German submarineU-85(1941)

	U-52,a typical Type VIIB boat
History
Nazi Germany
Name	U-85
Ordered	9 June 1938
Builder	Flender Werke,Lübeck
Yard number	281
Laid down	18 December 1939
Launched	10 April 1941
Commissioned	7 June 1941
Fate	Sunk byUSSRoper,14 April 1942
General characteristics
Class and type	Type VIIBU-boat
Displacement	753t(741long tons) surfaced; 857 t (843 long tons) submerged;
Length	66.50m(218ft2in)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 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	8,700nmi(16,100km;10,000mi) 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	220 m (720 ft); Crush depth:230–250 m (750–820 ft);
Complement	4 officers, 40–56 enlisted
Sensors and; processing systems	Gruppenhorchgerät
Armament	5 × 53.3 cm (21 in)torpedo tubes(four bow, one stern); 14 ×torpedoesor26 TMAmines; 1 ×8.8 cm (3.46 in) deck gun(220 rounds); 1 ×2 cm (0.79 in) C/30anti-aircraft gun;
Service record
Part of:	3rd U-boat Flotilla; 7 June 1941 – 14 April 1942;
Identification codes:	M 40 935
Commanders:	Oblt.z.S.Eberhard Greger; 7 June 1941 – 14 April 1942;
Operations:	4 patrols:; 1st patrol:; a. 28 August – 18 September 1941; b. 11 – 13 October 1941; 2nd patrol:; 16 October – 27 November 1941; 3rd patrol:; 8 January – 23 February 1942; 4th patrol:; 21 March – 14 April 1942;
Victories:	3 merchant ships sunk; (15,060GRT)
	U-85(submarine) shipwreck and remains
	U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Nearest city	Nags Head, North Carolina
MPS	World War II Shipwrecks along the East Coast and Gulf of Mexico MPS
NRHP referenceNo.	15000805
Added to NRHP	12 November 2015

German submarineU-85was aType VIIB U-boatofNazi Germany'sKriegsmarineduringWorld War II.

She waslaid downat theFlender WerkeinLübeckon 18 December 1939 as yard number 281.Launchedon 10 April 1941, she wascommissionedon 7 June and assigned to the3rd U-boat Flotillaunder the command ofOberleutnant zur SeeEberhard Greger.

U-85conducted four war patrols with the flotilla, and sank three ships, totalling 15,060gross register tons(GRT). She was sunk in April 1942 by the USdestroyerRoper.

Design

German Type VIIB submarineswere preceded by the shorterType VIIA submarines.U-85had a displacement of 753 tonnes (741 long tons) when at the surface and 857 tonnes (843 long tons) while submerged.^[1]She had a total length of 66.50 m (218 ft 2 in), apressure hulllength of 48.80 m (160 ft 1 in), abeamof 6.20 m (20 ft 4 in), a height of 9.50 m (31 ft 2 in), and adraughtof 4.74 m (15 ft 7 in). The submarine was powered by twoMANM 6 V 40/46 four-stroke, six-cylindersupercharged diesel enginesproducing a total of 2,800 to 3,200 metric horsepower (2,060 to 2,350 kW; 2,760 to 3,160 shp) for use while surfaced, twoBBC GG UB 720/8 double-acting electric motorsproducing a total of 750 metric horsepower (550 kW; 740 shp) for use while submerged. She had two shafts and two 1.23 m (4 ft)propellers.The boat was capable of operating at depths of up to 230 metres (750 ft).^[1]

The submarine had a maximum surface speed of 17.9 knots (33.2 km/h; 20.6 mph) and a maximum submerged speed of 8 knots (15 km/h; 9.2 mph).^[1]When submerged, the boat could operate for 90 nautical miles (170 km; 100 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph); when surfaced, she could travel 8,700 nautical miles (16,100 km; 10,000 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph).U-85was fitted with five 53.3 cm (21 in)torpedo tubes(four fitted at the bow and one at the stern), fourteentorpedoes,one8.8 cm (3.46 in) SK C/35 naval gun,220 rounds, and one2 cm (0.79 in)anti-aircraft gunThe boat had acomplementof between forty-four and sixty.^[1]

Service history

First patrol

U-85departedTrondheimin Norway on 28 August 1941 for her first patrol. She sank theThistleglenon 10 September northeast ofCape Farewell(Greenland).

She docked atSt. Nazaireon the French Atlantic coast on 18 September.

Second patrol

U-85's second patrol started and finished inLorient,but was unremarkable.

Third patrol

On her third foray, she sank theEmpire Fusiliersoutheast ofSt. Johns,Newfoundland,after a seven-hour chase, on 9 February 1942. Nine crew members were lost.^[2]

Fourth patrol and loss

Having left St. Nazaire on 21 March 1942,U-85sank the Norwegian freighterChristen Knudsenoff the coast of New Jersey on 10 April.^[3]

Wolfpacks

U-85took part in fourwolfpacks,namely:

Markgraf (1 – 11 September 1941)
Schlagetot (20 October – 1 November 1941)
Raubritter (1 – 17 November 1941)
Störtebecker (17 – 22 November 1941)

Sinking

U-85was operating within view ofBodie Island Lightat midnight on 13 April 1942 when the destroyerUSSRoperdetected the submarine onBritish Type 286 radarat a range of 2,700 yards (2,500 m). The boat attempted to run south on the surface and fired its stern torpedo asRoperclosed to 700 yards (640 m). The destroyer evaded the torpedo and closed to 300 yards (270 m), whenU-85turned sharply to starboard.Roperilluminated the U-boat with its searchlight and observed men on deck near the gun whose firing arc had just been cleared by the course change.RoperrakedU-85withmachine gunfire and scored a hit with a3 "/50 caliber gun.Roperthen dropped a pattern of 11depth chargeswhereU-85had disappeared beneath the surface.^[4]

Numerous men were observed in the water, but no rescue attempt was made until daylight. By then, there were no survivors among the 29 bodies floating in life jackets. Some of the bodies were wearing civilian clothes, carrying wallets with United States currency andidentification cards.^[5]The bodies were fingerprinted, photographed, and buried in a nighttime military ceremony at theHampton National Cemetery.^[6]U-85lies in less than 100 ft (30 m) of water; theUnited States Navybriefly attempted to salvage her.^[4]More recent investigation by sport divers has raised questions about Navy reports on the wreck.^[7]

U-85was the first U-boat loss of "Operation Drumbeat"(Paukenschlag), the offensive off the eastern seaboard of the United States in 1942.

For their actions in sinkingU-85,theNavy Crosswas awarded to theRoper's captain,Lieutenant CommanderHamilton W. Howe, and his commander, Destroyer Division 54 commanderCommander Stanley C. Norton.^[8]^[9]

Wreck

The hatch ofU-85is on display in theGraveyard of the Atlantic Museum;the submarine herself still serves as an attraction for divers.^[10]The Labrador current influences the site and visibility can be low.^[11]The majority of the debris lies within a 100 metres (330 ft) radius of the wreck.^[11]The wreck site was listed on theNational Register of Historic Placesin 2015.

TheEnigma machinewas recovered from the wreck by private divers (Jim Bunch, Roger & Rich Hunting)^[12]and in 2003 the German government agreed to allow the machine to be displayed at theGraveyard of the Atlantic Museum,inHatteras, North Carolina.^[13]

Summary of raiding history

Date	Ship^[14]	Nationality	Tonnage	Fate^[14]
10 September 1941	Thistleglen	United Kingdom	4,748	Sunk
9 February 1942	Empire Fusilier	United Kingdom	5,408	Sunk
10 April 1942	Chr. Knudsen	Norway	4,904	Sunk
Total amount of tonnage:			15,060 gross register tons

References

^^a ^b ^c ^dGröner 1991,pp. 43–44.
^"Empire Fusilier".Uboat.Retrieved23 May2020.
^Blair, Clay (2000).Hitler's U-boat war.New York: Modern Library. p. 541.ISBN 0679640320.OCLC 44531654.
^^a ^bRouse, Parke, Jr.,"Under the Cloak of Night",United States Naval Institute Proceedings,June 1982, pp. 74–75
^Parke S. Rouse Jr.suggestedU-85had been preparing to launch a raft of spies when discovered byRoper.
^Larson, Chiles T.A. (20 January 2015)."U-boats in the Atlantic".Virginia Living.Cape Fear Publishing.Retrieved24 June2016.
^Blair, Clay, Jr.Hitler's U-Boat War: The Hunters 1939–1942Random House (1996) p.543
^Bunch, Jim (2017).U-Boats off the Outer Banks: Shadows in the Moonlight.Arcadia Publishing. p. 138.ISBN 9781467137676.
^Roscoe, Theodore (1953).United States destroyer operations in World War II.United States Naval Institute. pp. 74–75.ISBN 9780870217265.Retrieved24 September2021.
^"Wreck of the U-85".North Carolina Wreckdiving & BFDC.Retrieved19 September2018.
^^a ^bHoyt, JC (2009)."2008 Battle of the Atlantic Survey Methodology".In: Pollock NW, ed. Diving for Science 2009. Proceedings of the American Academy of Underwater Sciences 28th Symposium. Dauphin Island, AL: AAUS; 2009.Archived from the original on 16 April 2013.Retrieved11 March2013.{{cite journal}}:CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
^Thibodeau, Ryan (30 October 2017)."U-Boats Off the Outer Banks".Carolina Designs Blog.Carolina Designs Realty, Inc.Retrieved6 November2017.
^ Hadley, Miles (5 April 2003)."Home Found for" Enigmatic "WW II U-boat Relic".Naval Historical Center.Archivedfrom the original on 5 September 2012.Retrieved23 December2015.
^^a ^bHelgason, Guðmundur."Ships hit by U-85".German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net.Retrieved28 August2009.

Bibliography

Bishop, Chris (2006).Kriegsmarine U-Boats, 1939–45.London: Amber Books.ISBN 978-1-904687-96-2.
Busch, Rainer; Röll, Hans-Joachim (1999a).German U-boat commanders of World War II: a biographical dictionary.Translated by Brooks, Geoffrey. London, Annapolis, Md: Greenhill Books, Naval Institute Press.ISBN 1-55750-186-6.
Busch, Rainer; Röll, Hans-Joachim (1999b).Deutsche U-Boot-Verluste von September 1939 bis Mai 1945[German U-boat losses from September 1939 to May 1945]. Der U-Boot-Krieg (in German). Vol. IV. Hamburg, Berlin, Bonn: Mittler.ISBN 3-8132-0514-2.
Hickam, Homer"Torpedo Junction" Naval Institute Press
Gröner, Erich; Jung, Dieter; Maass, Martin (1991).German Warships 1815–1945, U-boats and Mine Warfare Vessels.Vol. 2. Translated by Thomas, Keith; Magowan, Rachel. London: Conway Maritime Press.ISBN 0-85177-593-4.

External links

U-85 Memorial Page with Crew members' birth dates and places
Uboat Archive –U-85
Helgason, Guðmundur."The Type VIIB boat U-85".German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net.Retrieved8 December2014.
Hofmann, Markus."U 85".Deutsche U-Boote 1935-1945 - u-boot-archiv.de(in German).Retrieved2 February2015.

35°55′N75°13′W/ 35.917°N 75.217°W/35.917; -75.217

[FOOTNOTEGröner199143–44-1] Gröner 1991,pp. 43–44.

[EF-2] "Empire Fusilier".Uboat.Retrieved23 May2020.

[3] Blair, Clay (2000).Hitler's U-boat war.New York: Modern Library. p. 541.ISBN 0679640320.OCLC 44531654.

[proceedings-4] Rouse, Parke, Jr.,"Under the Cloak of Night",United States Naval Institute Proceedings,June 1982, pp. 74–75

[p2-5] Parke S. Rouse Jr.suggestedU-85had been preparing to launch a raft of spies when discovered byRoper.

[6] Larson, Chiles T.A. (20 January 2015)."U-boats in the Atlantic".Virginia Living.Cape Fear Publishing.Retrieved24 June2016.

[blair-7] Blair, Clay, Jr.Hitler's U-Boat War: The Hunters 1939–1942Random House (1996) p.543

[8] Bunch, Jim (2017).U-Boats off the Outer Banks: Shadows in the Moonlight.Arcadia Publishing. p. 138.ISBN 9781467137676.

[9] Roscoe, Theodore (1953).United States destroyer operations in World War II.United States Naval Institute. pp. 74–75.ISBN 9780870217265.Retrieved24 September2021.

[10] "Wreck of the U-85".North Carolina Wreckdiving & BFDC.Retrieved19 September2018.

[Hoyt2009-11] Hoyt, JC (2009)."2008 Battle of the Atlantic Survey Methodology".In: Pollock NW, ed. Diving for Science 2009. Proceedings of the American Academy of Underwater Sciences 28th Symposium. Dauphin Island, AL: AAUS; 2009.Archived from the original on 16 April 2013.Retrieved11 March2013.{{cite journal}}:CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)

[12] Thibodeau, Ryan (30 October 2017)."U-Boats Off the Outer Banks".Carolina Designs Blog.Carolina Designs Realty, Inc.Retrieved6 November2017.

[13] Hadley, Miles (5 April 2003)."Home Found for" Enigmatic "WW II U-boat Relic".Naval Historical Center.Archivedfrom the original on 5 September 2012.Retrieved23 December2015.

[hit-14] Helgason, Guðmundur."Ships hit by U-85".German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net.Retrieved28 August2009.

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v t e Type VII submarines
Type VIIA	U-27 U-28 U-29 U-30 U-31 U-32 U-33 U-34 U-35 U-36
Type VIIB	U-45 U-46 U-47 U-48 U-49 U-50 U-51 U-52 U-53 U-54 U-55 U-73 U-74 U-75 U-76 U-83 U-84 U-85 U-86 U-87 U-99 U-100 U-101 U-102
Type VIIC	U-69 U-70 U-71 U-72 U-77 U-78 U-79 U-80 U-81 U-82 U-88 U-89 U-90 U-91 U-92 U-93 U-94 U-95 U-96 U-97 U-98 U-132 U-133 U-134 U-135 U-136 U-201 U-202 U-203 U-204 U-205 U-206 U-207 U-208 U-209 U-210 U-211 U-212 U-221 U-222 U-223 U-224 U-225 U-226 U-227 U-228 U-229 U-230 U-231 U-232 U-235 U-236 U-237 U-238 U-239 U-240 U-241 U-242 U-243 U-244 U-245 U-246 U-247 U-248 U-249 U-250 U-251 U-252 U-253 U-254 U-255 U-256 U-257 U-258 U-259 U-260 U-261 U-262 U-263 U-264 U-265 U-266 U-267 U-268 U-269 U-270 U-271 U-272 U-273 U-274 U-275 U-276 U-277 U-278 U-279 U-280 U-281 U-282 U-283 U-284 U-285 U-286 U-287 U-288 U-289 U-290 U-291 U-301 U-302 U-303 U-304 U-305 U-306 U-307 U-308 U-309 U-310 U-311 U-312 U-313 U-314 U-315 U-316 U-331 U-332 U-333 U-334 U-335 U-336 U-337 U-338 U-339 U-340 U-341 U-342 U-343 U-344 U-345 U-346 U-347 U-348 U-349 U-350 U-351 U-352 U-353 U-354 U-355 U-356 U-357 U-358 U-359 U-360 U-361 U-362 U-363 U-364 U-365 U-366 U-367 U-368 U-369 U-370 U-371 U-372 U-373 U-374 U-375 U-376 U-377 U-378 U-379 U-380 U-381 U-382 U-383 U-384 U-385 U-386 U-387 U-388 U-389 U-390 U-391 U-392 U-393 U-394 U-396 U-397 U-398 U-399 U-400 U-401 U-402 U-403 U-404 U-405 U-406 U-407 U-408 U-409 U-410 U-411 U-412 U-413 U-414 U-415 U-416 U-417 U-418 U-419 U-420 U-421 U-422 U-423 U-424 U-425 U-426 U-427 U-428 U-429 U-430 U-431 U-432 U-433 U-434 U-435 U-436 U-437 U-438 U-439 U-440 U-441 U-442 U-443 U-444 U-445 U-446 U-447 U-448 U-449 U-450 U-451 U-452 U-453 U-454 U-455 U-456 U-457 U-458 U-465 U-466 U-467 U-468 U-469 U-470 U-471 U-472 U-473 U-475 U-476 U-477 U-478 U-479 U-480 U-481 U-482 U-483 U-484 U-485 U-486 U-551 U-552 U-553 U-554 U-555 U-556 U-557 U-558 U-559 U-560 U-561 U-562 U-563 U-564 U-565 U-566 U-567 U-568 U-569 U-570 U-571 U-572 U-573 U-574 U-575 U-576 U-577 U-578 U-579 U-580 U-581 U-582 U-583 U-584 U-585 U-586 U-587 U-588 U-589 U-590 U-591 U-592 U-593 U-594 U-595 U-596 U-597 U-598 U-599 U-600 U-601 U-602 U-603 U-604 U-605 U-606 U-607 U-608 U-609 U-610 U-611 U-612 U-613 U-614 U-615 U-616 U-617 U-618 U-619 U-620 U-621 U-622 U-623 U-624 U-625 U-626 U-627 U-628 U-629 U-630 U-631 U-632 U-633 U-634 U-635 U-636 U-637 U-638 U-639 U-640 U-641 U-642 U-643 U-644 U-645 U-646 U-647 U-648 U-649 U-650 U-651 U-652 U-653 U-654 U-655 U-656 U-657 U-658 U-659 U-660 U-661 U-662 U-663 U-664 U-665 U-666 U-667 U-668 U-669 U-670 U-671 U-672 U-673 U-674 U-675 U-676 U-677 U-678 U-679 U-680 U-681 U-682 U-683 U-701 U-702 U-703 U-704 U-705 U-706 U-707 U-708 U-709 U-710 U-711 U-712 U-713 U-714 U-715 U-716 U-717 U-718 U-719 U-720 U-721 U-722 U-731 U-732 U-733 U-734 U-735 U-736 U-737 U-738 U-739 U-740 U-741 U-742 U-743 U-744 U-745 U-746 U-747 U-748 U-749 U-750 U-751 U-752 U-753 U-754 U-755 U-756 U-757 U-758 U-759 U-760 U-761 U-762 U-763 U-764 U-765 U-766 U-767 U-768 U-771 U-772 U-773 U-774 U-775 U-776 U-777 U-778 U-779 U-821 U-822 U-825 U-826 U-901 U-903 U-904 U-905 U-907 U-921 U-922 U-923 U-924 U-925 U-926 U-927 U-928 U-951 U-952 U-953 U-954 U-955 U-956 U-957 U-958 U-959 U-960 U-961 U-962 U-963 U-964 U-965 U-966 U-967 U-968 U-969 U-970 U-971 U-972 U-973 U-974 U-975 U-976 U-977 U-978 U-979 U-980 U-981 U-982 U-983 U-984 U-985 U-986 U-987 U-988 U-989 U-990 U-991 U-992 U-993 U-994 U-1051 U-1052 U-1053 U-1054 U-1055 U-1056 U-1057 U-1058 U-1101 U-1102 U-1131 U-1132 U-1161 U-1162 U-1191 U-1192 U-1193 U-1194 U-1195 U-1196 U-1197 U-1198 U-1199 U-1200 U-1201 U-1202 U-1203 U-1204 U-1205 U-1206 U-1207 U-1208 U-1209 U-1210
Type VIIC/41	U-292 U-293 U-294 U-295 U-296 U-297 U-298 U-299 U-300 U-317 U-318 U-319 U-320 U-321 U-322 U-323 U-324 U-325 U-326 U-327 U-328 U-691 U-827 U-828 U-929 U-930 U-995 U-997 U-998 U-999 U-1000 U-1001 U-1002 U-1003 U-1004 U-1005 U-1006 U-1007 U-1008 U-1009 U-1010 U-1011 U-1013 U-1014 U-1015 U-1016 U-1017 U-1018 U-1019 U-1020 U-1021 U-1022 U-1023 U-1024 U-1025 U-1063 U-1064 U-1065 U-1103 U-1104 U-1105 U-1106 U-1107 U-1108 U-1109 U-1110 U-1163 U-1164 U-1165 U-1166 U-1167 U-1168 U-1169 U-1170 U-1171 U-1172 U-1271 U-1272 U-1273 U-1274 U-1275 U-1276 U-1277 U-1278 U-1279 U-1301 U-1302 U-1303 U-1304 U-1305 U-1306 U-1307 U-1308
Type VIID	U-213 U-214 U-215 U-216 U-217 U-218
Type VIIF	U-1059 U-1060 U-1061 U-1062
Preceded by:Type II Followed by:Type IX List of U-boats of Germany

v t e Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in April 1942
Shipwrecks	1 Apr:Giovanni delle Bande Nere,HMSP36,HMSPandora,Skytteren,Storsten 2 Apr:David H. Atwater,Tiger 3 Apr:Shaumyan 5 Apr:HMSAbingdon,SSCatahoula,HMSCornwall,HMSDorsetshire,Empire Beacon,HMSHector,HMSTenedos 6 Apr:HMSHavock,HMISIndus 7 Apr:Lancing 8 Apr:USSDewey,Byron D. Benson,Shch-421,HMTSvana 9 Apr:Q-112Apra,HMSHermes,HMSHollyhock,HMSLance,Q-111Luzon,USSNapa,Sagaing,HMASVampire 10 Apr:USSCanopus 11 Apr:Empire Cowper,USSFinch,HMSKingston 13 Apr:El Occidente,Empire Amethyst 14 Apr:Benwood,Margaret,U-85,U-252,HMSUpholder 20 Apr:Empire Dryden 22 Apr:San Jacinto,,SSConnecticut 23 Apr:Lammot Du Pont 24 Apr:Empire Drum 26 Apr:USSSturtevant 29 Apr:HMSUrge 30 Apr:Ashkhabad Unknown date:U-702
Other incidents	2 Apr:Tiger 3 Apr:Tobruk 5 Apr:HMSGallant 6 Apr:Oktyabrskaya Revolutsiya 7 Apr:Angelo Bassini 8 Apr:USCGCLegare,USSMackerel 9 Apr:Benwood 10 Apr:USSFinch,USSUranus 11 Apr:Gulfamerica 14 Apr:USSMackerel 20 Apr:HMSCotswold,USSFlying Fish 21 Apr:Akitsushima 30 Apr:HMSEdinburgh
194119421943 March 1942May 1942

Authority control databases
International	VIAF
National	United States