German submarine U-995

*U-995*
	U-995 Type VIIC/41 at the Laboe Naval Memorial
History
Nazi Germany
Ordered:	14 October 1941
Builder:	Blohm & Voss, Hamburg
Yard number:	195
Laid down:	25 November 1942
Launched:	22 July 1943
Commissioned:	16 September 1943
Fate:	Surrendered
Norway
Name:	Kaura
Acquired:	October 1948
Commissioned:	December 1952
Decommissioned:	1965
Status:	Museum ship at Laboe Naval Memorial
General characteristics
Class and type:	Type VIIC/41 submarine
Displacement:	759 tonnes (747 long tons) surfaced; 860 t (846 long tons) submerged;
Length:	67.10 m (220 ft 2 in) o/a; 50.50 m (165 ft 8 in) pressure hull;
Beam:	6.20 m (20 ft 4 in) o/a; 4.70 m (15 ft 5 in) pressure hull;
Draught:	4.74 m (15 ft 7 in)
Installed power:	2,800–3,200 PS (2,100–2,400 kW; 2,800–3,200 bhp) (diesels); 750 PS (550 kW; 740 shp) (electric);
Propulsion:	2 shafts; 2 × diesel engines; 2 × electric motors;
Speed:	17.7 knots (32.8 km/h; 20.4 mph) surfaced; 7.6 knots (14.1 km/h; 8.7 mph) submerged;
Range:	8,500 nmi (15,700 km; 9,800 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) surfaced; 80 nmi (150 km; 92 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph) submerged;
Test depth:	230 m (750 ft); Calculated crush depth: 250–295 m (820–968 ft);
Complement:	4 officers, 40–56 enlisted
Armament:	5 × 53.3 cm (21 in) torpedo tubes (4 bow, 1 stern); 14 × torpedoes; 1 × 8.8 cm (3.46 in) deck gun (220 rounds);
Service record
Part of:	Kriegsmarine 5th U-boat Flotilla (Training), 16 September 1943 – 31 May 1944; 13th U-boat Flotilla (Front Boat), 1 June 1944 – 28 February 1945; 14th U-boat Flotilla (Front Boat), 1 March–8 May 1945;
Identification codes:	M 55 095
Commanders:	Kptlt. Walter Köhntopp, 19 September 1943 – 9 October 1944; Oblt.z.S. Hans-Georg Hess, 10 October 1944 – 8 May 1945;
Operations:	9 patrols
Victories:	3 ships sunk for 1,560 GRT; 1 auxiliary warship sunk for 633 GRT; 1 warship sunk for 105 tons; 1 ship a total loss for 7,176 GRT;

German submarine U-995 is a Type VIIC/41 U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine. She was laid down on 25 November 1942 by Blohm & Voss in Hamburg, Germany, and commissioned on 16 September 1943 with Oberleutnant zur See Walter Köhntopp in command.

Commanders

During the war U-995's commanders were:

16 September 1943 to 9 October 1944 Kapitänleutnant Walter Köhntopp
10 October 1944 to 8 May 1945 Oberleutnant zur See Hans-Georg Hess (Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross)

Design

German Type VIIC/41 submarines were preceded by the heavier Type VIIC submarines. U-995 had a displacement of 759 tonnes (747 long tons) when at the surface and 860 tonnes (850 long tons) while submerged.[1] She had a total length of 67.10 m (220 ft 2 in), a pressure hull length of 50.50 m (165 ft 8 in), a beam of 6.20 m (20 ft 4 in), a height of 9.60 m (31 ft 6 in), and a draught of 4.74 m (15 ft 7 in). The submarine was powered by two Germaniawerft F46 four-stroke, six-cylinder supercharged diesel engines producing a total of 2,800 to 3,200 metric horsepower (2,060 to 2,350 kW; 2,760 to 3,160 shp) for use while surfaced, two Brown, Boveri & Cie GG UB 720/8 double-acting electric motors producing a total of 750 metric horsepower (550 kW; 740 shp) for use while submerged. She had two shafts and two 1.23 m (4 ft) propellers. The boat was capable of operating at depths of up to 230 metres (750 ft).[1]

The submarine had a maximum surface speed of 17.7 knots (32.8 km/h; 20.4 mph) and a maximum submerged speed of 7.6 knots (14.1 km/h; 8.7 mph).[1] When submerged, the boat could operate for 80 nautical miles (150 km; 92 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph); when surfaced, she could travel 8,500 nautical miles (15,700 km; 9,800 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph). U-995 was fitted with five 53.3 cm (21 in) torpedo tubes (four fitted at the bow and one at the stern), fourteen torpedoes, and three anti-aircraft guns. The boat had a complement of between forty-four and sixty.[1]

Service history

During the war U-995 conducted 9 patrols:

16 September 1943 to 31 May 1944 5th Flotilla (training)
1 June 1944 to 28 February 1945 13th Flotilla (front boat)
1 March 1945 to 8 May 1945 14th Flotilla (front boat)

Wolfpacks

Turret logo of U-995.

U-995 took part in five wolfpacks, namely.

Dachs (1–5 September 1944)
Zorn (26 September - 1 October 1944)
Panther (16 October - 10 November 1944)
Stier (11 December 1944 – 6 January 1945)
Hagen (17–21 March 1945)

Summary of raiding history

Date	Name of ship	Flag	Tonnage[Note 1]	Fate
5 December 1944	Proletarij	Soviet Union	1,123	Sunk
21 December 1944	Reshitel'nyj	Soviet Union	20	Sunk
26 December 1944	RT-52 Som	Soviet Union	417	Sunk
29 December 1944	T-883 (No 37)	Soviet Navy	633	Sunk
2 March 1945	BO-224	Soviet Navy	105	Sunk
20 March 1945	Horace Bushnell	United States	7,176	Damaged

Fate

At the end of the war, on 8 May 1945, U-995 was stricken at Trondheim, Norway. She was surrendered to the British[2] and then transferred to Norwegian ownership in October 1948. In December 1952 U-995 became the Norwegian submarine Kaura (Norwegian K class) and in 1965 she was stricken from service by the Royal Norwegian Navy. She then was offered to the West German government for the ceremonial price of one Deutsche Mark. The offer was refused; however, the boat was saved by the German Navy League, DMB. U-995 became a museum ship at Laboe Naval Memorial in October 1971.

U-995 forward torpedo tubes
U-995 control room
U-995 hatches

U-995 diesel engine room
U-995 electric motor compartment
U-995 aft torpedo compartment

Armament

FLAK weaponry

U-995 was mounted with a single 3.7 cm Flak M42U gun on the LM 42U mount. The LM 42U mount was the most common mount used with the 3.7 cm Flak M42U. The 3.7 cm Flak M42U was the marine version of the 3.7 cm Flak and was also used by the Kriegsmarine on other Type VII and Type IX U-boats.

A single 3.7 cm Flak M42U gun on the LM 42U mount.

Additionally the boat was armed with a pair of twin Flak 38 20mm "Flakzwilling" mounts immediately adjacent to the 37mm gun mount.

Sonar

Passive sonar

U-995 was fitted with a Royal Norwegian Navy design Balkongerät sometime during the 1960s and then removed sometime between 4 November 1971 and 13 March 1972.[3]

An exterior view of a U-995 Balkongerät [4]
An interior view of a U-995 Balkongerät [4]

Other surviving U-boats

References

Notes

Merchant ship tonnages are in gross register tons. Military vessels are listed by tons displacement.

Citations

Gröner, Jung & Maass 1991, pp. 43-46.
Blair, p. 819.
Wetzel, Eckard. U-995. Motorbuch Verlag; Erw. N.-A. edition (1 November 2004). ISBN 978-3613024250.
This drawing is based foremost on the internal framing of the Type VIIC and photographs of U-995's. Its dimensions and attachment points are based principally on the external framing of the Type VIIC.

Bibliography

Clay Blair : Hitler’s U-Boat War Vol II (1998). ISBN 978-0-394-58839-1
Gröner, Erich; Jung, Dieter; Maass, Martin (1991). U-boats and Mine Warfare Vessels. German Warships 1815–1945. 2. Translated by Thomas, Keith; Magowan, Rachel. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-593-4.
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). Deutsche U-Boot-Verluste von September 1939 bis Mai 1945 [German U-boat losses from September 1939 to May 1945]. Der U-Boot-Krieg (in German). IV. Hamburg; Berlin; Bonn: Mittler. ISBN 3-8132-0514-2.

External links

Documentary about U995
Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type VIIC/41 boat U-995". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 8 December 2014.

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.

[tonnage-2] Merchant ship tonnages are in gross register tons. Military vessels are listed by tons displacement.

[FOOTNOTEGrönerJungMaass199143-46-1] Gröner, Jung & Maass 1991, pp. 43-46.

[3] Blair, p. 819.

[Balkongerät_1-4] Wetzel, Eckard. U-995. Motorbuch Verlag; Erw. N.-A. edition (1 November 2004). ISBN 978-3613024250.

[Balcongeräte-5] This drawing is based foremost on the internal framing of the Type VIIC and photographs of U-995's. Its dimensions and attachment points are based principally on the external framing of the Type VIIC.

German Type VII submarines
Type VIIA	U-27 U-28 U-29 U-30 U-31 U-32 U-33 U-34 U-35 U-36
Type VIIB	U-45 U-46 U-47 U-48 U-49 U-50 U-51 U-52 U-53 U-54 U-55 U-73 U-74 U-75 U-76 U-83 U-84 U-85 U-86 U-87 U-99 U-100 U-101 U-102
Type VIIC	U-69 U-70 U-71 U-72 U-77 U-78 U-79 U-80 U-81 U-82 U-88 U-89 U-90 U-91 U-92 U-93 U-94 U-95 U-96 U-97 U-98 U-132 U-133 U-134 U-135 U-136 U-201 U-202 U-203 U-204 U-205 U-206 U-207 U-208 U-209 U-210 U-211 U-212 U-221 U-222 U-223 U-224 U-225 U-226 U-227 U-228 U-229 U-230 U-231 U-232 U-235 U-236 U-237 U-238 U-239 U-240 U-241 U-242 U-243 U-244 U-245 U-246 U-247 U-248 U-249 U-250 U-251 U-252 U-253 U-254 U-255 U-256 U-257 U-258 U-259 U-260 U-261 U-262 U-263 U-264 U-265 U-266 U-267 U-268 U-269 U-270 U-271 U-272 U-273 U-274 U-275 U-276 U-277 U-278 U-279 U-280 U-281 U-282 U-283 U-284 U-285 U-286 U-287 U-288 U-289 U-290 U-291 U-301 U-302 U-303 U-304 U-305 U-306 U-307 U-308 U-309 U-310 U-311 U-312 U-313 U-314 U-315 U-316 U-331 U-332 U-333 U-334 U-335 U-336 U-337 U-338 U-339 U-340 U-341 U-342 U-343 U-344 U-345 U-346 U-347 U-348 U-349 U-350 U-351 U-352 U-353 U-354 U-355 U-356 U-357 U-358 U-359 U-360 U-361 U-362 U-363 U-364 U-365 U-366 U-367 U-368 U-369 U-370 U-371 U-372 U-373 U-374 U-375 U-376 U-377 U-378 U-379 U-380 U-381 U-382 U-383 U-384 U-385 U-386 U-387 U-388 U-389 U-390 U-391 U-392 U-393 U-394 U-396 U-397 U-398 U-399 U-400 U-401 U-402 U-403 U-404 U-405 U-406 U-407 U-408 U-409 U-410 U-411 U-412 U-413 U-414 U-415 U-416 U-417 U-418 U-419 U-420 U-421 U-422 U-423 U-424 U-425 U-426 U-427 U-428 U-429 U-430 U-431 U-432 U-433 U-434 U-435 U-436 U-437 U-438 U-439 U-440 U-441 U-442 U-443 U-444 U-445 U-446 U-447 U-448 U-449 U-450 U-451 U-452 U-453 U-454 U-455 U-456 U-457 U-458 U-465 U-466 U-467 U-468 U-469 U-470 U-471 U-472 U-473 U-475 U-476 U-477 U-478 U-479 U-480 U-481 U-482 U-483 U-484 U-485 U-486 U-551 U-552 U-553 U-554 U-555 U-556 U-557 U-558 U-559 U-560 U-561 U-562 U-563 U-564 U-565 U-566 U-567 U-568 U-569 U-570 U-571 U-572 U-573 U-574 U-575 U-576 U-577 U-578 U-579 U-580 U-581 U-582 U-583 U-584 U-585 U-586 U-587 U-588 U-589 U-590 U-591 U-592 U-593 U-594 U-595 U-596 U-597 U-598 U-599 U-600 U-601 U-602 U-603 U-604 U-605 U-606 U-607 U-608 U-609 U-610 U-611 U-612 U-613 U-614 U-615 U-616 U-617 U-618 U-619 U-620 U-621 U-622 U-623 U-624 U-625 U-626 U-627 U-628 U-629 U-630 U-631 U-632 U-633 U-634 U-635 U-636 U-637 U-638 U-639 U-640 U-641 U-642 U-643 U-644 U-645 U-646 U-647 U-648 U-649 U-650 U-651 U-652 U-653 U-654 U-655 U-656 U-657 U-658 U-659 U-660 U-661 U-662 U-663 U-664 U-665 U-666 U-667 U-668 U-669 U-670 U-671 U-672 U-673 U-674 U-675 U-676 U-677 U-678 U-679 U-680 U-681 U-682 U-683 U-701 U-702 U-703 U-704 U-705 U-706 U-707 U-708 U-709 U-710 U-711 U-712 U-713 U-714 U-715 U-716 U-717 U-718 U-719 U-720 U-721 U-722 U-731 U-732 U-733 U-734 U-735 U-736 U-737 U-738 U-739 U-740 U-741 U-742 U-743 U-744 U-745 U-746 U-747 U-748 U-749 U-750 U-751 U-752 U-753 U-754 U-755 U-756 U-757 U-758 U-759 U-760 U-761 U-762 U-763 U-764 U-765 U-766 U-767 U-768 U-771 U-772 U-773 U-774 U-775 U-776 U-777 U-778 U-779 U-821 U-822 U-825 U-826 U-901 U-903 U-904 U-905 U-907 U-921 U-922 U-923 U-924 U-925 U-926 U-927 U-928 U-951 U-952 U-953 U-954 U-955 U-956 U-957 U-958 U-959 U-960 U-961 U-962 U-963 U-964 U-965 U-966 U-967 U-968 U-969 U-970 U-971 U-972 U-973 U-974 U-975 U-976 U-977 U-978 U-979 U-980 U-981 U-982 U-983 U-984 U-985 U-986 U-987 U-988 U-989 U-990 U-991 U-992 U-993 U-994 U-1051 U-1052 U-1053 U-1054 U-1055 U-1056 U-1057 U-1058 U-1101 U-1102 U-1131 U-1132 U-1161 U-1162 U-1191 U-1192 U-1193 U-1194 U-1195 U-1196 U-1197 U-1198 U-1199 U-1200 U-1201 U-1202 U-1203 U-1204 U-1205 U-1206 U-1207 U-1208 U-1209 U-1210
Type VIIC/41	U-292 U-293 U-294 U-295 U-296 U-297 U-298 U-299 U-300 U-317 U-318 U-319 U-320 U-321 U-322 U-323 U-324 U-325 U-326 U-327 U-328 U-691 U-827 U-828 U-929 U-930 U-995 U-997 U-998 U-999 U-1000 U-1001 U-1002 U-1003 U-1004 U-1005 U-1006 U-1007 U-1008 U-1009 U-1010 U-1013 U-1014 U-1015 U-1016 U-1017 U-1018 U-1019 U-1020 U-1021 U-1022 U-1023 U-1024 U-1025 U-1063 U-1064 U-1065 U-1103 U-1104 U-1105 U-1106 U-1107 U-1108 U-1109 U-1110 U-1163 U-1164 U-1165 U-1166 U-1167 U-1168 U-1169 U-1170 U-1171 U-1172 U-1271 U-1272 U-1273 U-1274 U-1275 U-1276 U-1277 U-1278 U-1279 U-1301 U-1302 U-1303 U-1304 U-1305 U-1306 U-1307 U-1308
Type VIID	U-213 U-214 U-215 U-216 U-217 U-218
Type VIIF	U-1059 U-1060 U-1061 U-1062
Preceded by: Type II Followed by: Type IX List of U-boats of Germany