German submarine U-297
Career | |
---|---|
Name: | U-297 |
Ordered: | 14 October 1941 |
Builder: | Bremer Vulkan Werft, Bremen-Vegesack |
Yard number: | 62 |
Laid down: | 27 January 1943 |
Launched: | 9 October 1943 |
Commissioned: | 17 November 1943 |
Fate: | Sunk, December 1944, by a British aircraft[1] |
General characteristics | |
Type: | Type VIIC/41 submarine |
Displacement: |
769 long tons (781 t) surfaced 871 long tons (885 t) submerged |
Length: |
67.23 m (220 ft 7 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: |
15,725 km (8,491 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: |
250 m (820 ft) Crush depth: 275–325 m (902–1,066 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] | |
---|---|
Part of: |
8th U-boat Flotilla (17 November 1943–31 October 1944) 11th U-boat Flotilla (1 November–6 December 1944) |
Commanders: |
Oblt.z.S. Wolfgang Aldermann (17 November 1943–6 December 1944) |
Operations: |
One patrol: 25 November–6 December 1944 |
Victories: | None |
German submarine U-297 was a Type VIIC/41 U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II.
She was laid down on 27 January 1943 by the Bremer Vulkan Werft (yard) at Bremen-Vegesack as 'werk' 62, launched on 9 October 1943 and commissioned on 17 November with Oberleutnant zur See Wolfgang Aldermann in command.
In one patrol, she did not sink or damage any ships.
She was sunk by a British aircraft in December 1944.
Fifty men died; there were no survivors.
Service history
The boat's service life began with training with the 8th U-boat Flotilla in November 1943. She was then transferred to the 11th flotilla for operations on 1 November 1944.
She made the short journey from Kiel in Germany to Horten in Norway, arriving on 18 November 1944.
Patrol and loss
U-297's only patrol began from Horten; it took her through the 'gap' between the Faroe and the Shetland Islands.
She was sunk by a Sunderland flying boat of No. 201 Squadron RAF on 6 December 1944, 16 nautical miles (30 km; 18 mi) west of Yesnaby in the Orkney Islands.
Previously recorded fate and wreck discovery
U-297 was originally thought to have been sunk on 6 December 1944 by depth charges dropped by the British frigates HMS Loch Inch and Goodall. She had also been listed as missing since 3 January 1945 probably in the Pentland Firth.
The wreck of U-297 was found and identified in May 2000. It lies at a depth of 285 ft (87 m).
References
- Notes
- ↑ Kemp, Paul: U-Boats Destroyed - German Submarine Losses in the World Wars, 1997, Arms & Armour, ISBN 1-85409-515-3, p. 225
- ↑ "The Type VIIC/41 boat U-297 - German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net". www.uboat.net. Retrieved 12 August 2012.
- Bibliography
External links
- U-297 at u-boot-archiv.de (German)
See also
- List of German U-boats
- Battle of the Atlantic (1939-1945)
- Kriegsmarine
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