ship=yes

|label=Service record{{cite web

|url=http://uboat.net/boats/u419.htm

|title=The Type VIIC boat U-419

|last=Helgason

|first=Guðmundur

|website=German U-boats of WWII – uboat.net

|access-date=16 September 2012

}}

|partof=

8th U-boat Flotilla
18 November 1942 – 31 July 1943
11th U-boat Flotilla
1 August – 8 October 1943

|codes=M 51 062

|commanders=

Oblt.z.S. Dietrich Giersberg
18 November 1942 – 8 October 1943

|operations=*1 patrol:

13 September – 8 October 1943

|victories=None

}}

German submarine U-419 was a Type VIIC U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II.

She carried out one patrol. She was a member of one wolfpack. She did not sink or damage any ships.

She was sunk by a British aircraft in mid-Atlantic on 8 October 1943.{{sfn|Kemp|1999|p=149}}

Design

German Type VIIC submarines were preceded by the shorter Type VIIB submarines. U-419 had a displacement of {{convert|769|t|LT}} when at the surface and {{convert|871|t|LT}} while submerged.{{sfn|Gröner|1991|pp=43–46}} She had a total length of {{convert|67.10|m|ftin|abbr=on}}, a pressure hull length of {{convert|50.50|m|ftin|abbr=on}}, a beam of {{convert|6.20|m|ftin|abbr=on}}, a height of {{convert|9.60|m|ftin|abbr=on}}, and a draught of {{convert|4.74|m|ftin|abbr=on}}. The submarine was powered by two Germaniawerft F46 four-stroke, six-cylinder supercharged diesel engines producing a total of {{convert|2800 to 3200|PS|kW shp|-1}} for use while surfaced, two Siemens-Schuckert GU 343/38–8 double-acting electric motors producing a total of {{convert|750|PS|kW shp}} for use while submerged. She had two shafts and two {{convert|1.23|m|ft|abbr=on|0}} propellers. The boat was capable of operating at depths of up to {{convert|230|m}}.{{sfn|Gröner|1991|pp=43–46}}

The submarine had a maximum surface speed of {{convert|17.7|kn}} and a maximum submerged speed of {{convert|7.6|kn}}.{{sfn|Gröner|1991|pp=43–46}} When submerged, the boat could operate for {{convert|80|nmi}} at {{convert|4|kn}}; when surfaced, she could travel {{convert|8500|nmi}} at {{convert|10|kn}}. U-419 was fitted with five {{convert|53.3|cm|in|0|abbr=on}} torpedo tubes (four fitted at the bow and one at the stern), fourteen torpedoes, one 8.8 cm SK C/35 naval gun, 220 rounds, and two twin 2 cm FlaK 30 anti-aircraft guns. The boat had a complement of between forty-four and sixty.{{sfn|Gröner|1991|pp=43–46}}

Service history

The submarine was laid down on 7 November 1941 at the Danziger Werft (yard) at Danzig (now Gdansk), as yard number 120, launched on 22 August 1942 and commissioned on 18 November under the command of Oberleutnant zur See Dietrich Giersberg.

She served with the 8th U-boat Flotilla from 18 November 1942 and the 11th flotilla from 1 August 1943.

=Patrol and loss=

The boat's only patrol was preceded by a trip from Kiel in Germany to Bergen in Norway. U-419 then left Bergen on 13 September 1943 and headed for the Atlantic Ocean via the gap between Iceland and the Faroe Islands. On 8 October, she was attacked and sunk by depth charges dropped by a British B-24 Liberator of No. 86 Squadron RAF.

Forty-eight men went down with the U-boat; there was one survivor.

=Wolfpacks=

U-419 took part in one wolfpack, namely:

Rossbach (24 September – 8 October 1943)

References

Bibliography

{{cite book | last1 = Busch | first1 = Rainer | last2 = Röll | first2 = Hans-Joachim | translator-last = Brooks | translator-first = Geoffrey | title = German U-boat commanders of World War II : a biographical dictionary | publisher = Greenhill Books, Naval Institute Press | location = London, Annapolis, Md | year = 1999 | isbn = 1-55750-186-6 }}
{{cite book

|last1=Busch

|first1=Rainer

|last2=Röll

|first2=Hans-Joachim

|title=Deutsche U-Boot-Verluste von September 1939 bis Mai 1945

|trans-title=German U-boat losses from September 1939 to May 1945

|series=Der U-Boot-Krieg

|volume=IV

|publisher=Mittler

|location=Hamburg, Berlin, Bonn

|year=1999

|isbn=3-8132-0514-2