7116 U-BOOT TENDER SHIP WALDEMAR KOPHAMEL 1942

Waldemar Kophamel was a German U-boat supplying vessel (German U-boot-Begleitschiff), which was launched in May 1939 and entered service in Kriegsmarine in 1940. The total length of the ship was 132.7 meters and a width of 16 meters. The displacement reached 5,600 tons and the maximum speed did not exceed 21 knots. The armament of the unit, at the beginning of its service, consisted of: 4 105 mm guns, 2 37 mm AA guns and 2 AA guns. cal. 20 mm. Waldemar Kophamel was one of the three ships belonging to the Wilhelm Bauer class. From the very beginning, units of this type were designed and built with the logistics and supply of German U-boats in mind. During World War II, the unit operated as part of the 24th and 27th U-boat Flotilla (German Unterseebootsflotille), and in 1944 it underwent modernization, which mainly involved a significant strengthening of its anti-aircraft weapons. After World War II, Waldemar Kophamel was taken over by the USSR fleet and served in it from 1951 under the name Kuban, and later PKZ-12. The unit was definitely decommissioned only in 1978.