German submarine U-277

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Career
Name: U-277
Ordered: 10 April 1941
Builder: Bremer Vulkan, Bremen-Vegesack
Yard number: 42
Laid down: 3 March 1942
Launched: 7 November 1942
Commissioned: 21 December 1942
Fate: Sunk, May 1944 by a British aircraft[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: 8th U-boat Flotilla
(21 November 194231 May 1943)
6th U-boat Flotilla
(1 June31 October 1943)
13th U-boat Flotilla
(1 November1 May 1945)
Commanders: Oblt.z.S. Robert Lübsen
(21 December 19421 May 1944)
Operations: Six patrols
1st patrol:
29 June17 August 1943
2nd patrol:
29 August10 October 1943
3rd patrol:
12 November22 December 1943
4th patrol:
23 December 19436 January 1944
5th patrol:
25 March6 April 1944
6th patrol:
11 April1 May 1944
Victories: None

German submarine U-277 was a Type VIIC U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II.

The submarine was laid down on 3 March 1942 at the Bremer Vulkan yard at Bremen-Vegesack as 'werk' 42. She was launched on 7 November 1942 and commissioned on 21 December under the command of Oberleutnant zur See Robert Lübsen.[2]

Service history

U-274 served with the 8th U-boat Flotilla for training from December 1942 to May 1943 and operationally with the 6th U-boat Flotilla from 1 June.[2] She carried out six patrols, but sank no ships. She was a member of six wolfpacks.

She carried out a short voyage between Kiel in Germany and Bergen in Norway over June 1943.

1st patrol

The boat departed Bergen on 29 June 1943 and docked at Hammerfest via Bear Island on 17 August.

2nd patrol

For her second sortie, U-277 departed Hammerfest on 29 August 1943. Her route took her as far north as Svalbard before arriving at Narvik on 10 October.

3rd and 4th patrols

The boat's third patrol took her round Bear Island, but was otherwise uneventful.

Her fourth foray was followed by a series of short 'hops' between Hammerfest, Narvik, Trondheim and Bergen. During one of them, she ran aground and had to be towed off the offending rocks. The damage caused forced an immediate return to base.

5th and 6th patrols and loss

Her penultimate, official patrol was between Narvik and Hammerfest.

She left Hammerfest for the last time on 11 April 1944. She was sunk southwest of Bear Island by depth charges dropped from a Fairey Swordfish of No. 842 Squadron, Fleet Air Arm on 1 May. The aircraft had come from the carrier HMS Fencer.

Fifty men died; there were no survivors.

See also

  • List of German U-boats

References

Notes
  1. Kemp, Paul: U-Boats Destroyed - German Submarine Losses in the World Wars, 1999, Arms & Armour, ISBN 1-85409-515-3, p. 186
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 "The Type VIIC boat U-277 - German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net". www.uboat.net. Retrieved 4 August 2012. 
  3. "War Patrols by German U-boat U-277 - Boats - uboat.net". www.uboat.net. Retrieved 4 August 2012. 
Bibliography

External links

Coordinates: 73°24′N 15°32′E / 73.400°N 15.533°E / 73.400; 15.533


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