German submarine U-73 (1940)

History
Nazi Germany
Name	U-73
Ordered	2 June 1938
Builder	Vegesacker Werft
Yard number	1[1]
Laid down	5 November 1939
Launched	27 July 1940[1]
Commissioned	30 September 1940[1]
Fate	Sunk, 16 December 1943, by USS Woolsey and Trippe, 16 dead
General characteristics
Class and type	Type VIIB U-boat
Displacement	753 t (741 long tons) surfaced 857 t (843 long tons) submerged
Length	66.50 m (218 ft 2 in) o/a 48.80 m (160 ft 1 in) pressure hull
Beam	6.20 m (20 ft 4 in) o/a 4.70 m (15 ft 5 in) pressure hull
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 propeller shafts 2 × diesel engines 2 × electric motors
Speed	17.9 knots (33.2 km/h; 20.6 mph) surfaced 8 knots (15 km/h; 9.2 mph)
Range	8,700 nmi (16,100 km; 10,000 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) surfaced 90 nmi (170 km; 100 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph) submerged
Test depth	230 m (750 ft) Calculated crush depth: 250–295 m (820–968 ft)
Boats & landing craft carried	1 inflatable rubber boat
Complement	4 officers, 40 to 56 enlisted
Sensors and processing systems	FuMO 61 Hohentwiel U Gruppenhorchgerät
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 × 2 cm (0.79 in) C/30 anti-aircraft gun
Service record
Part of:	7th U-boat Flotilla 30 September 1940 – 1 January 1942 29th U-boat Flotilla 1 January 1942 – 16 December 1943
Identification codes:	M 09 142
Commanders:	Kptlt. Helmut Rosenbaum 30 September 1940 – 10 September 1942 Oblt.z.S. Horst Deckert 1 October 1942 – 16 December 1943
Operations:	15 patrols: 1st patrol: 8 February – 2 March 1941 2nd patrol: 25 March – 24 April 1941 3rd patrol: a. 20 May – 24 June 1941 b. 29 July – 2 August 1941 4th patrol: 7 August – 7 September 1941 5th patrol: 11 October – 11 November 1941 6th patrol: 4 January – 12 February 1942 7th patrol: 16 – 26 March 1942 8th patrol: 4 August – 5 September 1942 9th patrol: 20 October – 19 November 1942 10th patrol: 1 – 8 December 1942 11th patrol: 22 December – 13 January 1943 12th patrol: 12 June – 1 July 1943 13th patrol: 2 – 29 August 1943 14th patrol: 5 – 30 October 1943 15th patrol: 4 – 16 December 1943
Victories:	8 merchant ships sunk (43,945 GRT) 4 warships sunk (22,947 tons) 3 merchant ships damaged (22,928 GRT)

German submarine U-73 was a Type VIIB U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II. She was laid down by Vegesacker Werft, Germany as yard number 1 on 5 November 1939, launched on 27 July 1940 and commissioned on 30 September of the same year under Kapitänleutnant (Kptlt.) Helmut Rosenbaum.^[2]

U-73 carried out 15 patrols between early 1941 and late 1943, sinking eight ships and four warships. She also damaged a further three commercial vessels. She was part of five wolfpacks. She was sunk by two US warships, USS Woolsey and Trippe, off the North African coast on 16 December 1943 at 36°7′N 0°50′W / 36.117°N 0.833°W / 36.117; -0.833.