Name U-449 Yard number 1520 Commissioned 22 August 1942 Launched 13 June 1942 Draft 4.74 m | Ordered 21 November 1940 Laid down 13 June 1941 Construction started 13 June 1941 Length 67 m Beam 6.18 m | |
Fate Sunk by British warships northwest of Cape Ortegal, June 1943 Part of 8th U-boat Flotilla, 7th U-boat Flotilla | ||
German submarine U-449 was a Type VIIC U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II.
Contents
She carried out one patrol. She sank no ships.
She was sunk by British warships northwest of Cape Ortegal, Spain in June 1943.
Design
German Type VIIC submarines were preceded by the shorter Type VIIB submarines. U-449 had a displacement of 769 tonnes (757 long tons) when at the surface and 871 tonnes (857 long tons) while submerged. 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 AEG GU 460/8–27 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).
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). 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-449 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.
Service history
The submarine was laid down on 17 July 1941 at Schichau-Werke in Danzig (now Gdansk) as yard number 1520, launched on 13 June 1942 and commissioned on 22 August under the command of Oberleutnant zur See Hermann Otto.
The U-449 served with the 8th U-boat Flotilla from 22 August 1942 for training and the 7th flotilla from 1 May 1943 for operations.
Patrol and loss
U-432's only patrol began with her departure from Kiel in Germany on 1 June 1942. She headed for the Atlantic Ocean, via the gap separating Iceland and the Faroe Islands. On the 14th, she was attacked in mid-Atlantic by a British B-24 Liberator of No. 120 Squadron RAF. The damage caused was slight.
On 24 June, no less than four British sloops were responsible for her doom. HMS Wren, Woodpecker, Kite and Wild Goose dropped a relentless wave of depth charges which sealed the U-boat's fate.
Forty-nine men went down with U-449; there were no survivors.