German submarine U-247
| Career |  |
|---|---|
| Name: | U-247 |
| Ordered: | 5 June 1941 |
| Builder: | Friedrich Krupp Germaniawerft, Kiel |
| Yard number: | 681 |
| Laid down: | 16 December 1942 |
| Launched: | 23 September 1943 |
| Commissioned: | 23 October 1943 |
| Fate: | Sunk September 1944[1] |
| 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 F46 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 (32.8 km/h; 20.4 mph) surfaced 7.6 knots (14.1 km/h; 8.7 mph) submerged |
| Range: |
15,170 km (8,190 nmi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) surfaced 150 km (81 nmi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph) submerged |
| Test depth: |
230 m (750 ft) Crush depth: 250–295 m (820–968 ft) |
| Complement: | 44–52 officers and ratings |
| Armament: |
5 × 53.3 cm (21 in) torpedo tubes (four bow, one stern) 14 × G7e torpedoes or 26 TMA mines 1 × 8.8 cm (3.46 in) deck gun(220 rounds) Various AA guns |
| Service record[2][3] | |
|---|---|
| Part of: |
5th U-boat Flotilla (23 October 1943–31 May 1944) 1st U-boat Flotilla (1 June–1 September 1944) |
| Commanders: |
Oblt.z.S. Gerhard Matschulat (23 October 1943–1 September 1944) |
| Operations: |
Two patrols: 31 May–28 July 1944 26 August–1 October 1944 |
| Victories: | One |
German submarine U-247 was a Type VIIC U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II. The submarine was laid down on 16 December 1942 at the Friedrich Krupp Germaniawerft yard at Kiel as 'werk' 681, launched on 23 September 1943 and commissioned on 23 October under the command of Oberleutnant zur See Gerhard Matschulat.[2]
In two patrols, she sank one ship of 207 GRT.
She was sunk by Canadian warships in September 1944.
Service history
After training with the 5th U-boat Flotilla at Kiel, U-247 was transferred to the 1st flotilla for front-line service on 23 October 1943.
1st patrol
The boat's first patrol was preceded by a short trip between Kiel in Germany, and Arendal and Bergen in Norway. Her first sortie began with her departure from Bergen on 31 May 1944. She passed into the Atlantic Ocean via the 'gap' between the Faroe and Shetland Islands. She sank the Noreen Mary on 5 July west of Scotland, with gunfire, not torpedoes, which by this stage of the war, with a near constant Allied air presence, was quite remarkable. She then skirted to the west of Ireland, before arriving at Brest in occupied France, on 27 July.
2nd patrol and loss
The boat had left Brest on 26 August 1944. Patrolling near Lands End, at the western end of the English Channel, she was attacked and sunk on 1 September by depth charges from the Canadian frigates HMCS Saint John and HMCS Swansea. Fifty-two men died; there were no survivors.
Summary of Raiding Career
| Date | Ship Name | Nationality | Tonnage (GRT) | Fate[4] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 July 1944 | Noreen Mary |  United Kingdom |
207 | Sunk |
See also
- List of German U-boats
References
- Notes
- ↑ Kemp, Paul: U-Boats Destroyed - German Submarine Losses in the World Wars, 1997, Arms & Armour, ISBN 1-85409-515-3, p. 216
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "The Type VIIC boat U-247 - German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net". uboat.net. Retrieved 29 July 2012.
- ↑ "War Patrols by German U-boat U-247 - Boats - uboat.net". uboat.net. Retrieved 29 July 2012.
- ↑ http://uboat.net/boats/successes/u247/html
- Bibliography
External links
- U-247 at u-boot-archiv.de (German)
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Coordinates: 49°54′N 5°49′W / 49.900°N 5.817°W