U-47 (Typa VIIB) (1938)

The full index of our ship stamp archive
Post Reply
aukepalmhof
Posts: 7771
Joined: Thu Apr 02, 2009 1:28 am

U-47 (Typa VIIB) (1938)

Post by aukepalmhof » Mon Apr 20, 2009 9:30 pm

The vessel in the foreground of this stamp is the German submarine U-47.

Built as a submarine of the VIIB Type under yard No 583 by F.Krupp Germaniawerft AG, Kiel, for the German Navy.
21 November 1936 ordered.
27 February 1937 laid down.
29 October 1938 launched as the U-47.
Displacement 761 tons surface, 865 tons submerged, dim. 66.5 x 6.2 x 4.8m. (draught).
Powered by two 6-cyl. diesels, manufactured by Germania Werft, 1.400hp each., two electric motors, each 375hp.
Speed 17 knots surfaced, 7.6 knots submerged.
Range, by a speed of 10 knots surfaced 8.700 mile.
Armament 1 – 88mm gun and 1 Oerlikon 20mm gun. 5 torpedo tubes, four bow, one stern. Carried 14 torpedoes and 26 mines.
Maximum depth ca. 220 meter.
Crew 47.
17 December 1938 commissioned under command of Günther Prien.

After commissioned joined the 7th U-boat Flotilla
05 September 1939 she made her first kill when she sunk the British registered BOSNIA in position 45 29N 09 45W.

The U-47 became famous when on 14 October 1939 under command of Günther Prien in a daring attack she sank the battleship ROYAL OAK in Scapa Flow.
Prien described the attack as follows:
It is disgustingly light. The whole bay is lit up…
We proceed north by the coast. Two battleships are lying there at anchor, and further inshore, destroyers. Cruisers not visible, therefore attack on the big fellows. Distance apart three thousand meters. Estimated depth, seven and a half meters. Impact firing. One torpedo fired on northern ship, two on southern. After a good three and a half minutes, a torpedo detonates on the northern ship; of the other two noting is to be seen
About! Torpedo fired from stern; in the bow two tubes are loaded; three torpedoes from the bow. After three tense minutes comes the detonation on the nearer ship. There is a loud explosion, roar and rumbling. Then come columns of water.
The harbour springs to life. Destroyers are lit up, signalling starts on every side, and on land, two hundred meters away from me, cars roar along the roads.
A battleship (HMS ROYAL OAK) had been sunk, a second (actually seaplane carrier HMS PEGASUS) damaged, and the three other torpedoes have gone to blazes.

After a hero’s welcome in Germany the U-47 was used in supporting the German invasion in Norway in April 1940. She made attacks against British transports at Bygdenfjord without success.
Also an attack on HMS WARSPITE was a failure, at that time the German torpedoes did have serious problems with faulty magnetic pistols and the torpedoes were running at a deeper depth than intended.

September 1940 Germany U-boats formed the first wolf packs of the war against the Allied convoys, and the U-47 sank four ships of convoy SC2.
All together she made 10 war patrols in which she sank 30 merchant ships, one battle cruiser and damaged 8 ships.

07 March 1941 she made her last attack on the tanker TERJE VIKEN which was in convoy OB 293 in position 60 28N 13 38W together with the U-boat U-99. At that time it is given that she still was under command of Prien.
She was declared missing after 7 March 1941 in the North Atlantic near Rockall Banks in position 60 00N 19.00 W, she was lost with all hands (45).

Till today, there is not certain conformation how U-47 was lost.

Marshall Islands 1989 45c sg 249, scott 240.

Source: http://www.uboat.net Axis Submarine Successes of World war Two by Jürgen Rohwer.
The World’s Merchant Fleets by Roger Jordan. Ships of the World by Lincoln P.Paine.
Attachments
tmp3DD.jpg
U-47.jpg
U47.jpg
U47.jpeg
U47, U-592.jpg
U-47.jpg

Post Reply