German submarine U-486

{{Short description|German World War II submarine}}

{{Infobox ship begin}}

{{Infobox ship image

|Ship image=

|Ship caption=

}}

{{Infobox ship career

|Ship country=Nazi Germany

|Ship flag=File:War Ensign of Germany 1938-1945.svg

|Ship name=U-486

|Ship ordered=5 June 1941

|Ship yard number=321

|Ship laid down=8 May 1943

|Ship builder=Deutsche Werke, Kiel

|Ship launched=12 February 1944

|Ship commissioned=22 March 1944

|Ship fate=Sunk by {{HMS|Tapir|P335|6}} on 12 April 1945 in the North Sea north-west of Bergen, Norway.

}}

{{Infobox ship characteristics

|Hide header=

|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|67.23|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=

|Ship speed=

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

|Ship range=

  • {{convert|8,500|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=

|Ship notes=

}}

{{Infobox service record

|is_ship=yes

|partof=

|codes=M 50 011

|commanders=

  • Oblt.z.S. Gerhard Meyer
  • 22 March – 12 April 1945

|operations=*2 patrols:

  • 1st patrol:
  • 26 November 1944 – 15 January 1945
  • 2nd patrol:
  • 9 – 12 April 1945

|victories=

  • 2 merchant ships sunk
    ({{GRT|17,651}})
  • 1 warship sunk
    (1,085 tons)
  • 1 warship total loss
    (1,085 tons)

}}

German submarine U-486 was a Type VIIC U-boat built for Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine for service during World War II. She was laid down at the Deutsche Werke in Kiel as yard number 321, launched on 12 February 1944 and commissioned on 22 March with Oberleutnant zur See Gerhard Meyer in command.

The boat began training on 22 March with the 5th U-boat Flotilla but moved on to the 11th flotilla for operations.

She was one of nine Type VIIs that the Kriegsmarine fitted with an experimental synthetic rubber skin of anechoic tiles known as Alberich, which had been designed to counter the Allies' asdic/sonar devices.{{Cite book |last=Hamilton |first=Aaron S. |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=l4cIEAAAQBAJ&dq=%22Rubber%20Covering%20of%20German%20Submarines%20Anti-Asdic%22&pg=PA105 |title=Total Undersea War: The Evolutionary Role of the Snorkel in Dönitz's U-Boat Fleet, 1944-1945 |date=2020-05-30 |publisher=Seaforth Publishing |isbn=978-1-5267-7883-3 |pages=104–118 |language=en |chapter=Acoustic camouflage}}

Her remains were positively identified in March 2013 after they were found during oil exploration operations off the coast of Norway, not far from the remains of {{GS|U-864||2}}.

Design

German Type VIIC submarines were preceded by the shorter Type VIIB submarines. U-486 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-486 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), one 3.7 cm Flak 18/36/37/43 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 moved to Horten Naval Base in Norway between 6 and 9 November 1944 and then Egersund, (also in Norway, on the southwest coast, between Stavanger and Kristiansand), arriving there on 20 November.

= First patrol =

She departed Egersund on her first patrol on 26 November 1944, taking a circuitous route around the British Isles to the Western Approaches. The U-boat claimed her first victim south of the Eddystone Lighthouse by sinking the Silverlaurel on 18 December. She then attacked the {{GRT|11,509}} {{SS|Leopoldville|1929|2}} on 24 December five miles off the coast of Cherbourg, France. This resulted in the death of over 750 Allied soldiers (819 total deaths). The Leopoldville sank about two hours later.[http://www.history.com/minisites/leopoldville/viewPage?pageId=264 History.com] Accessed February 10, 2009. She crippled the US-built but British manned frigate {{HMS|Affleck|K462|6}} on the 26th. She also sank {{HMS|Capel|K470|6}}, another frigate, on the same day.{{Cite web

|url=http://uboat.net/boats/u486.html

|title=The Type VIIC boat U-486

|last=Helgason

|first=Guðmundur

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

|access-date=28 December 2014

}}

She was unsuccessfully attacked by a Canadian Vickers Wellington of 407 Squadron, RCAF on 30 December.

She returned to Norway, this time to Bergen, on 15 January 1945.

= Second patrol =

The boat departed Bergen on 9 April 1945, but was sunk by torpedoes from the British submarine {{HMS|Tapir|P335|6}} on 12 April.

Summary of raiding history

class="wikitable sortable"

! Date

! Ship Name

! Nationality

! TonnageMerchant ship tonnages are in gross register tons. Military vessels are listed by tons displacement.

! Fate{{Cite web

|url=http://uboat.net/boats//successes/u486.htm

|title=Ships hit by U-486

|last=Helgason

|first=Guðmundur

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

|access-date=28 December 2014

}}

align="right"|18 December 1944

|align="left" |Silverlaurel

|align="left" |{{flag|United Kingdom|civil}}

|align="right"|6,142

|align="left" |Sunk

align="right"|24 December 1944

|align="left" |{{SS|Leopoldville|1929|2}}

|align="left" |{{flag|Belgium}}

|align="right"|11,509

|align="left" |Sunk

align="right"|26 December 1944

|align="left" |{{HMS|Affleck|K462|6}}

|align="left" |{{navy|United Kingdom}}

|align="right"|1,085

|align="left" |Total loss

align="right"|26 December 1944

|align="left" |{{HMS|Capel|K470|6}}

|align="left" |{{navy|United Kingdom}}

|align="right"|1,085

|align="left" |Sunk

Discovery of wreck

In early 2013, the wreck of U-486 was discovered by the Norwegian petroleum company Statoil at a depth of {{convert|250|m|ft}}, off the coast of Western Norway. The wreck of U-486 is located c. {{convert|2|km|mi}} from that of the fellow German submarine {{GS|U-864||2}}.{{cite news |title=Nazi submarine wreck found off Norway |url=http://www.thelocal.no/page/view/nazi-submarine-found-off-norway#.UV9fsZbLk-U |newspaper=TheLocal.no |agency=Agence France-Presse |access-date=6 April 2013}}

See also

References

= Notes =

{{Reflist|group=Note}}

= Citations =

{{reflist}}

Bibliography

{{Refbegin}}

  • {{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

|language=de

}}

  • {{cite book

|last1=Gröner

|first1=Erich

|last2=Jung

|first2=Dieter

|last3=Maass

|first3=Martin

|translator-last1=Thomas

|translator-first1=Keith

|translator-last2=Magowan

|translator-first2=Rachel

|year=1991

|title=U-boats and Mine Warfare Vessels

|volume=2

|series=German Warships 1815–1945

|location=London

|publisher=Conway Maritime Press

|isbn=0-85177-593-4

|ref=CITEREFGröner1991

}}

{{Refend}}