German submarine U-110 (1940)

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German submarine U-110 was a Type IXB U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine that operated during World War II. She was captured by the Royal Navy on 9 May 1941 and provided a number of secret cipher documents to the British. U-110Template:'s capture, later given the code name "Operation Primrose", was one of the biggest secrets of the war, remaining so for seven months. President Franklin D. Roosevelt was only told of the capture by Winston Churchill in January 1942.

Design

Type IXB submarines were slightly larger than the original Type IX submarines, later designated IXA. U-110 had a displacement of Script error: No such module "convert". when at the surface and Script error: No such module "convert". while submerged.Template:Sfn The U-boat had a total length of Script error: No such module "convert"., a pressure hull length of Script error: No such module "convert"., a beam of Script error: No such module "convert"., a height of Script error: No such module "convert"., and a draught of Script error: No such module "convert".. The submarine was powered by two MAN M 9 V 40/46 supercharged four-stroke, nine-cylinder diesel engines producing a total of Script error: No such module "convert". for use while surfaced, two Siemens-Schuckert 2 GU 345/34 double-acting electric motors producing a total of Script error: No such module "convert". for use while submerged. She had two shafts and two Script error: No such module "convert". propellers. The boat was capable of operating at depths of up to Script error: No such module "convert"..Template:Sfn

The submarine had a maximum surface speed of Script error: No such module "convert". and a maximum submerged speed of Script error: No such module "convert"..Template:Sfn When submerged, the boat could operate for Script error: No such module "convert". at Script error: No such module "convert".; when surfaced, she could travel Script error: No such module "convert". at Script error: No such module "convert".. U-110 was fitted with six Script error: No such module "convert". torpedo tubes (four fitted at the bow and two at the stern), 22 torpedoes, one Script error: No such module "convert". SK C/32 naval gun, 180 rounds, and a Script error: No such module "convert". SK C/30 as well as a Script error: No such module "convert". C/30 anti-aircraft gun. The boat had a complement of forty-eight.Template:Sfn

Service history

U-110Template:'s keel was laid down 1 February 1940 by DeSchiMAG AG Weser, of Bremen, Germany as yard number 973. She was launched on 25 August 1940 and commissioned on 21 November with Kapitänleutnant Fritz-Julius Lemp in command.

The boat was part of the 2nd U-boat Flotilla from her commissioning date until her loss. Lemp commanded U-110 for her entire career. In an earlier boat (Template:GS), he was responsible for the sinking of the passenger liner SS Athenia on the first day of the war. The circumstances were such that he was considered for court-martial. He continued, however, to be one of the most successful and rebellious commanders of his day.[1]

Operational career

First patrol

U-110 set out on her first patrol from Kiel on 9 March 1941. Her route to the Atlantic Ocean took her through the gap between the Faroe and Shetland Islands. Her first victim was Erodona which she damaged south of Iceland on 16 March. She also damaged Siremalm on the 23rd. This ship only escaped after she was hit by a torpedo which failed to detonate, (although it left a large dent) and the U-boat's 105 mm deck gun crew forgot to remove the tampion in the muzzle before engaging their target. The resulting explosion on firing the first round wounded three men and compelled the boat to fire on the merchantman with the smaller 37 and 20 mm armament. Despite being hit, Siremalm successfully fled the scene, zig-zagging as she went.

U-110 arrived in Lorient on the French Atlantic coast on 29 March, having cut the patrol short due to damage from the exploding gun.

Second patrol and capture

The boat departed Lorient on 15 April 1941. On the 27th, she sank Henri Mory about Script error: No such module "convert". west northwest of Blasket Islands, Ireland.

Her next quarry were the ships of convoy OB 318 east of Cape Farewell (Greenland). She successfully attacked and sank Esmond and Bengore Head, but the escort vessels responded. The British corvette Script error: No such module "WPSHIPS utilities". located the U-boat with ASDIC (sonar). Aubrietia and British destroyer Script error: No such module "WPSHIPS utilities". then proceeded to drop depth charges, forcing U-110 to surface.[2]

Operation Primrose (9 May 1941)

U-110 survived the attack, but was seriously damaged. Script error: No such module "WPSHIPS utilities". and Broadway remained in contact after AubrietiaTemplate:'s last attack. Broadway shaped course to ram, but fired two depth charges beneath the U-boat instead, in an endeavour to make the crew abandon ship before scuttling her.[3] Lemp announced "Last stop, everybody out", meaning "Abandon ship". As the crew turned out onto the U-boat's deck they came under fire from Bulldog and Broadway with casualties from gunfire and drowning. The British had believed that the German deck gun was to be used and ceased fire when they realised that the U-boat was being abandoned and the crew wanted to surrender.

Lemp realised that U-110 was not sinking and attempted to swim back to it to destroy the secret material, and was never seen again. A German eyewitness testified that he was shot in the water by a British sailor, but his fate is not confirmed. Including Lemp, 15 men were killed in the action, and 32 were captured. Radio Officer Georg Högel and the rest of the crew were held at Camp 23 (Monteith POW camp at Iroquois Falls, Northern Ontario, Canada), which is now the Monteith Correctional Complex.

BulldogTemplate:'s boarding party, led by Sub-Lieutenant David Balme, got onto U-110 and stripped it of everything portable, including her Kurzsignale code book and Enigma machine.[4] William Stewart Pollock, a former radio operator in the Royal Navy and on loan to Bulldog, was on the second boat to board U-110. He retrieved the Enigma machine and books as they looked out of place in the radio room. U-110 was taken in tow back toward Britain, but was intentionally sunk en route to prevent its capture from being revealed.

The documents captured from U-110 helped Bletchley Park codebreakers solve Reservehandverfahren, a reserve German hand cipher.

Wolfpacks

U-110 took part in one wolfpack, West (9 May 1941).

Modern-day connections

The 2000 film U-571 was partially inspired by the capture of U-110.

In 2007, the submarine's chronometer was featured on the BBC programme Antiques Roadshow, from Alnwick Castle, in the possession of the grandson of the captain of the ship which captured her.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".

Summary of raiding history

Date Ship Nationality Tonnage Fate[5]
16 March 1941 Erodona Template:Flagcountry 6,207 Damaged
23 March 1941 Siremalm Template:Flagcountry 2,468 Damaged
27 April 1941 Henri Mory Template:Flagcountry 2,564 Sunk
9 May 1941 Bengore Head Template:Flagcountry 2,609 Sunk
9 May 1941 Esmond Template:Flagcountry 4,976 Sunk


Other captured U-boats

See also

References

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  1. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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Bibliography

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  • Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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  • Hugh Sebag-Montefiore, Enigma: The Battle for the Code, 2000, Template:ISBN.

External links

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