German submarine U-475

History

Nazi Germany
Name:	U-475
Ordered:	10 April 1941
Builder:	Deutsche Werke, Kiel
Yard number:	306
Laid down:	5 September 1942
Launched:	28 May 1943
Commissioned:	7 July 1943
Fate:	Scuttled, May 1945. Broken up, 1947
General characteristics
Class and type:	Type VIIC submarine
Displacement:	769 tonnes (757 long tons) surfaced 871 t (857 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
Height:	9.60 m (31 ft 6 in)
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) Crush depth: 250–295 m (820–968 ft)
Complement:	4 officers, 40–56 enlisted
Armament:	5 × 53.3 cm (21 in) torpedo tubes (four bow, one stern) 14 × torpedoes or 26 TMA mines 1 × 8.8 cm (3.46 in) deck gun (220 rounds) various AA guns
Service record^[1]
Part of:	5th U-boat Flotilla 7 July 1943 – 31 July 1944 8th U-boat Flotilla 1 August 1944 – 15 February 1945 4th U-boat Flotilla 16 February – 3 May 1945
Commanders:	Kptlt. Otto Stoeffler 7 July 1943 – 3 May 1945
Operations:	1st patrol: a. 11–29 July 1944 b. 31 July – 5 August 1944 c. 16–21 August 1944 d. 25–31 August 1944 2nd patrol: 14 October – 17 November 1944 3rd patrol: 22 November – 4 December 1944 4th patrol: 23 January – 17 March 1945
Victories:	One warship sunk, 720 tons; one warship damaged, 56 tons

German submarine U-475 was a Type VIIC U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II.

She carried out four patrols. She sank one warship and damaged another.

She was scuttled in May 1945 and broken up in 1947.

Design

German Type VIIC submarines were preceded by the shorter Type VIIB submarines. U-475 had a displacement of 769 tonnes (757 long tons) when at the surface and 871 tonnes (857 long tons) while submerged.^[2] 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 Siemens-Schuckert GU 343/38–8 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).^[2]

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).^[2] 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-475 was fitted with five 53.3 cm (21 in) torpedo tubes (four fitted at the bow and one at the stern), fourteen torpedoes, one 8.8 cm (3.46 in) SK C/35 naval gun, 220 rounds, and an anti-aircraft gun. The boat had a complement of between forty-four and sixty.^[2]

Armament

FLAK weaponry

U-475 was mounted with two 2cm Flak C38 in a M 43U Zwilling mount with short folding shield on the upper Wintergarten.^[3] The M 43U mount was used on a number of U-boats (U-190, U-249, U-250, U-278, U-337, U-853, U-1058, U-1109, U-1023, U-1105, U-1165 and U-1306).

2 cm Flak C38 in a M 43U Zwilling mount with short folding shield.

Service history

The submarine was laid down on 5 September 1942 in the Deutsche Werke, Kiel as yard number 306, launched on 28 May 1943 and commissioned on 7 July under the command of Kapitänleutnant Otto Stoeffler.

She served with the 5th U-boat Flotilla from 7 July 1941 for training and was transferred to the 8th flotilla from 1 August 1944 for operations. She was reassigned to the 4th flotilla on 16 February 1945.

1st patrol

U-475's first patrol was preceded by a short journey from Kiel in Germany to Helsinki in Finland. The patrol itself, split into four parts, commenced with her departure from Helsinki on 11 July 1944. On the 28th she damaged the Soviet patrol craft MO-107 in Viborg Bay.

2nd patrol

Her second foray was relatively uneventful - starting in Danzig (now Gdansk), on 14 October 1944 and finishing there on 17 November.

3rd patrol

The submarine steamed as far north as a point east of Stockholm before returning to Danzig (on 4 December 1944).

4th patrol

The boat's fourth sortie also started and finished in Danzig and at 54 days duration, was her longest.

Fate

U-475 had moved from Danzig to Kiel in March 1945. She was scuttled on 3 May 1945 at Kiel-Wik. The wreck was broken up in 1947.

Summary of raiding history

Date	Name	Nationality	Tonnage^{[Note 1]}	Fate^[4]
28 July 1944	MO-107	Soviet Navy	56	Damaged
31 October 1944	SB-2	Soviet Navy	720	Sunk

References

Notes

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

Citations

↑ Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type VIIC boat U-475". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 25 September 2012.
1 2 3 4 Gröner 1991, pp. 43-46.
↑ Base on war-time photographs.
↑ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit by U-475". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 28 December 2014.

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 VIIC boat U-475". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 28 December 2014.

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

Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in May 1945

Shipwrecks	1 May: Argo, TA 43, U-3006, U-3009 2 May: Admiral Hipper, USS Thornton, U-8, U-14, U-60, U-61, U-62, U-71, U-72, U-120, U-121, U-137, U-139, U-140, U-141, U-142, U-146, U-148, U-151, U-152, U-316, U-552, U-554, U-612, U-717, U-929, U-1007, U-1308, U-2327, U-2359, U-2510, U-2526, U-2527, U-2528, U-2531, U-3002, U-3016, U-3018, U-3019, U-3020, U-3021, U-3504, U-3516, U-3517, U-3521, U-3522 3 May: Arcona, Cap Arcona, Deutschland, Emden, USS Lagarto, USS Little, USS LSM(R)-195, Medusa, Nordland, Schlesien, Thielbek, U-A, U-B, U-D1, U-D2, U-D3, U-D4, U-48, U-52, U-57, U-58, U-59, U-101, U-328, U-339, U-428, U-446, U-475, U-560, U-704, U-708, U-747, U-748, U-795, U-822, U-828, U-876, U-903, U-922, U-924, U-958, U-1170, U-1192, U-1196, U-1201, U-1205, U-1210, U-1227, U-1275, U-2330, U-2332, U-2355, U-2371, U-2501, U-2503, U-2504, U-2508, U-2512, U-2519, U-2520, U-2521, U-2524, U-2533, U-2534, U-2535, U-2536, U-2539, U-2543, U-2545, U-2546, U-2548, U-2552, U-3001, U-3005, U-3010, U-3011, U-3012, U-3013, U-3014, U-3023, U-3024, U-3025, U-3026, U-3027, U-3028, U-3029, U-3031, U-3032, U-3037, U-3038, U-3039, U-3040, U-3507, U-3509, U-3511, U-3513, U-3518, U-3525, U-3530, U-4705, U-4712, Z43 4 May: USS LSM(R)-190, USS LSM(R)-194, USS Luce, USS Morrison, Orion, USS PGM-17, U-30, U-46, U-267, U-393, U-711, U-721, U-792, U-793, U-904, U-1132, U-1161, U-1168, U-1303, U-1304, U-2338, U-2540, U-3033, U-3034, U-4709, U-4711 5 May: T-36, U-17, U-38, U-236, U-290, U-349, U-351, U-370, U-397, U-534, U-579, U-733, U-746, U-750, U-794, U-827, U-999, U-1008, U-1016, U-1025, U-1056, U-1162, U-1193, U-1204, U-1207, U-1223, U-1234, U-1306, U-1405, U-2333, U-2339, U-2343, U-2346, U-2347, U-2349, U-2352, U-2357, U-2358, U-2360, U-2362, U-2364, U-2366, U-2367, U-2368, U-2369, U-2507, U-2517, U-2522, U-2525, U-2541, U-2544, U-2551, U-3015, U-3022, U-3044, U-3501, U-3510, U-3524, U-3526, U-3527, U-3528, U-3529, U-4701, U-4702, U-4703, U-4704, U-4707, U-4710 6 May: U-853, U-881, U-3523 7 May: Avondale Park,: U-1407 8 May: U-37, U-320, U-382, U-2365, U-2538, U-3030, U-3503 16 May: Haguro, Hatsutaka, U-287 18 May: USS Longshaw 20 May: U-963 24 May: HM Motor Gun Boat 2007, U-979 25 May: USS Bates, USS LSM-135 28 May: USS Drexler,

Other incidents	3 May: USS Aaron Ward 4 May: USS Sangamon 5 May: I-55 9 May: USS England, USS Oberrender 11 May: USS Bunker Hill, USS Evans, USS Hugh W. Hadley 19 May: HMS Terrapin 20 May: USS Chase, USS Thatcher,: USS Chase 25 May: USS Barry, USS Spectacle, William B. Allison 26 May: USS PC-1603 29 May: USS Shubrick 31 May: Hebrides Unknown date: Nymphe, U-1197

1944 1945 1946 April 1945 June 1945

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