German submarine U-396
| Career |  |
|---|---|
| Name: | U-396 |
| Ordered: | 20 January 1941 |
| Builder: | Howaldtswerke, Kiel |
| Yard number: | 28 |
| Laid down: | 6 June 1942 |
| Launched: | 27 August 1943 |
| Commissioned: | 16 October 1943 |
| Fate: | Posted missing in mid or late April 1945[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] | |
|---|---|
| Part of: |
5th U-boat Flotilla (16 October 1943–31 May 1944) 1st U-boat Flotilla (1 June–30 September 1944) 11th U-boat Flotilla (1 October 1944–23 April 1945) |
| Commanders: |
Kptlt. Ernst-Günther Unterhorst (16 October–March 1945) Kptlt. Hilmar Siemon (March–23 April 1945) |
| Operations: |
1st patrol: 20 June–3 July 1944 2nd patrol: 15–20 July 1944 3rd patrol: 6–16 August 1944 4th patrol: 21 October–19 December 1944 5th patrol: 13 March–23 April 1945 |
| Victories: | None |
German submarine U-396 was a Type VIIC U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II.
She carried out five patrols. She did not sink or damage any ships.
She was posted missing in mid or late April 1945.[1]
Service history
The submarine was laid down on 6 June 1942 at the Howaldtswerke (yard) at Flensburg as 'werk' 28, launched on 27 August 1943 and commissioned on 16 October under the command of Kapitänleutnant Ernst-Günther Unterhorst.
She served with the 5th U-boat Flotilla from 16 October 1943 and the 1st flotilla from 1 June 1944. She was reassigned to the 11h flotilla on 1 October.
1st patrol
The boat departed Kiel on 20 June 1944. On 28 July she was attacked by a British Catalina flying boat of No. 210 Squadron RAF. The only damage was a carbon monoxide leak which was serious enough to cause the submarine to abort her patrol. She arrived at Bergen on 3 July.
2nd and 3rd patrols
These two sorties were relatively uneventful.
4th patrol
U-396 departed Trondheim on 1 October 1944. She entered the north Atlantic Ocean via the 'gap' between Iceland and the Faroe Islands and sailed southeast of Cape Farewell (Greenland). She returned to Trondheim on 19 December. At 60 days, it was her longest patrol.
5th patrol and possible loss
The boat departed Trondheim for Atlantic weather reporting duties on 13 March 1945. It is known that she sailed between the Faroe and Shetland Islands. She was posted missing in mid or late April. No conclusive explanation for her loss exists.
45 men were aboard the U-boat; there were no survivors.
Previously recorded fate
U-396 was thought to have been sunk on 23 April 1945 southwest of the Shetland Islands by depth charges dropped by a British B-24 Liberator of No. 86 Squadron RAF.[3] This attack was probably against a 'nonsub' target.
References
- Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 http://uboat.net/boats/u396/htm
- ↑ "The Type VIIC boat U-396 - German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net". www.uboat.net. Retrieved 9 September 2012.
- ↑ Kemp, Paul: U-Boats Destroyed - German Submarine Losses in the World Wars, 1997, Arms & Armour, ISBN 1-85409-515-3, p. 252
- Bibliography
See also
- List of German U-boats
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