German submarine U-372


German submarine U-372 was a Type VIIC U-boat built for Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine for service during World War II.
She was laid down on 17 November 1939 by Kriegsmarinewerft Kiel as construction number 3, launched on 8 March 1941 and commissioned on 19 April 1941 under Kapitänleutnant Heinz-Joachim Neumann.

Design

were preceded by the shorter Type VIIB submarines. U-372 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 AEG GU 460/8–27 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-372 was fitted with five torpedo tubes, 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

The boat's career began with training at 1st U-boat Flotilla on 19 April 1941, followed by active service on 1 July 1941 as part of the 1st Flotilla until 13 December 1941, whence she joined 29th U-boat Flotilla for operations in the Mediterranean.
In 6 patrols she sank 3 merchant ships, for a total of, and an auxiliary warship of.

Wolfpacks

U-372 took part in three wolfpacks, namely
U-372 was sunk on 4 August 1942 in the Mediterranean, SW of Haifa, in position, by depth charges from Royal Navy destroyers,,, and an RAF Wellington bomber. All hands survived.

Summary of raiding history

Citations