German submarine U-432

History
Nazi Germany
NameU-432
Ordered23 September 1939
BuilderSchichau-Werke, Danzig
Yard number1473
Laid down14 January 1940
Launched3 February 1941
Commissioned26 April 1941
FateSunk in mid-Atlantic by a French ship on 11 March 1943[1]
General characteristics
Class and typeType VIIC submarine
Displacement
Length
Beam
  • 6.20 m (20 ft 4 in) o/a
  • 4.70 m (15 ft 5 in) pressure hull
Height9.60 m (31 ft 6 in)
Draught4.74 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
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)
Complement4 officers, 40–56 enlisted
Armament
Service record[2]
Part of:
Identification codes: M 41 658
Commanders:
  • Kptlt. Heinz-Otto Schultze
  • 26 April 1941 – 15 January 1943
  • Kptlt. Hermann Eckhardt
  • 16 January – 11 March 1943
Operations:
  • 8 patrols:
  • 1st patrol:
  • 25 August – 19 September 1941
  • 2nd patrol:
  • 11 October – 2 November 1941
  • 3rd patrol:
  • 10 – 23 December 1941
  • 4th patrol:
  • 21 January – 16 March 1942
  • 5th patrol:
  • 30 April – 2 July 1942
  • 6th patrol:
  • 15 August – 4 October 1942
  • 7th patrol:
  • 30 November – 5 January 1943
  • 8th patrol:
  • 14 February – 11 March 1943
Victories:
  • 20 merchant ships sunk
    (67,991 GRT)
  • 1 warship sunk
    (1,340 tons)
  • 2 merchant ships damaged
    (15,666 GRT)

German submarine U-432 was a Type VIIC U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II.

She carried out eight patrols.

She sank 20 ships and one warship. Two ships were damaged.

She was a member of seven wolfpacks.

She was sunk by a French warship in mid-Atlantic on 11 March 1943.

  1. ^ Kemp 1999, p. 106.
  2. ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type VIIC boat U-432". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 17 September 2012.