German submarine U-149 (1940)

For other ships with the same name, see German submarine U-149.

History

Nazi Germany
Name:	U-149
Ordered:	25 September 1939
Builder:	Deutsche Werke, Kiel
Laid down:	25 May 1940
Launched:	19 October 1940
Commissioned:	13 November 1940
Fate:	Surrendered on 5 May 1945 at Heligoland
General characteristics
Class and type:	IID
Type:	Coastal submarine
Displacement:	314 t (309 long tons) surfaced 364 t (358 long tons) submerged
Length:	43.97 m (144 ft 3 in) o/a 29.80 m (97 ft 9 in) pressure hull
Beam:	4.92 m (16 ft 2 in) o/a 4.00 m (13 ft 1 in) pressure hull
Height:	8.40 m (27 ft 7 in)
Draught:	3.93 m (12 ft 11 in)
Installed power:	700 PS (510 kW; 690 bhp) (diesels) 410 PS (300 kW; 400 shp) (electric)
Propulsion:	2 shafts 2 × diesel engines 2 × electric motors
Range:	3,450 nmi (6,390 km; 3,970 mi) at 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph) surfaced 56 nmi (104 km; 64 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph) submerged
Test depth:	80 m (260 ft)
Complement:	3 officers, 22 men
Armament:	3 × 53.3 cm (21 in) torpedo tubes 5 × torpedoes or up to 12 TMA or 18 TMB 1 × 2 cm (0.79 in) C/30 anti-aircraft gun
Service record^[1]^[2]
Part of:	1st U-boat Flotilla 30 October - 31 December 1940 22nd U-boat Flotilla 1 January - 21 June 1941 22nd U-boat Flotilla 22 June 1941 - 31 August 1941 22nd U-boat Flotilla 1 September 1941 - 8 May 1945
Commanders:	Kptlt. Horst Höltring 13 November 1940 - 30 November 1941 Kptlt. Rolf Borchers 1 December 1941 - 31 July 1942 Oblt.z.S. Adolf-Whilhelm von Hammerstein-Equord 1 August 1942 - 14 May 1944 Oblt.z.S. Helmut Plohr 15 May 1944 - 8 May 1945
Operations:	Patrol: 18 June -11 July 1941
Victories:	One warship sunk

German submarine U-149 was a Type IID U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II. Her keel was laid down on 25 May 1940 by Deutsche Werke in Kiel as yard number 278. She was launched on 19 October 1940 and commissioned on 13 November with Kapitänleutnant Horst Höltring in command.

U-146 began her service life with the 1st U-boat Flotilla. She was then assigned to the 22nd flotilla, where she remained for the rest of the war, including time on a single patrol.

She surrendered in May 1945 and was sunk as part of Operation Deadlight in December.

Design

German Type IID submarines were enlarged versions of the original Type IIs. U-149 had a displacement of 314 tonnes (309 long tons) when at the surface and 364 tonnes (358 long tons) while submerged. Officially, the standard tonnage was 250 long tons (250 t), however.^[3] The U-boat had a total length of 43.97 m (144 ft 3 in), a pressure hull length of 29.80 m (97 ft 9 in), a beam of 4.92 m (16 ft 2 in), a height of 8.40 m (27 ft 7 in), and a draught of 3.93 m (12 ft 11 in). The submarine was powered by two MWM RS 127 S four-stroke, six-cylinder diesel engines of 700 metric horsepower (510 kW; 690 shp) for cruising, two Siemens-Schuckert PG VV 322/36 double-acting electric motors producing a total of 410 metric horsepower (300 kW; 400 shp) for use while submerged. She had two shafts and two 0.85 m (3 ft) propellers. The boat was capable of operating at depths of up to 80–150 metres (260–490 ft).^[3]

The submarine had a maximum surface speed of 12.7 knots (23.5 km/h; 14.6 mph) and a maximum submerged speed of 7.4 knots (13.7 km/h; 8.5 mph).^[3] When submerged, the boat could operate for 35–42 nautical miles (65–78 km; 40–48 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph); when surfaced, she could travel 3,800 nautical miles (7,000 km; 4,400 mi) at 8 knots (15 km/h; 9.2 mph). U-149 was fitted with three 53.3 cm (21 in) torpedo tubes at the bow, five torpedoes or up to twelve Type A torpedo mines, and a 2 cm (0.79 in) anti-aircraft gun. The boat had a complement of 25.^[3]

Operational career

U-149's one patrol was carried out within the confines of the Baltic Sea, but she did sink the Soviet submarine M-99 on 27 July 1941, north-west of Dagö Island before returning to her base at Gotenhafen, (now Gdynia in modern Poland).

Fate

The boat surrendered at the German island of Heligoland on 5 May 1945. She was transferred from Wilhelmshaven to Loch Ryan in preparation for Operation Deadlight and was sunk on 21 December 1945 at 55°40′N 08°00′W / 55.667°N 8.000°W / 55.667; -8.000.

Summary of raiding history

Date	Ship	Nationality	Tonnage^{[Note 1]}	Fate
27 June 1941	M-99	Soviet Navy	206	Sunk

References

Notes

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

Citations

↑ Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type IID boat U-149". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net uboat.net. Retrieved 15 July 2012.
↑ Helgason, Guðmundur. "War Patrols by German U-boat U-149". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 15 July 2012.
1 2 3 4 Gröner 1991, pp. 39–40.

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). 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.
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.

External links

Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type IID boat U-149". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
Hofmann, Markus. "U 149". Deutsche U-Boote 1935-1945 - u-boot-archiv.de (in German). Retrieved 30 January 2015.

German Type II submarines

Type IIA	U-1 U-2 U-3 U-4 U-5 U-6

Type IIB	U-7 U-8 U-9 U-10 U-11 U-12 U-13 U-14 U-15 U-16 U-17 U-18 U-19 U-20 U-21 U-22 U-23 U-24 U-120 U-121

Type IIC	U-56 U-57 U-58 U-59 U-60 U-61 U-62 U-63

Type IID	U-137 U-138 U-139 U-140 U-141 U-142 U-143 U-144 U-145 U-146 U-147 U-148 U-149 U-150 U-151 U-152

Preceded by: Type I Followed by: Type VII List of U-boats of Germany

Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in December 1945

Shipwrecks	1 Dec: USS Bellona, U-826, U-1004, U-1061, U-1104 3 Dec: U-994 4 Dec: U-218, U-299, U-539, U-777 5 Dec: U-1005 7 Dec: U-245, U-907, U-1019 8 Dec: U-485, U-773, U-775, U-1203, U-1271, U-1272 9 Dec: U-532, U-1052, U-1307 11 Dec: U-716, U-978, U-991, U-1163 13 Dec: Empire Tigaven, HMS N 86, U-255, U-293, U-295, U-760, U-997, U-1002 16 Dec: U-483, U-739, U-928, U-992, U-1009, U-1301 17 Dec: U-368, U-779, U-956, U-1198, U-1230 20 Dec: U-291 21 Dec: U-149, U-150, U-155, U-318, U-427, U-637, U-720, U-806, U-1102, U-1110 22 Dec: U-143, U-145, U-1194, U-2354 27 Dec: Empire Tigawa, U-313 28 Dec: U-680 29 Dec: USS Minivet, U-390, U-1022, U-1233 30 Dec: Lambridge, U-1103, U-1165 31 Dec: U-294, U-363, U-668, U-802, U-861, U-874, U-875, U-883, U-2341 Unknown date: USS Industry

1944 1945 1946 November 1945

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