German submarine U-842


German submarine U-842 was a Type IXC/40 U-boat built for Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II.
U-842 was ordered on 20 January 1941 from DeSchiMAG AG Weser in Bremen under the yard number 1048. Her keel was laid down on 6 April 1942 and the U-boat was launched on 14 November the same year. She was commissioned into service under the command of Kapitänleutnant Wolfgang Heller in 4th U-boat Flotilla on 1 March 1943.

Design

German Type IXC/40 submarines were slightly larger than the original Type IXCs. U-842 had a displacement of when at the surface and while submerged. The U-boat 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 MAN M 9 V 40/46 supercharged four-stroke, nine-cylinder diesel engines producing a total of for use while surfaced, two Siemens-Schuckert 2 GU 345/34 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-842 was fitted with six torpedo tubes, 22 torpedoes, one SK C/32 naval gun, 180 rounds, and a SK C/30 as well as a C/30 anti-aircraft gun. The boat had a complement of forty-eight.

Service history

Transferred to the 2nd U-boat Flotilla, U-842 left Kiel on 14 September 1943 for Bergen where she arrived three days later. On 5 October 1943. U-842 set out for operations in the North Atlantic, where she joined operations against convoy ONS 20. The U-boat escaped an attack by one of the escorts, on 17 October unscathed, joining group Siegfried operating against convoy HX 262 on 23 October, and group Siegfried 3 on 26 October. In the final days of October, she was part of group Jahn off Newfoundland. In early November U-842 was among the U-boats of group Tirpitz attacking convoy HX 264, when she was spotted and attacked by an aircraft in the early afternoon of 6 November 1943. Second Support Group, consisting of,, and, attacked the U-boat two hours later, and after more than one hour, U-842 was sunk by depth charges from Wild Goose at, there were no survivors.