German submarine U-306

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Career

Name:	U-306
Ordered:	20 January 1941
Builder:	Flender Werke, Lübeck
Yard number:	306
Laid down:	16 September 1941
Launched:	29 August 1942
Commissioned:	2 November 1942
Fate:	Sunk, October 1943, in mid-Atlantic, by two British warships^[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 × GL RP 137/c 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 October 1942–28 February 1943) 1st U-boat Flotilla (1 March 1943–31 October 1943)
Commanders:	Kptlt. Claus von Trotha (21 October 1942–31 October 1943)
Operations:	1st patrol: 25 February–9 May 1943 2nd patrol: 10 June–11 August 1943 3rd patrol: 23–24 September 1943 4th patrol: 7–10 October 1943 5th patrol: 14–31 October 1943
Victories:	One ship sunk, 10,218 GRT. Two ships damaged, total tonnage 11,195 tons.

German submarine U-306 was a Type VIIC U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II. The submarine was laid down on 16 September 1941 at the Flender Werke yard at Lübeck as 'werk' 306, launched on 29 August 1942 and commissioned on 21 October under the command of Kapitänleutnant Claus von Botha.

During her career, the U-boat sailed on five combat patrols, sinking one ship and damaging two others, before she was sunk in October 1943 in mid-Atlantic, northwest of the Azores by British warships.^[2]

She was a member of three wolfpacks.

Service history

The boat's service life began with training with the 8th U-boat Flotilla in October 1942. She was then transferred to the 1st flotilla for operations on 1 March.

1st patrol

The submarine's first patrol began with her departure from Kiel on 25 February 1943. On 24 April she sank the Amerika south of Cape Farewell, Greenland. The next day she damaged the Silvermaple. She arrived in Brest in occupied France, on 9 May.

2nd and 3rd patrols

U-306's second foray was relatively uneventful; starting in Brest, it took her as far south as Guinea-Bissau. Off the Gambia, she damaged the Kaipara on 16 July 1943. The boat then docked in Lorient on 11 August.

Her third sortie was rather brief, lasting between 23 and 24 September 1943.

4th patrol

On her fourth patrol, she sailed along the French Atlantic coast toward St. Nazaire.

5th patrol and loss

The boat was sunk northwest of the Azores by depth charges dropped from the British destroyer HMS Whitehall and the corvette Geranium on 31 October 1943.

Fifty-one men died; there were no survivors.

Summary of Raiding Career

Date	Ship Name	Nationality	Displacement	Fate^[4]
22 April 1943	Amerika	United Kingdom	10,218	Sunk
23 April 1943	Silvermaple	United Kingdom	5,313	Damaged
16 July 1943	Kaipara	United Kingdom	5,822	Damaged

References

Notes

↑ Kemp, Paul: U-Boats Destroyed - German Submarine Losses in the World Wars, 1997, Arms & Armour, ISBN 1-85409-515-3, p. 154
↑ 2.0 2.1 Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type VIIC boat U-306". uboat.net. Retrieved 16 August 2012.
↑ Helgason, Guðmundur. "War Patrols by German U-boat U-306". uboat.net. Retrieved 16 August 2012.
↑ http://uboat.net/boats/successes/u306/html

Bibliography

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U-661
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U-664
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U-666
U-667
U-668
U-669
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U-676
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U-679
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U-681
U-682
U-683
U-701
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U-721
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U-731
U-732
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U-901
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U-921
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U-927
U-928
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U-971
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U-979
U-980
U-981
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U-994
U-1051
U-1052
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U-1101
U-1102
U-1131
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U-1161
U-1162
U-1191
U-1192
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U-1195
U-1196
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U-1198
U-1199
U-1200
U-1201
U-1202
U-1203
U-1204
U-1205
U-1206
U-1207
U-1208
U-1209
U-1210

Type VIIC/41

U-292
U-293
U-294
U-295
U-296
U-297
U-298
U-299
U-300
U-317
U-318
U-319
U-320
U-321
U-322
U-323
U-324
U-325
U-326
U-327
U-328
U-827
U-828
U-929
U-930
U-995
U-997
U-998
U-999
U-1000
U-1001
U-1002
U-1003
U-1004
U-1005
U-1006
U-1007
U-1008
U-1009
U-1010
U-1013
U-1014
U-1015
U-1016
U-1017
U-1018
U-1019
U-1020
U-1021
U-1022
U-1023
U-1024
U-1025
U-1063
U-1064
U-1065
U-1103
U-1104
U-1105
U-1106
U-1107
U-1108
U-1109
U-1110
U-1163
U-1164
U-1165
U-1166
U-1167
U-1168
U-1169
U-1170
U-1171
U-1172
U-1271
U-1272
U-1273
U-1274
U-1275
U-1276
U-1277
U-1278
U-1279
U-1301
U-1302
U-1303
U-1304
U-1305
U-1306
U-1307
U-1308

Type VIID

U-213 U-214 U-215 U-216 U-217 U-218

Type VIIF

U-1059 U-1060 U-1061 U-1062

Preceded by: Type II
Followed by: Type IX

List of U-boat types

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