German submarine U-751
Introduction '''German submarine ''U-751''''' was a Type VIIC U-boat built for Nazi Germany's ''Kriegsmarine'' for service during World War II. Built as yard number 134 of the Kriegsmarinewerft shipyard in Wilhelmshaven, she was commissioned on 31 January 1941.She served with 7th U-boat Flotilla until 1 June as a training boat, and as an operational boat until 17 July 1942, under the command of ''Kapitänleutnant'' Gerhard Bigalk. ''U-751'' served in seven patrols with the 7th U-boat Flotilla, sinking the escort carrier . The U-boat was attacked with depth charges from aircraft on 17 July 1942 and sank with the loss of all 48 crew members.
Design German Type VIIC submarines were preceded by the shorter Type VIIB submarines. ''U-751'' 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 Brown, Boveri & Cie GG UB 720/8 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-751'' was fitted with five  torpedo tubes (four fitted at the bow and one at the stern), fourteen torpedoes, one  SK C/35 naval gun, 220 rounds, and a  C/30 anti-aircraft gun. The boat had a complement of between forty-four and sixty.
Service history ''U-751'' disabled, unable to dive and circling, apparently out of control following an attack on 17 July 1942.It was later attacked and sunk by a Lancaster of No 61 Squadron, seconded to Coastal Command.On 14 June 1941, eleven days into her thirty-three-day first patrol while ''en route'' from Kiel to St. Nazaire, ''U-751'' attacked and sank the British ship ''St Lindsay'' ().Arriving at St. Nazaire on 5 July, ''U-751'' stayed in port for thirty-four days before going on her second patrol. She attacked no ships on her second and third voyages.Five days into her fourth patrol, on 21 December 1941, ''U-751'' attacked and sank , an escort carrier attached with British convoy HG 76.On 14 January 1942, ''U-751'' left St. Nazaire on her fifth patrol, destined to return on 23 February. Nineteen days into this patrol, on February 2, ''U-751'' attacked and damaged the Dutch ship ''Corilla'', part of convoy HX 173 (). Two days later, she sank the British ship ''Silveray'', adding another  to her score. Another British ship, ''Empire Sun'', was sunk another three days later, for . The American ships ''Nicarao'' and ''Isabela'' were sunk in her sixth patrol, on 16 and 19 May 1942, totalling 1,455 and s respectively.===Wolfpacks===''U-751'' took part in six wolfpacks, namely:* West (16 – 20 June 1941)* Hammer (5 – 12 August 1941)* Grönland (12 – 27 August 1941)* Bosemüller (28 August – 2 September 1941)* Seewolf (2 – 5 September 1941)* Reissewolf (21 – 31 October 1941)
Fate After serving six operational patrols, ''U-751'' was attacked on her seventh patrol four days into her voyage on July 17, 1942.She was sunk, with all hands lost, off the coast of Cape Ortegal, Spain by depth charges from a Lancaster bomber (of No. 61 Squadron RAF) and a Whitley bomber (of No. 502 Squadron RAF).
Summary of raiding history DateShip NameNationalityTonnageFate14 June 1941''St. Lindsay''5,370Sunk21 December 194111,000Sunk2 February 1942''Corilla''8,096Damaged4 February 1942''Silveray''4,535Sunk7 February 1942''Empire Sun''6,952Sunk16 May 1942''Nicarao''1,445Sunk19 May 1942''Isabela''3,110Sunk
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