Name U-881 Yard number 1089 Commissioned 27 May 1944 Launched 4 March 1944 Draft 4.67 m | Ordered 2 April 1942 Laid down 7 August 1943 Construction started 7 August 1943 Length 77 m Beam 6.86 m | |
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Fate sunk by USS Farquhar, 6 May 1945 Part of | ||
German submarine U-881 was a Type IXC/40 U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II. The ship was ordered on 2 April 1942, laid down on 7 August 1943, and launched on 4 March 1944. She was commissioned into the Kriegsmarine under the command of Oberleutnant zur See Dr.jur. Karl-Heinz Frischke (Crew 36) on 27 May 1944. Initially assigned to the 4th U-boat Flotilla, she was transferred to the 33rd U-boat Flotilla on 1 March 1945.
Contents
Design
German Type IXC/40 submarines were slightly larger than the original Type IXCs. U-881 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. 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).
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). 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-881 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) as well as a 2 cm (0.79 in) anti-aircraft gun. The boat had a complement of forty-eight.
Service history
For her first patrol, U-881 was assigned to operate in US coastal waters with wolfpack Seewolf. During this operation U-881 was depth charged and sunk by the American destroyer escort Farquhar on 6 May 1945 in one of the last actions in American waters of the Atlantic campaign. She sank at position 43°18′N 47°44′W with the loss of all 54 men on board.