| Career (Nazi Germany) | |
|---|---|
| Name: | U-656 |
| Ordered: | 9 October 1939 |
| Builder: | Howaldtswerke, Hamburg |
| Yard number: | 805 |
| Laid down: | 4 September 1940 |
| Launched: | 8 July 1941 |
| Commissioned: | 17 September 1941 |
| Fate: | Sunk by depth charge, 1 March 1942 |
| 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 1st U-boat Flotilla |
| Commanders: | Kptlt. Ernst Kröning (Aug 1941–Mar 1942) |
| Operations: | 2 patrols; • 15 January–28 January 1942 • 4 February–1 March 1942 |
| Victories: | None |
German submarine U-656 was a German World War II Type VIIC U-boat built for the German Kriegsmarine for service during World War II. She was ordered on 9 October 1939 and the keel laid on 4 September 1940. Construction on U-656 was carried out by Hamburg company Howaldtswerke in Yard 805. She was launched on 8 July 1941 and commissioned on 17 September 1941.
U-656 went into service initially with 5th U-boat Flotilla for training from September 1941 until December 1941. She moved into operational service with 1st U-boat Flotilla on 1 January 1942, and was commanded by Ernst Kröning.
U-656 made two patrols, but did not sink any ships. Her first patrol lasted almost two weeks: after departing Kiel on 15 January 1942, she put in at Brest, France on 28 January. The submarine departed Brest on 4 February, but never completed her second patrol. She was sunk with all hands by depth charges dropped by a United States Navy Lockheed Hudson of patrol squadron VP-82 on 1 March 1942 south of Cape Race, Newfoundland. U-656 became the first U-boat to be sunk by the U.S. Navy in World War II.