German submarine U-372 was a Type VIIC U-boat built for Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine for service during World War II. She was laid down on 17 November 1939 by Kriegsmarinewerft Kiel as construction number 3, launched on 8 March 1941 and commissioned on 19 April 1941 under Kapitänleutnant Heinz-Joachim Neumann.
Design German Type VIIC submarines were preceded by the shorter Type VIIB submarines. U-372 had a displacement of when at the surface and while submerged. She had a total length of , a pressure hull length of , a beam of , a height of , and a draught of . The submarine was powered by two Germaniawerft F46 four-stroke, six-cylinder supercharged diesel engines producing a total of for use while surfaced, two AEG GU 460/8–27 double-acting electric motors producing a total of for use while submerged. She had two shafts and two propellers. The boat was capable of operating at depths of up to .
The submarine had a maximum surface speed of and a maximum submerged speed of . When submerged, the boat could operate for at ; when surfaced, she could travel at . U-372 was fitted with five torpedo tubes (four fitted at the bow and one at the stern), fourteen torpedoes, one SK C/35 naval gun, 220 rounds, and a C/30 anti-aircraft gun. The boat had a complement of between forty-four and sixty.
Service history The boat's career began with training at 1st U-boat Flotilla on 19 April 1941, followed by active service on 1 July 1941 as part of the 1st Flotilla until 13 December 1941, when she joined 29th U-boat Flotilla for operations in the Mediterranean.
In 6 patrols she sank 3 merchant ships, for a total of , and , a , Royal Navy submarine depot ship.
Fate U-372 was sunk on 4 August 1942 in the Mediterranean Sea, southwest of Haifa, in position , by depth charges from the Royal Navy destroyers , , , and a Royal Air Force Wellington bomber aircraft. The entire crew survived.
Wolfpacks U-372 took part in three wolfpacks, namely: Brandenburg (15 September – 1 October 1941) Störtebecker (16 – 19 November 1941) Steuben (19 November – 2 December 1941)
Summary of raiding history DateShip NameNationalityTonnageMerchant ship tonnages are in gross register tons. Military vessels are listed by tons displacement.Fate5 August 1941Belgravian3,136Sunk5 August 1941Swiftpool5,205Sunk19 September 1941Baron Pentland3,410Sunk30 June 194214,650Sunk
See also Mediterranean U-boat Campaign (World War II)
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