German submarine U-806

History
Nazi Germany
Name	U-806
Ordered	10 April 1941
Builder	DeSchiMAG Seebeckwerft, Bremerhaven
Yard number	364
Laid down	27 April 1943
Launched	1943
Commissioned	29 April 1944
Fate	Surrendered on 6 May 1945; Sunk as target on 21 December 1945 in position 55°44′N 8°18′W / 55.733°N 8.300°W during Operation Deadlight;
General characteristics
Class and type	Type IXC/40 submarine
Displacement	1,144 t (1,126 long tons) surfaced; 1,257 t (1,237 long tons) submerged;
Length	76.76 m (251 ft 10 in) o/a; 58.75 m (192 ft 9 in) pressure hull;
Beam	6.86 m (22 ft 6 in) o/a; 4.44 m (14 ft 7 in) pressure hull;
Height	9.60 m (31 ft 6 in)
Draught	4.67 m (15 ft 4 in)
Installed power	2 × shafts; 4,400 PS (4,340 shp; 3,236 kW) (diesels) ; 1,000 PS (986 shp; 735 kW) (electric);
Propulsion	2 × diesel engines; 2 × double-acting electric motors;
Speed	19 knots (35 km/h; 22 mph) surfaced; 7.3 knots (13.5 km/h; 8.4 mph) submerged;
Range	13,850 nmi (25,650 km; 15,940 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) surfaced; 63 nmi (117 km; 72 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph) submerged;
Test depth	230 m (750 ft)
Complement	4 officers, 44 enlisted
Sensors and ; processing systems	FuG 200 Hohentwiel
Armament	6 × torpedo tubes (four bow, two stern); 22 × 53.3 cm (21 in) torpedoes; anti-aircraft guns´;
Service record
Part of:	4th U-boat Flotilla; 29 April – 31 October 1944; 33rd U-boat Flotilla; 1 November 1944 – 6 May 1945;
Identification codes:	M 17 549
Commanders:	Kptlt. Klaus Hornbostel; 29 April 1944 – 6 May 1945;
Operations:	1 patrol:; a. 30 October 1944 – 21 February 1945; b. 25 – 27 February 1945;
Victories:	1 warship sunk ; (672 tons); 1 merchant ship damaged ; (7,219 GRT);

German submarine U-806 was a Type IXC/40 U-boat built for Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II.

U-801 was ordered on 10 April 1941 from DeSchiMAG Seebeckwerft in Geestemünde under the yard number 364. Her keel was laid down on 27 April 1943 and the U-boat was launched sometime late in 1943. On 29 April 1944 she was commissioned into service under the command of Kapitänleutnant Klaus Hornbostel (Crew 34) in the 4th U-boat Flotilla.

Design

German Type IXC/40 submarines were slightly larger than the original Type IXCs. U-806 had a displacement of 1,144 tonnes (1,126 long tons) when at the surface and 1,257 tonnes (1,237 long tons) while submerged.^[1] The U-boat had a total length of 76.76 m (251 ft 10 in), a pressure hull length of 58.75 m (192 ft 9 in), a beam of 6.86 m (22 ft 6 in), a height of 9.60 m (31 ft 6 in), and a draught of 4.67 m (15 ft 4 in). The submarine was powered by two MAN M 9 V 40/46 supercharged four-stroke, nine-cylinder diesel engines producing a total of 4,400 metric horsepower (3,240 kW; 4,340 shp) for use while surfaced, two Siemens-Schuckert 2 GU 345/34 double-acting electric motors producing a total of 1,000 shaft horsepower (1,010 PS; 750 kW) for use while submerged. She had two shafts and two 1.92 m (6 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 18.3 knots (33.9 km/h; 21.1 mph) and a maximum submerged speed of 7.3 knots (13.5 km/h; 8.4 mph).^[1] When submerged, the boat could operate for 63 nautical miles (117 km; 72 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph); when surfaced, she could travel 13,850 nautical miles (25,650 km; 15,940 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph). U-806 was fitted with six 53.3 cm (21 in) torpedo tubes (four fitted at the bow and two at the stern), 22 torpedoes, one 10.5 cm (4.13 in) SK C/32 naval gun, 180 rounds, and a 3.7 cm (1.5 in) Flak M42 as well as two twin 2 cm (0.79 in) C/30 anti-aircraft guns. The boat had a complement of forty-eight.^[1]

Service history

After work up for deployment in the Baltic Sea, U-806 transferred to the 33rd U-boat Flotilla for front-line service on 1 November 1944. She left Kiel for her first - and only - war patrol on 30 October. On the way to her assigned operational area off Canada she stopped at Horten Naval Base and Kristiansand. While operating against convoy HX 327 in late December 1944, U-806 sank two ships, the British steamer Samtucky of 7,219 GRT, and the Canadian escort HMCS Clayoquot on 21 and 24 December respectively. An attack on another Canadian escort, HMCS Transcona, failed.

Two months later, U-806 returned to base via Norway, arriving in Flensburg on 27 February 1945. Spending the rest of the war in training, U-806 ran aground on Hatter Reef on 5 May 1945 and had to be towed free by a tug the next day. She arrived in Aarhus later that day in order to surrender to the Allies.

On 22 June 1945 the U-boat was transferred to Loch Ryan via Fredericia, Kiel, and Wilhelmshaven, arriving in Scotland on 26 June. On 21 December 1945, as part of Operation Deadlight, U-806 left Loch Ryan under tow from HMS Masterful to be sunk by ORP Błyskawica by artillery.

Summary of raiding history

Date	Ship Name	Nationality	Tonnage^{[Note 1]}	Fate^[2]
21 December 1944	Samtucky	United Kingdom	7,219	Damaged
24 December 1944	HMCS Clayoquot	Royal Canadian Navy	672	Sunk

References

Notes

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

Citations

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Gröner 1991, p. 68.
^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit by U-806". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 12 February 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). Der U-Boot-Krieg, 1939-1945: Deutsche U-Boot-Verluste von September 1939 bis Mai 1945 [German U-boat losses from September 1939 to May 1945] (in German). Vol. IV. Hamburg, Berlin, Bonn: Mittler. ISBN 3-8132-0514-2.
Gröner, Eric; Jung, Dieter; Maass, Martin (1991). German Warships 1815-1945: U-boats and Mine Warfare Vessels. Vol. 2. Translated by Thomas, Keith; Magowan, Rachel. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-593-4.

External links

Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type IXC/40 boat U-806". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 2 February 2015.

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

[FOOTNOTEGröner199168-1] Gröner 1991, p. 68.

[3] Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit by U-806". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 12 February 2014.

[1]

[Note 1]

[2]

v t e German Type IXC/40 submarines
U-167 U-168 U-169 U-170 U-183 U-184 U-185 U-186 U-187 U-188 U-189 U-190 U-191 U-192 U-193 U-194 U-525 U-526 U-527 U-528 U-529 U-530 U-531 U-532 U-533 U-534 U-535 U-536 U-537 U-538 U-539 U-540 U-541 U-542 U-543 U-544 U-545 U-546 U-547 U-548 U-549 U-550 U-801 U-802 U-803 U-804 U-805 U-806 U-841 U-842 U-843 U-844 U-845 U-846 U-853 U-854 U-855 U-856 U-857 U-858 U-865 U-866 U-867 U-868 U-869 U-870 U-877 U-878 U-879 U-880 U-881 U-889 U-1221 U-1222 U-1223 U-1224 U-1225 U-1226 U-1227 U-1228 U-1229 U-1230 U-1231 U-1232 U-1233 U-1234 U-1235
Preceded by: Type IXC Followed by: Type IXD
List of U-boats of Germany

v t e 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 23 Dec: Duncan L. Clinch 27 Dec: Empire Tigawa, U-313 28 Dec: U-680 29 Dec: USS Minivet, U-390, U-930, 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
Other incidents	11 Dec: I-201 30 Dec: Éridan
1944 1945 1946 November 1945 January 1946