German submarine U-456

History

Nazi Germany
Name	U-456
Ordered	16 January 1940
Builder	Deutsche Werke, Kiel
Yard number	287
Laid down	3 September 1940
Launched	21 June 1941
Commissioned	18 September 1941
Fate	Sunk after being depth charged on 12 May 1943 at position 46°39′N 26°54′W / 46.650°N 26.900°W / 46.650; -26.900 by HMS Opportune and a RAF Liberator bomber of 86 Squadron, based in Northern Ireland.
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	5 × 53.3 cm (21 in) torpedo tubes (four bow, one stern) 14 × torpedoes 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:	6th U-boat Flotilla 28 September 1941 – 30 June 1942 11th U-boat Flotilla 1 July – 30 November 1942 1st U-boat Flotilla 1 December 1942 – 12 May 1943
Identification codes:	M 17 549
Commanders:	Kptlt. Max-Martin Teichert 18 September 1941 – 12 May 1943
Operations:	11 patrols: 1st patrol: 31 January – 15 February 1942 2nd patrol: 24 February – 22 March 1942 3rd patrol: 29 March – 2 April 1942 4th patrol: 7 – 20 April 1942 5th patrol: 29 April – 4 May 1942 6th patrol: 7 – 12 May 1942 7th patrol: 25 June - 6 July 1942 8th patrol: 4 – 10 August 1942 9th patrol: a. 15 August – 19 September 1942 b. 21 – 27 September 1942 c. 23 November – 4 December 1942 10th patrol: 14 January – 26 February 1943 11th patrol: 24 April – 12 May 1943
Victories:	6 merchant ships sunk (31,528 GRT) 1 merchant ship damaged (6,421 GRT) 1 warship damaged (11,500 tons)

German submarine U-456 was a Type VIIC U-boat built for Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine for service during World War II. She was laid down on 3 September 1940 by Deutsche Werke in Kiel as yard number 287, launched on 21 June 1941 and commissioned on 18 September 1941 under Kapitänleutnant Max-Martin Teichert (Knight's Cross).