German submarine U-656
{{Short description|German World War II submarine}}
| {{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image |Ship image= |Ship caption= }} {{Infobox ship career |Hide header= |Ship country=Nazi Germany |Ship flag={{Shipboxflag|Nazi Germany|naval}} |Ship name=U-656 |Ship ordered= 9 October 1939 |Ship builder=Howaldtswerke, Hamburg |Ship yard number=805 |Ship laid down=4 September 1940 |Ship launched=8 July 1941 |Ship completed= |Ship commissioned=17 September 1941 |Ship homeport= |Ship motto= |Ship nickname= |Ship fate=Sunk by depth charge on 1 March 1942 |Ship notes= }} {{Infobox ship characteristics |Hide header= |Header caption= |Ship class=Type VIIC submarine |Ship displacement=
|Ship length=
|Ship beam=
|Ship height={{convert|9.60|m|ftin|abbr=on}} |Ship draught={{convert|4.74|m|ftin|abbr=on}} |Ship power=
|Ship propulsion=
|Ship speed=
|Ship range=
|Ship test depth=
|Ship complement=4 officers, 40–56 enlisted |Ship sensors= |Ship EW= |Ship armament=
|Ship notes= }} {{Infobox service record |is_ship=yes |label= |partof=
|codes=M 24 797 |commanders=
|operations=*2 patrols:
|victories=None }} |
German submarine U-656 was a German Type VIIC U-boat built for the Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine for service during World War II. She was ordered on 9 October 1939 and the keel laid on 4 September 1940. Construction on U-656 was carried out by Hamburg company Howaldtswerke as yard number 805. She was launched on 8 July 1941 and commissioned on 17 September 1941.
Design
German Type VIIC submarines were preceded by the shorter Type VIIB submarines. U-656 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-656 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 a 2 cm FlaK 30 anti-aircraft gun. The boat had a complement of between forty-four and sixty.{{sfn|Gröner|1991|pp=43-46}}
Service history
U-656 went into service initially with 5th U-boat Flotilla for training from 17 September 1941 until 31 December 1941. She moved into operational service with 1st U-boat Flotilla on 1 January 1942, and was commanded by Kapitänleutnant Ernst Kröning.
U-656 made two patrols, but did not sink any ships. Her first patrol lasted almost two weeks: after departing Kiel on 15 January 1942, she put in at Brest, France on 28 January. The submarine departed Brest on 4 February, but never completed her second patrol. She was sunk with all hands by depth charges dropped by a United States Navy PBO-1 Hudson of Patrol Squadron 82 (VP-82) on 1 March 1942 south of Cape Race, Newfoundland. U-656 became the first U-boat to be sunk by the U.S. Navy in World War II.
References
{{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=Der U-Boot-Krieg, 1939-1945: Deutsche U-Boot-Verluste von September 1939 bis Mai 1945|trans-title=German U-boat losses from September 1939 to May 1945 |date=1999|volume=IV |publisher=Mittler|location=Hamburg, Berlin, Bonn |isbn=3-8132-0514-2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vXKwAAAAIAAJ |language=de}}
- {{cite book |last1=Gröner |first1=Eric |last2=Jung |first2=Dieter |last3=Maass |first3=Martin |translator-last1=Thomas|translator-first1=Keith|translator-last2=Magowan|translator-first2=Rachel |title=German Warships 1815-1945: U-boats and Mine Warfare Vessels |date=1991 |publisher=Conway Maritime Press |location=London |volume=2 |isbn=0-85177-593-4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Udg-0AEACAAJ|ref=CITEREFGröner1991}}
- {{cite book
|last=Bishop
|first=Chris
|title=Kriegsmarine U-Boats, 1939-45
|publisher=Amber Books
|location=London
|year=2006
|isbn=978-1-904687-96-2
}}
{{Refend}}
External links
- {{Cite web
|url=http://uboat.net/boats/u656.html
|title=The Type VIIC boat U-656
|last=Helgason
|first=Guðmundur
|website=German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net
|access-date=29 December 2014
}}
{{German Type VII submarines}}
{{March 1942 shipwrecks}}
{{use dmy dates|date=December 2014}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:U0656}}
Category:German Type VIIC submarines
Category:U-boats commissioned in 1941
Category:U-boats sunk by US aircraft
Category:World War II submarines of Germany
Category:World War II shipwrecks in the Atlantic Ocean
Category:Shipwrecks of the Newfoundland and Labrador coast
Category:U-boats sunk by depth charges
Category:Ships built in Hamburg