German submarine U-626
Encyclopedia
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German submarine U-626 was a Type VIIC U-boat
of the German
Kriegsmarine
during World War II
. The ship was built by Blohm & Voss of Hamburg, and commissioned in May 1942. She was assigned to the 5th U-boat Flotilla for basic training, and upon completion was permanently assigned to the 6th U-boat Flotilla. On 8 December 1942, U-626 under the direction of Leutnant zur See Hans-Botho Bade left Bergen, Norway
for her maiden patrol. The along with and were in the middle of escort duties near Iceland
, while U-626 was on its first patrol. On 15 December the USCGC Ingham scouted ahead of the other escorts in search of a larger convoy. The cutter made sonar contact with a "doubtful" object and dropped one 600 pound depth charge at U-626 sinking the ship and killing the crew of 47. The cutter continued on without incident, without even knowing that it sunk U-626. U-626 was the last U-boat of 1942 to be sunk by an American agency, and it was not known until after the war that Ingham had sunk U-626.
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German submarine U-626 was a Type VIIC U-boat
U-boat
U-boat is the anglicized version of the German word U-Boot , itself an abbreviation of Unterseeboot , and refers to military submarines operated by Germany, particularly in World War I and World War II...
of the German
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
Kriegsmarine
Kriegsmarine
The Kriegsmarine was the name of the German Navy during the Nazi regime . It superseded the Kaiserliche Marine of World War I and the post-war Reichsmarine. The Kriegsmarine was one of three official branches of the Wehrmacht, the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany.The Kriegsmarine grew rapidly...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. The ship was built by Blohm & Voss of Hamburg, and commissioned in May 1942. She was assigned to the 5th U-boat Flotilla for basic training, and upon completion was permanently assigned to the 6th U-boat Flotilla. On 8 December 1942, U-626 under the direction of Leutnant zur See Hans-Botho Bade left Bergen, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
for her maiden patrol. The along with and were in the middle of escort duties near Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
, while U-626 was on its first patrol. On 15 December the USCGC Ingham scouted ahead of the other escorts in search of a larger convoy. The cutter made sonar contact with a "doubtful" object and dropped one 600 pound depth charge at U-626 sinking the ship and killing the crew of 47. The cutter continued on without incident, without even knowing that it sunk U-626. U-626 was the last U-boat of 1942 to be sunk by an American agency, and it was not known until after the war that Ingham had sunk U-626.