What German U-boat Sank The Most Ships?

Which German submarine sank the most ships in ww2?

Otto Kretschmer (1912–1998) was the most successful of the World War II Aces of the Deep. As commander of U-35, U-23 and U-99 he sank 47 merchant ships totalling 272,043 tons in a remarkably short period of time, being captured in March 1941 and spending the rest of the war in the Bowmanville POW camp, Canada.

What was the most successful U-boat?

By 1 August 1941, U-48 , the most successful boat of the Second World War, had sunk 56 merchant ships of 322,478 gross tons and one corvette. She was then transferred to the Baltic as a training boat. Schultze became commander of operation 3 U-Flotilla and later was appointed commander, II/Naval College Schleswig.

Which u-boat has the most kills?

U-35 alone accounted for 224 ships totaling more than 500,000 tons—most sunk by its deck gun. It averaged nine kills per patrol, making U-35 the highest-scoring submarine of either world war.

What was the deadliest U-boat in ww2?

One of Adolf Hitler’s deadly submarines, the U-505 , is seized as it makes its way home after patrolling the Gold Coast of Africa on June 4, 1944. The German submarine was the first enemy warship captured on the high seas by the U.S. Navy since the War of 1812.

Which ship sunk most U-boats?

Here’s What You Need To Remember: For almost 73 years, the USS England has set a record for most subs sunk by a single ship. That record remains unbroken. Destroyer escorts were the econo-warships of the U.S. Navy in World War II.

What was the largest German U boat?

The first Type XB was launched in May 1941. At 2,710 tonnes submerged and fully loaded, they were the largest German U-boats ever built, and they had to sacrifice diving speed and agility.

Which submarine sank the most tonnage?

With 116,454 tons sunk, the USS Tang sank the most tonnage of shipping in World War II for the United States.

How many U-boats did Canada sink?

Of the five U-boats destroyed in the mid-ocean since May, Canadians sank four . One can only wonder at what the C groups might have accomplished had they been properly equipped.

How many American ships were sunk by German U-boats?

Between this announcement and the U.S. declaration of war on April 6, Germany sank 10 U.S. merchant ships . The Housatonic, first ship sunk after the announcement of unrestricted submarine warfare was carrying wheat to the British government.

How many German submarines were lost in WWII?

THE GERMAN NAVY commenced World War II with fifty-six submarines, of which only twenty four were suitable for operations in the Atlantic. In the five and a half years of the war, German shipyards built 1,156 U-boats, of which 784 were lost from enemy action or other causes.

How many German U-boats were there in ww2?

In World War II Germany built 1,162 U-boats , of which 785 were destroyed and the remainder surrendered (or were scuttled to avoid surrender) at the capitulation. Of the 632 U-boats sunk at sea, Allied surface ships and shore-based aircraft accounted for the great majority (246 and 245 respectively).

How many German submariners died in ww2?

In the end, the U-boat fleet suffered extremely heavy casualties, losing 793 U-boats and about 28,000 submariners (a 75% casualty rate, the highest of all German forces during the war).

What captain sank the most U boats?

Has a submarine ever sunk a submarine?

While returning to Bergen, Norway to repair a misfiring engine, U-864 was detected and sunk on 9 February 1945 by the British submarine HMS Venturer , killing all 73 on board. It is the only documented instance in the history of naval warfare where one submarine intentionally sank another while both were submerged.

Was the German U-boat effective?

While their WWI fleet started out with only 38 U-boats – which were small, almost flimsy watercraft, each no larger than 1,000 tons – they proved to be tremendously effective against British warships and later against American merchant vessels, sinking more than 10,000,000 tons throughout the duration of the war.