German submarine U-753
Encyclopedia
German submarine U-753 was a Type VIIC U-boat
built for the German
Kriegsmarine
for service during World War II
. Commissioned on 18 June 1941, she served with 3rd U-boat Flotilla until 30 November as a training boat, and as a front boat until 13 May 1943 under the command of Alfred Manhardt von Mannstein.
es off the coast of Cuba, killing three of her fifty-one man crew.
Two days later, E.P. Theriault, a British sailing ship, was attacked by U-753. She did not sink, however, and was taken back to Cuba and repaired.
Three days later, on the morning of the 25th, the Norwegian tanker Haakon Hauan was hit by one of U-753's torpedoes. This vessel also survived and was repaired.
The Norwegian tanker Hamlet, however, did not escape when she encountered the U-boat two days later. Three torpedoes were fired between eleven o'clock and noon. All thirty-six crewmembers survived the sinking and were rescued by nearby fishing boats.
U-753s sixth patrol had her patrolling the North Atlantic, on the European side. Twenty-five days into her forty-two day voyage on 22 February, U-753 found the ON-166 convoy in the mid-Atlantic, her target: the Norwegian Whale ship N.T. Nielsen-Alonso. The vessel had in fact been abandoned earlier that day after an attack from . U-753 fired two coups de grâce and one torpedo at the ship, failing to sink it. The submarine was forced to leave after a Corvette took notice.
aircraft of No. 423 Squadron RCAF
. After a twenty-minute exchange of fire with the aircraft, U-753 dove when the corvette joined the engagement. The aircraft dropped two depth charges immediately after. An aircraft from the escort carrier marked the location of the Submarine with smoke flares. caught up to the Drumheller and the two dropped depth charges, finally sinking U-753, all 47 crewmen were lost at sea.
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...
built for 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 It superseded the Kaiserliche Marine of World War I and the post-war Reichsmarine.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...
for service 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...
. Commissioned on 18 June 1941, she served with 3rd U-boat Flotilla until 30 November as a training boat, and as a front boat until 13 May 1943 under the command of Alfred Manhardt von Mannstein.
Service Record
On her sixty-five day fourth Patrol, U-753 sank two vessels and damaging a further two in the West Indies. Her first victim was twenty-eight days into her voyage, an American merchant vessel, the George Calvert on 20 May 1942. George Calvert was destroyed by three torpedoTorpedo
The modern torpedo is a self-propelled missile weapon with an explosive warhead, launched above or below the water surface, propelled underwater towards a target, and designed to detonate either on contact with it or in proximity to it.The term torpedo was originally employed for...
es off the coast of Cuba, killing three of her fifty-one man crew.
Two days later, E.P. Theriault, a British sailing ship, was attacked by U-753. She did not sink, however, and was taken back to Cuba and repaired.
Three days later, on the morning of the 25th, the Norwegian tanker Haakon Hauan was hit by one of U-753's torpedoes. This vessel also survived and was repaired.
The Norwegian tanker Hamlet, however, did not escape when she encountered the U-boat two days later. Three torpedoes were fired between eleven o'clock and noon. All thirty-six crewmembers survived the sinking and were rescued by nearby fishing boats.
U-753s sixth patrol had her patrolling the North Atlantic, on the European side. Twenty-five days into her forty-two day voyage on 22 February, U-753 found the ON-166 convoy in the mid-Atlantic, her target: the Norwegian Whale ship N.T. Nielsen-Alonso. The vessel had in fact been abandoned earlier that day after an attack from . U-753 fired two coups de grâce and one torpedo at the ship, failing to sink it. The submarine was forced to leave after a Corvette took notice.
Fate
U-753 set off on her seventh and final patrol on 5 May 1943. Nine days in, she was discovered ten miles away from convoy HX-237 by a SunderlandShort Sunderland
The Short S.25 Sunderland was a British flying boat patrol bomber developed for the Royal Air Force by Short Brothers. It took its service name from the town and port of Sunderland in northeast England....
aircraft of No. 423 Squadron RCAF
No. 423 Squadron RCAF
423 Maritime Helicopter Squadron is a unit of the Canadian Forces under Royal Canadian Air Force. It currently operates the Sikorsky CH-124 Sea King from CFB Shearwater in Nova Scotia, Canada.-History:...
. After a twenty-minute exchange of fire with the aircraft, U-753 dove when the corvette joined the engagement. The aircraft dropped two depth charges immediately after. An aircraft from the escort carrier marked the location of the Submarine with smoke flares. caught up to the Drumheller and the two dropped depth charges, finally sinking U-753, all 47 crewmen were lost at sea.