Unterseeboot 33 (1936)
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| U-33 | |
|---|---|
| Country | Nazi Germany |
| Branch | Kriegsmarine |
| Type | VIIA |
| Fieldpost number | M 28 962 |
| Shipyard | Germaniawerft, Kiel |
| Yard number | 556 |
| Ordered | March 25, 1935 |
| Laid down | September 1, 1935 |
| Launched | June 11, 1936 |
| Commissioned | July 25, 1936 |
| Career | |
| Patrols | 3 |
| Flotillas | 2. Unterseebootsflottille |
| Commanders | Ottoheinrich Junker Kurt Freiwald Hans-Wilhelm von Dresky |
| Successes | |
| 10 ships sunk for a total of 19.261 GRT 1 ship a total loss for a total of 3.670 GRT |
|
| Fate | |
| Sunk February 12, 1940 in the Firth of Clyde. 25 dead and 17 survivors. | |
Unterseeboot 33 (also known as U-33) was a Type VIIA U-boat of the Kriegsmarine.
Her keel was laid down September 1, 1935 by Germaniawerft, Kiel. She was launched on June 11, 1936 and commissioned on July 25, 1936 with Ottoheinrich Junker in command. On November 22, 1936 Junker was relieved by Kurt Freiwald, and on October 29, 1938 Kapitänleutnant Hans-Wilhelm von Dresky took over and commanded the boat until her loss.
From the survivors, rotors from the Kriegsmarine's Enigma machine were captured, the wirings of which were at that time unknown to British codebreakers at Bletchley Park.
Contents |
[edit] Career
In just 3 patrols, U-33 sank 10 ships for a total of 19,261 GRT.
- On November 20, 1939 she sank 3 British steam trawlers near Tory Island with about five rounds from the deck gun : At 10:30 am, the SS Thomas Hankins 14 miles northwest of Tory, at 4:00 pm the SS Delphine 18 miles north-northeast of Tory and at 5:05 pm the SS Sea Sweeper 25 miles west-northwest of Tory. The crew of Thomas Hankins under Master M. Hankins was rescued by another trawler 10 hours later in a lifeboat and landed in Northern Ireland. They reported that they had been shelled without warning. The second shell went through the bows and the fifth through the boiler, causing the trawler to sink in about 25 minutes.
[edit] Fate
In February 1940, then captained by Hans-Wilhelm von Dresky, the U-33 had been ordered to lay mines in the Firth of Clyde, Scotland. However, Minesweeper HMS Gleaner detected the U-boat on February 12, 1940 and dropped depth charges over a period of several hours. Eventually, the damaged U-33 was forced to surface and the crew abandoned the ship, which sank soon after. 25 men died while 17 survived. Before the ship was abandoned, the U-boat's secret Enigma rotors were distributed amongst a few of the crew, who were instructed to release them into the sea to avoid capture. This was not done, however, and as a result the British captured three rotors, including two rotors (VI and VII) used only by the Kriegsmarine for which the wiring was then unknown.
[edit] References
- David Kahn, Seizing the Enigma, 1991, pp. 104-112.
- Hugh Sebag-Montefiore, "Enigma: The Battle for the Code", 2000, pp. 67-77, ISBN 0-7538-1130-8
[edit] External links
- uboat.net webpage for U-33
- ubootwaffe.net webpage about U-33
- u-boot-archiv.de webpage for U-33
- webpage about the sinking of U-33
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