| Career | |
|---|---|
| Name: | U-466 |
| Ordered: | 15 August 1940 |
| Builder: | Deutsche Werke AG, Kiel |
| Yard number: | 297 |
| Laid down: | 24 May 1941 |
| Launched: | 30 March 1942 |
| Commissioned: | 17 June 1942 |
| Homeport: | Kiel |
| Identification: | M 06 641 |
| Fate: | Scuttled on 19 August 1944 near Toulon |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Type VIIC submarine |
| Displacement: | 769 tonnes (757 long tons) surfaced 871 t (857 long tons) submerged |
| Length: | 67.1 m (220 ft 2 in) o/a 50.5 m (165 ft 8 in) pressure hull |
| Beam: | 6.2 m (20 ft 4 in) o/a 4.7 m (15 ft 5 in) pressure hull |
| Draft: | 4.74 m (15 ft 7 in) |
| Propulsion: | 2 × supercharged Germaniawerft 6-cylinder 4-stroke M6V 40/46 diesel engines, totalling 2,800–3,200 bhp (2,100–2,400 kW). Max rpm: 470-490 2 × electric motors, totalling 750 shp (560 kW) and max rpm: 296 |
| Speed: | 17.7 knots (20.4 mph; 32.8 km/h) surfaced 7.6 knots (8.7 mph; 14.1 km/h) submerged |
| Range: | 15,170 km (8,190 nmi) at 10 kn (19 km/h) surfaced 150 km (81 nmi) at 4 kn (7.4 km/h) submerged |
| Test depth: | 230 m (750 ft) Crush depth: 250–295 m (820–968 ft) |
| Complement: | 44–52 officers & ratings |
| Armament: | • 5 × 533 mm (21 in) torpedo tubes (4 bow, 1 stern) • 14 × torpedoes or 26 TMA mines • 1 × C35 88mm gun/L45 deck gun (220 rounds) • Various AA guns |
| Service record | |
| Part of: | Kriegsmarine: 5th U-boat Flotilla 3rd U-boat Flotilla 29th U-boat Flotilla |
| Commanders: | Kapitänleutnant Gerhard Thäter |
| Operations: | 5 patrols: • 17 June – 31 December 1942 • 1 January 1943 – 31 March 1944 • 1 April – 19 August 1944 |
| Victories: | None |
German submarine U-466 was a Type VIIC U-boat built for the German Kriegsmarine for service during World War II. She was scuttled at sea on 19 August 1944.
U-466 was first launched by Deutsche Werke AG in Kiel on 17 June 1942, under the command of Captain Gerhard Thäter. U-466 undertook five war patrols, lasting a total of 182 days at sea, with no ships sunk or damaged. The U-466 took damage on 29 January 1943 by depth charges dropped from U.S. B-24 Liberator aircraft. The boat was damaged and five men were wounded. On 30 March 1944 in the Mediterranean Sea off Toulon, France, the British submarine HMS Uproar attacked U-466 with four torpedoes, all of which missed. In August 1944, the harbour at Toulon was attacked by the USAAF 8th Air Force and U-466 was severely damaged. U-466 was eventually scuttled on 19 August 1944 at Toulon during the Allied invasion of southern France in Operation Dragoon. U-466 was the last U-boat to be scuttled in the Mediterranean.
U-466 bore the "heart & sunburst" emblem on its conning tower.