German submarine U-309

Unterseeboot 309 (usually abbreviated to U-309) was a German U-boat built during World War II. She saw service in the Atlantic Ocean, and sank the freighter SS Samneva of 7,219 tons in her eleven mostly uneventful war patrols. Built in 1942 at Lübeck, "U-309" was a VIIC type submarine, capable of lengthy ocean patrols and of operating in distant environments.

Fate

On the 16 February 1945 she was shadowing allied convoy WN-74 into the Moray Firth when the ASDIC on the Canadian frigate HMCS St. John detected her. The first attack on "U-309" produced some oil on the surface. Two further attacks were carried out using the hedgehog anti submarine mortar weapons system, this produced further oil. The fourth attack using depth charges produced wreckage including charts, signal books and cork insulation material. "U-309" was lost at position coord|58|09|N|02|23|W|type:landmark_region:XZ|display=inline,title with all hands.

Discovery

The wreck of this boat has almost certainly been discovered in early 2001 off the east coast of Scotland.

References

* [http://www.uboat.net/boats/u309.htm U-boat.net webpage for "U-309"]
* [http://www.scapaflow.com/u309.html Photos of "U-309" wreckage]

See Also: List of U-boats