- German submarine U-413
Unterseeboot 413 was a Type VIIC
submarine of theKriegsmarine . She was commissioned in mid 1942, with Oberleutnant zur See Gustav Poel in command. Poel commanded her (receiving a promotion to Kapitänleutnant) untilApril 19 ,1944 , when he was relieved by Oblt. Dietrich Sachse who commanded her until her loss.Career
"U-413" conducted eight patrols in
World War II , sinking six ships totaling of 37,985 tons.*On
November 14 ,1942 , she sank the 20,107-ton troop transport ship MV "Warwick Castle" (one of the largest sunk inWorld War II ).At 8:44 am, the ship, under Master Henry Richard Leepman-Shaw inconvoy MKF-1X was hit by one of two torpedoes fired, about 200 miles northwest ofCape Espichel ,Portugal . The U-boat hit her with two coups de grâce at 8:57 am that caused the ship to sink about one hour later. The master, 61 crew members and 34 service personnel died. 201 crew members, 29 gunners and 5 naval and 131 service personnel were rescued by HMS "Achates", HMS "Vansittart", HMCS "Louisburg", and the British motor merchant MV "Leinster". The ship had been in convoyConvoy KMF-1 forOperation Torch .*On
November 19 , 1942, "U-413" was attacked by a BritishLockheed Hudson aircraft with five bombs and was damaged so severely that she had to return to base.*On 20th Feb 1944 she sank the British 1,100 ton destroyer HMS "Warwick" off
Trevose Head , north Cornwall.Fate
"U-413" did not suffer any casualties until
August 20 ,1944 , when she was sunk in theEnglish Channel bydepth charge s from the British escort destroyer HMS "Wensleydale" and the destroyers HMS "Forester" and HMS "Vidette". 45 of her crew were killed; there was one survivor.Trivia
Neal Stephenson 's novel "Cryptonomicon " features a fictitious "U-413", a milchkuh.References
*cite web | title= Uboat.net| work= The Boats – U-413| url=http://uboat.net/boats/u413.htm| accessdate=29 March| accessyear=2007
*cite web | title= Ubootwaffe.net| work= U-413| url=http://www.ubootwaffe.net/ops/boat.cgi?boat=413| accessdate=29 March| accessyear=2007ee also
List of U-boats
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