German submarine U-103 (1940)

German submarine U-103 was a Type IXB U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine that operated during World War II. She was one of the most successful boats in the entire war, sinking of Allied shipping in 11 patrols, in a career lasting more than four years.

U-103 was laid down on 6 September 1939 at DeSchiMAG AG Weser in Bremen as yard number 966. She was launched on 12 April 1940 and commissioned on 5 July under the command of Korvettenkapitän Victor Schütze. After her warm-up, (designed to give her an opportunity to train and repair minor faults), she was deployed into the North Atlantic in September 1940 and saw overwhelming success, sinking 46 ships and damaging three other vessels.

Design Type IXB submarines were slightly larger than the original Type IX submarines, later designated IXA. U-103 had a displacement of when at the surface and while submerged. The U-boat had a total length of , a pressure hull length of , a beam of , a height of , and a draught of . The submarine was powered by two MAN M 9 V 40/46 supercharged four-stroke, nine-cylinder diesel engines producing a total of for use while surfaced, two Siemens-Schuckert 2 GU 345/34 double-acting electric motors producing a total of for use while submerged. She had two shafts and two propellers. The boat was capable of operating at depths of up to .

The submarine had a maximum surface speed of and a maximum submerged speed of . When submerged, the boat could operate for at ; when surfaced, she could travel at . U-103 was fitted with six torpedo tubes (four fitted at the bow and two at the stern), 22 torpedoes, one SK C/32 naval gun, 180 rounds, and a SK C/30 as well as a C/30 anti-aircraft gun. The boat had a complement of forty-eight.

Service history

First patrol The boat entered the Atlantic via the gap between the Faroe and Shetland Islands. Her first victory was sinking Nina Borthen in mid-ocean on 6 October. After being hit by a torpedo, the ship developed a list, which the crew corrected. Two more torpedoes hit the ship, which also caused a list. Another torpedo hit broke the vessel in two and she sank with all hands.

On 9 October, U-103 sank Zanes Gounaris and damaged Graigwen and Delphin. Delphin sank the next day. She sank Nora on 13 October and Thistlegarth, west northwest of Rockall, on 15 October.

U-103 docked at her new base, Lorient on the French Atlantic coast, on 19 October.

Second patrol U-103s second patrol began with her being unsuccessfully attacked by the northwest of Ireland on 11 November 1940.

She then sank Daydawn and Victoria on 21 November, Glenmoor on the 27th, and Mount Athos and on the 28th. The attacks continued with on 8 December and Empire Jaguar the next day.

The submarine returned to Lorient on 12 December.

Third patrol On 13 February 1941 Arthur F. Corwin was damaged by U-103, and sunk by later that day. On 19 February U-103 sank the Norwegian motor ship Benjamin Franklin. The Flower-class corvette HMS Pimpernel rescued seven survivors, and landed them at Liverpool. The Egyptian steamship Memphis rescued 29 of her crew, but on 28 February Memphis suffered engine failure and sank with all hands.

Fourth patrol U-103s fourth patrol was off the coast of West Africa. At 103 days, it was her longest patrol. She sank Polyana southwest of the Cape Verde Islands on 24 April 1941. The ship sank with all hands in one minute.

U-103 sank Samsø, Wray Castle, Surat and Dunkwa in the first week of May. When Dunkwa sank, U-103s crew saw that there were 39 survivors in one lifeboat. The U-boat crew righted another boat and provided drinking water.

On 25 May, she sank the cargo ship Radames off the coast of Liberia. The sinking of the Radames was filmed, and is often shown on documentaries about the Battle of the Atlantic.

U-103 sank another seven ships off the African coast before returning to Lorient on 12 July.

Fifth patrol U-103s fifth patrol was in the North Atlantic. It sank Niceto de Larrinaga, Edward Blyden and Lapwing west of the Canary Islands on 22 September 1941.

Sixth patrol The U-boat's sixth patrol was part of Operation Drumbeat, off the Atlantic coast of the USA. She sank W. L. Stead about off the Delaware River on 2 February 1942. The torpedo hit set the ship on fire but wave action soon extinguished it. Using her deck gun, U-103 fired 83 rounds, scoring 17 hits and reigniting the fire. She fired a further two torpedoes. The second missed, but the third detonated the tanker's cargo, sending flames into the air.

U-103 also sank San Gil on 4 February, and both India Arrow and the next day.

Seventh patrol U-103 began her seventh patrol by leaving Lorient on 15 April 1942. She sank Stanbank northeast of Bermuda on 5 May. She continued to the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico, where she sank another eight merchant ships that month. U-103 returned to Lorient on 22 June.

Eighth patrol U-103 sank Tasmania north of Madeira on 31 October 1942, and in mid-Atlantic northwest of the Azores on 6 December. She captured Henry Stanleys Master. He was eventually sent to the Milag Nord internment camp for merchant seamen.

U-103 also damaged Horata north of the Azores on 13 December.

Ninth and tenth patrols On her ninth patrol U-103 sank no ships. She searched the Atlantic off Spain as far west as the Azores and as far south as Morocco, but found no convoys. Having left Lorient on 7 February 1943, she returned there on 26 March.

On U-103S tenth patrol, on 27 April a Vickers Wellington of No. 172 Squadron RAF equipped with a Leigh Light attacked her. The aircraft found the U-boat with its radar, and dropped six depth charges, but caused no damage. A Whitley bomber of No. 10 OTU (Operational Training Unit) attacked U-103 on 22 May. U-103 returned fire, preventing the aircraft from dropping its depth charges. Plane and submarine both returned safely to their bases.

11th patrol U-103s last operational patrol was officially divided into two parts; the first of which saw her arrive in Brest in France only two days after her departure from Lorient. She then returned to the west African coast but without repeating her earlier success. She sailed to Norway via a reverse in the course of her first patrol and arrived at Bergen on 1 January 1944.

Fate U-103 left Bergen on 3 January 1944 and reached Kiel on the 7th. In March she was taken out of service and used as a Schulboot (training boat). She went from Gotenhafen to Hamburg in January 1945, and in April from Hamburg back to Kiel. On 3 May 1945 she was scuttled at Kiel.

Wolfpacks U-103 took part in nine wolfpacks, namely: Störtebecker (5 – 7 November 1941) Streitaxt (29 October – 2 November 1942) Schlagetot (9 – 21 November 1942) Westwall (21 November – 16 December 1942) Robbe (16 February – 12 March 1943) Wohlgemut (12 – 19 March 1943) Amsel 4 (4 – 6 May 1943) Rhein (7 – 10 May 1943) Elbe 2 (10 – 14 May 1943)

Summary of raiding history Date Ship Nationality TonnageMerchant ship tonnages are in gross register tons. Military vessels are listed by tons displacement. Fate6 October 1940Nina Borthen6,123Sunk9 October 1940Delphin3,816Sunk9 October 1940Graigwen3,697Damaged9 October 1940Zannes Gounaris4,407Sunk13 October 1940Nora1,186Sunk15 October 1940Thislegarth4,747Sunk21 November 1940Daydawn4,768Sunk21 November 1940Victoria6,085Sunk27 November 1940Glenmoor4,393Sunk28 November 1940Mount Athos3,578Sunk28 November 19404,940Sunk8 December 19409,515Sunk9 December 1940Empire Jaguar5,186Sunk13 February 1941Arthur F. Corwin10,516Damaged17 February 1941Edwy R. Brown10,455Sunk18 February 19415,459Sunk19 February 1941Benjamin Franklin7,034Sunk25 April 1941Polyana2,267Sunk1 May 1941Samsø1,494Sunk3 May 1941Wray Castle4,253Sunk6 May 1941Dunkwa4,752Sunk6 May 1941Surat5,529Sunk9 May 1941City of Winchester7,120Sunk11 May 1941City of Shanghai5,828Sunk22 May 1941British Grenadier6,857Sunk24 May 1941Marionga4,236Sunk25 May 1941Radames3,575Sunk25 May 1941Wangi Wangi7,789Sunk8 June 1941Elmdene4,853Sunk29 June 1941Erani6,619Sunk22 September 1941Edward Blyden5,003Sunk22 September 1941Niceto de Larringa5,591Sunk26 September 1941Lapwing1,348Sunk2 February 19426,182Sunk4 February 19428,327Sunk4 February 1942San Gil3,627Sunk5 February 19428,403Sunk5 February 1942Stanbank5,966Sunk17 May 1942Ruth Lykes2,612Sunk19 May 1942Ogontz5,037Sunk21 May 1942Clare3,372Sunk21 May 1942Elizabeth4,727Sunk23 May 19426,625Sunk24 May 1942Hector1,828Sunk26 May 1942Alcoa Carrier5,588Sunk28 May 1942New Jersey6,414Sunk31 October 1942Tasmania6,405Sunk6 December 19425,025Sunk13 December 1942Horata13,945Damaged

German submarine U-103 (1940)

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