German submarine U-390


German submarine U-390 was a Type VIIC U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II.
She carried out three patrols before being sunk by British warships 5 July 1944 in the English Channel.
She was a member of four wolfpacks.
She sank one auxiliary warship of.

Design

German Type VIIC submarines were preceded by the shorter Type VIIB submarines. U-390 had a displacement of when at the surface and while submerged. She had a total length of, a pressure hull length of, a beam of, a height of, and a draught of. The submarine was powered by two Germaniawerft F46 four-stroke, six-cylinder supercharged diesel engines producing a total of for use while surfaced, two Garbe, Lahmeyer & Co. RP 137/c double-acting electric motors producing a total of for use while submerged. She had two shafts and two propellers. The boat was capable of operating at depths of up to.
The submarine had a maximum surface speed of and a maximum submerged speed of. When submerged, the boat could operate for at ; when surfaced, she could travel at. U-390 was fitted with five torpedo tubes, fourteen torpedoes, one SK C/35 naval gun, 220 rounds, and two twin C/30 anti-aircraft guns. The boat had a complement of between forty-four and sixty.

Service history

The submarine was laid down on 6 December 1941 at the Howaldtswerke yard at Kiel as yard number 21, launched on 23 January 1943 and commissioned on 13 March under the command of Oberleutnant zur See Heinz Geissler.
After commissioning, U-390 joined the 5th U-boat Flotilla based at Kiel for training the ship's crew, while in September that year, the submarine took part in experimental trials in the Baltic Sea.

First patrol

In December 1943, the submarine transferred to the operational 7th U-boat Flotilla. On 2 December, the submarine left Kiel, arriving at Bergen, Norway, on 5 December, and leaving Bergen for the Atlantic on 7 December. From 22 December, U-390 joined the patrol group Rüugen, operating to the west of Ireland. The Rügen group comprised six smaller groups in order to prevent their operating area from being deduced, with U-390 forming part of sub-group Rügen 3. On 7 January, the small groups were ordered to separate, with the Rügen boats being deployed, singly, in a long line in the Western Approaches. On 19 January, U-390 fired four torpedoes at ships south west of Rockall, but this attack failed. On 26 January, U-390 joined another patrol line, Stürmer, north west of the North Channel, aiming to attack a convoy outbound from Britain, but on 29 January, all submarines in the North Atlantic, including U-390 were ordered to intercept a potential invasion force which a German aircraft had reported as heading for Bordeaux. Shortly afterwards, however, this diversion was cancelled when it was confirmed that the alleged invasion force was in fact a group of Spanish fishing trawlers. U-390 arrived at her new base of St. Nazaire in occupied France on 13 February 1944.

Second patrol

On 21 June 1944, U-390, recently fitted with a schnorkel, set out from Saint-Nazaire on a mission to carry ammunition to Cherbourg, cut off by the Allied advance after the Normandy landings. On 23 June, after the American advance on Cherbourg made the supply mission untenable, the mission was cancelled. U-390 arrived at Brest on 24 June, where torpedoes were loaded.

Third patrol and loss

On 27 June, U-390 left Brest for operations against invasion shipping. Early on 5 July 1944, the submarine encountered an England-bound convoy north-east of Barfleur, firing two torpedoes, which probably sank the British anti-submarine trawler and damaged the American transport Sea Porpoise. Soon afterwards, the frigate, part of the convoy's escort, detected U-390 on sonar and attacked with depth charges, and then, together with the destroyer, carried out a series of depth charge and Hedgehog attacks, which destroyed the submarine. A single member of U-390s crew, the submarine's Chief Engineer, escaped using Escape breathing apparatus and was rescued by Tavy. Forty-eight men were killed in U-390.

Wolfpacks

U-390 took part in four wolfpacks, namely:
  • Coronel 2
  • Rügen 3
  • Rügen
  • Stürmer