German submarine U-431

History

Nazi Germany
Name	U-431
Ordered	23 September 1939
Builder	Schichau-Werke, Danzig
Yard number	1472
Laid down	4 January 1940
Launched	2 February 1941
Commissioned	5 April 1941
Fate	Sunk on 21 October 1943 near Algiers at position 37°23′N 00°35′E / 37.383°N 0.583°E / 37.383; 0.583 by depth charges from a RAF Wellington bomber of 179 Squadron. All hands were lost.
General characteristics
Class & type	Type VIIC submarine
Displacement	769 tonnes (757 long tons) surfaced 871 t (857 long tons) submerged
Length	67.10 m (220 ft 2 in) o/a 50.50 m (165 ft 8 in) pressure hull
Beam	6.20 m (20 ft 4 in) o/a 4.70 m (15 ft 5 in) pressure hull
Height	9.60 m (31 ft 6 in)
Draught	4.74 m (15 ft 7 in)
Installed power	2,800–3,200 PS (2,100–2,400 kW; 2,800–3,200 bhp) (diesels) 750 PS (550 kW; 740 shp) (electric)
Propulsion	2 shafts 2 × diesel engines 2 × electric motors
Speed	17.7 knots (32.8 km/h; 20.4 mph) surfaced 7.6 knots (14.1 km/h; 8.7 mph) submerged
Range	8,500 nmi (15,700 km; 9,800 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) surfaced 80 nmi (150 km; 92 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph) submerged
Test depth	230 m (750 ft) Crush depth: 250–295 m (820–968 ft)
Complement	4 officers, 40–56 enlisted
Armament	4 × 53.3 cm (21 in) torpedo tubes in the bow 14 × torpedoes or 26 TMA mines 1 × 8.8 cm (3.46 in) deck gun (220 rounds) 1 x 2 cm (0.79 in) C/30 AA gun
Service record
Part of:	3rd U-boat Flotilla 5 April – 31 December 1941 29th U-boat Flotilla 1 January 1942 – 21 October 1943
Identification codes:	M 40 228
Commanders:	Kptlt. Wilhelm Dommes 5 April 1941 – 6 January 1943 Oblt.z.S. Dietrich Schöneboom 15 December 1942 – 21 October 1943
Operations:	16 patrols: 1st patrol: 10 July – 11 August 1941 2nd patrol: 13 September – 12 October 1941 3rd patrol: a. 16 November – 20 December 1941 b. 18 – 22 January 1942 4th patrol: 25 January – 10 February 1942 5th patrol: 18 March – 15 April 1942 6th patrol: 14 – 30 May 1942 7th patrol: 4 – 20 June 1942 8th patrol: 2 – 27 September 1942 9th patrol: 29 September – 4 November 1942 10th patrol: 7 – 22 November 1942 11th patrol: 7 January – 8 February 1943 12th patrol: 11 – 29 March 1943 13th patrol: 20 – 29 May 1943 14th patrol: 5 – 27 June 1943 15th patrol: 9 August – 1 September 1943 16th patrol: 26 September – 21 October 1943
Victories:	6 merchant ships sunk (7,679 GRT) 2 warships sunk (3,548 tons) 1 auxiliary warship sunk (313 GRT) 1 merchant ship damaged (3,560 GRT) 1 warship damaged (450 tons)

German submarine U-431 was a Type VIIC U-boat built for Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine for service during World War II. She was laid down on 4 January 1940 by Schichau-Werke in Danzig as yard number 1472, launched on 2 February 1941 and commissioned on 5 April 1941 under Kapitänleutnant Wilhelm Dommes (Knight's Cross).