Which U Boat?

[Dmitbear]

Hello,

Could anyone tell me which U Boat sunk the Bristish ship Ark Royal off of Gibraltar? And when was it sunk?

Thanks so much,

Darin

[Christoph Awender]

The Ark Royal is torpedoed by U 81 (Kptlt. Guggenberger) on 13.November 1941. The ship sinks the next day.

\Christoph

[Dmitbear]

Thanks Christoph it is greatly appreciated.

Darin

[Xavier]

the strange and weird thing:

only 1 casualtie out of a crew of 1600 for the torpedo attack, as damage was not much.

ship sank due to infficient damage control, as it took almost 13 hours to sink, and this, while under tow to gibraltar for repairs, just 20 miles away from port.....

from http://www.fleetairarmarchive.net/Ships/Ark_Royal2.html

best regards

Xavier
Instandsetzungtruppfuhrer

[Englander]

You offer a slight disservice to the crew.

as damage was not much.

"The explosion opened a hole 130 feet long by 30 feet deep, the size being increased by the time taken to bring the ship to a halt, resulting in additional hull plating being peeled off. This resulted in the starboard boiler room, air spaces and oil tanks flooding as did the main switchboard and the lower steering position. The starboard power train was also knocked out by the hit but the port and centerline trains kept functioning.

Some of the torpedo blast vented upwards through a bomb trunk forward of the Island. The ship whipped violently with the explosion which caused the fully-loaded torpedo-bombers on the flight deck to be hurled into the air. The ship however, showed very little shock damage internally and her masts remained standing. The Ark Royal (immediately after the explosion) took on a 10 degree list that increased to 18 degrees within 20 minutes.

Due to the flooding of the switchboard, communications within the ship were lost, explaining the delay in bringing the ship to a halt".

ship sank due to infficient damage control

True.But other factors were involved.

"The Investigation also concluded that there were a variety of design factors contributing to the loss:
The uninterrupted boiler room flat was a significant error that was immediately rectified in the Illustrious and Indefatigable class.
The adoption of a double hangar had forced the use of cross-deck uptakes low in the ship adding to vulnerability.
The reliance on steam generators was also an error and diesel generators were back-fitted to the armored carriers.
The power train design itself was strongly criticized"

http://www.glue-it.com/boats/general-in ... _royal.htm

[tigre]

Hello to all ; a complement...............................

Sinking of HMS "Ark Royal"!

Source: https://www.aboutww2militaria.com/the-b ... -1942.html

Cheers. Raúl M .

Merry Christmas - Feliz Natal - Frohe Weihnachten - Joyeux Noël - Merry Christmas - Wesołych Świąt!