German submarine U-615

History
Nazi Germany
Name	U-615
Ordered	15 August 1940
Builder	Blohm & Voss, Hamburg
Yard number	591
Laid down	20 May 1941
Launched	8 February 1942
Commissioned	26 March 1942
Fate	Sunk in the Caribbean Sea on 7 August 1943
General characteristics
Class and type	Type VIIC submarine
Displacement	769 t (757 long tons); 871 t (857 long tons) submerged; 1,070 t (1,053 long tons) total;
Length	67.10 m (220 ft 2 in) total; 50.50 m (165 ft 8 in) pressure hull;
Beam	6.20 m (20 ft 4 in) total; 4.70 m (15 ft 5 in) pressure hull;
Draught	4.74 m (15 ft 7 in)
Propulsion	Diesel-electric; 3,200 PS (2,354 kW; 3,156 shp) surfaced; 750 PS (552 kW; 740 shp) submerged;
Speed	17.7 knots (32.8 km/h; 20.4 mph) surfaced; 7.66 knots (14.19 km/h; 8.81 mph) submerged;
Range	13,700 nmi (25,400 km; 15,800 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) surfaced; 125 nmi (232 km; 144 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph) submerged;
Test depth	220 m (721 ft 9 in)
Complement	4 officers, 40–56 enlisted44-52 men
Armament	5 × 53.3 cm (21 in) torpedo tubes (four bow, one stern); 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:	8th U-boat Flotilla; 26 March – 31 August 1942; 3rd U-boat Flotilla; 1 September 1942 – 7 August 1943;
Identification codes:	M 45 089
Commanders:	Kptlt. Ralph Kapitzky ; 26 March 1942 – 7 August 1943;
Operations:	4 patrols:; 1st patrol:; 5 September – 30 October 1942; 2nd patrol:; 25 November 1942 – 9 January 1943 ; 3rd patrol:; 18 February – 20 April 1943 ; 4th patrol:; 12 June – 7 August 1943;
Victories:	4 merchant ships sunk ; (27,231 GRT)

German submarine U-615 was a Type VIIC U-boat of the German Navy (Kriegsmarine) for service during World War II.^[2]

Commissioned on 26 March 1942, and commanded by Kapitänleutnant Ralph Kapitzky, she was depth charged and sunk in the Caribbean Sea, north of Porlamar on 7 August 1943,^[3] in position 12°38′N 64°15′W / 12.633°N 64.250°W / 12.633; -64.250, by US 6 Mariner and 1 Ventura aircraft. It was the largest aircraft hunt ever mounted for a single U-boat. Of her crew 4 (including her captain) were killed, and 43 survived.

^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type VIIC boat U-615". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 1 September 2014.
^ Cite error: The named reference Kelshell2003 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Cite error: The named reference Heden2006 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[uboatnet-1] Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type VIIC boat U-615". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 1 September 2014.

[Kelshell2003-2] Cite error: The named reference Kelshell2003 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[Heden2006-3] Cite error: The named reference Heden2006 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

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History

Nazi Germany
Name	U-615
Ordered	15 August 1940
Builder	Blohm & Voss, Hamburg
Yard number	591
Laid down	20 May 1941
Launched	8 February 1942
Commissioned	26 March 1942
Fate	Sunk in the Caribbean Sea on 7 August 1943
General characteristics
Class and type	Type VIIC submarine
Displacement	769 t (757 long tons) 871 t (857 long tons) submerged 1,070 t (1,053 long tons) total
Length	67.10 m (220 ft 2 in) total 50.50 m (165 ft 8 in) pressure hull
Beam	6.20 m (20 ft 4 in) total 4.70 m (15 ft 5 in) pressure hull
Draught	4.74 m (15 ft 7 in)
Propulsion	Diesel-electric 3,200 PS (2,354 kW; 3,156 shp) surfaced 750 PS (552 kW; 740 shp) submerged
Speed	17.7 knots (32.8 km/h; 20.4 mph) surfaced 7.66 knots (14.19 km/h; 8.81 mph) submerged
Range	13,700 nmi (25,400 km; 15,800 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) surfaced 125 nmi (232 km; 144 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph) submerged
Test depth	220 m (721 ft 9 in)
Complement	4 officers, 40–56 enlisted44-52 men
Armament	5 × 53.3 cm (21 in) torpedo tubes (four bow, one stern) 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^[1]
Part of:	8th U-boat Flotilla 26 March – 31 August 1942 3rd U-boat Flotilla 1 September 1942 – 7 August 1943
Identification codes:	M 45 089
Commanders:	Kptlt. Ralph Kapitzky 26 March 1942 – 7 August 1943
Operations:	4 patrols: 1st patrol: 5 September – 30 October 1942 2nd patrol: 25 November 1942 – 9 January 1943 3rd patrol: 18 February – 20 April 1943 4th patrol: 12 June – 7 August 1943
Victories:	4 merchant ships sunk (27,231 GRT)