German submarine U-792 was a Type XVIIA U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during the Second World War. She was one of a small number of U-boats fitted with Hellmuth Walter's high test peroxide propulsion system, which offered a combination of air-independent propulsion and high submerged speeds. She spent the war as a trials vessel and was scuttled on 4 May 1945 in the Audorfer See, near Rendsburg.[1]
Construction
The U-792 was laid down on 1 December 1942 at the Blohm & Voss shipyard in Hamburg, Germany. She was launched on 28 September 1943 and commissioned on 16 November 1943 under the command of Oberleutnant zur See Horst Heitz.[1]
When she was completed, the submarine was 39.05 metres (128 ft 1 in) long overall, with a beam of 4.50 metres (14 ft 9 in) and a draught of 4.30 metres (14 ft 1 in). She was assessed at 309 t (304 long tons) submerged. The submarine was powered by one Deutz SAA SM517 supercharged 8-cylinder four-stroke diesel engine producing a total of 210 metric horsepower (150 kW; 210 shp) for use while surfaced and two Walter gas turbines producing a total of 5,000 metric horsepower (3,700 kW; 4,900 shp) for use while submerged. She had one shaft and one 1.23 m (4 ft) propeller. The submarine had a maximum surface speed of 9 knots (17 km/h; 10 mph) and a maximum submerged speed of 25 knots (46 km/h; 29 mph) when submerged, the U-boat could operate for 127 nautical miles (235 km; 146 mi) at 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph) and when surfaced, she could travel 1.840 nautical miles (3.408 km; 2.117 mi) at 9 knots (17 km/h; 10 mph).[2]
The submarine was fitted with two 53.3 cm (21 in) torpedo tubes (All fitted at the bow) and four torpedoes. The boat had a complement of 12 men.[2][3]
Service History And End
U-792 did not undertake any combat patrols and was instead assigned as a trials boat at first to the 5th U-boat Flotilla, followed by the 8th U-boat Flotilla, before returning to the 5th flotilla for the rest of the war and was used in March 1945 as a floating fuel bunker. In December 1944, her commander was replaced by Oberleutnant zur See Hans Diederich Duis.[4]
The U-792 was scuttled on 4 May 1945 at 01:30 in the Audorfer See (Kaiser Wilhelm Canal), near Rendsburg during Operation Regenbogen.[1]
Wreck
The wreck of U-792 lay at 54°19′N 09°43′E / 54.317°N 9.717°E until 26 May 1945, when she was lifted by the British and taken to the Howaldtswerke in Kiel to be examined. She was first raised as a British prize and used for trials, but was soon torn down for parts and finally scrapped.[4]
References
- ^ a b c Helgason, Guðmundur (1995). "U-792". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 8 April 2016.
- ^ a b Gröner 1991, pp. 80–81.
- ^ "U-792 (+1945)". wrecksite.eu. 29 November 2009. Retrieved 8 April 2016.
- ^ a b Hofmann, Markus (21 September 2014). "U-792". Deutsche U-Boote 1935-1945 - u-boot-archiv.de (in German). Retrieved 8 April 2016.
Bibliography
- 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.
- Busch, Rainer; Röll, Hans-Joachim (1999). Der U-Boot-Krieg, 1939-1945: Deutsche U-Boot-Verluste von September 1939 bis Mai 1945 [German U-boat losses from September 1939 to May 1945] (in German). Vol. IV. Hamburg, Berlin, Bonn: Mittler. ISBN 3-8132-0514-2.
- 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.
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