German submarine U-978
Career (Nazi Germany) | |
---|---|
Name: | U-978 |
Ordered: | 5 June 1941 |
Builder: | Blohm & Voss, Hamburg |
Laid down: | 24 July 1942 |
Launched: | 1 April 1943 |
Commissioned: | 12 May 1943 |
Fate: | sunk on 11 December 1945 during Operation Deadlight. |
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 & ratings |
Armament: |
5 × 53.3 cm (21 in) torpedo tubes (4 bow, 1 stern) 14 × torpedoes or 26 TMA mines 1 × 8.8 cm (3.46 in) deck gun (220 rounds) Various AA guns |
Service record | |
---|---|
Part of: |
Kriegsmarine: 5th U-boat Flotilla 3rd U-boat Flotilla 11th U-boat Flotilla |
Victories: | 1 ship damaged ; 7,176 gross register tons (GRT) |
German submarine U-978 was a World War II Type VIIC U-boat operated by Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine . She holds the distiniction of having completed the longest underwater patrol of World War II.
Service history
U-978 was commissioned on 12 May 1943 and assigned to 5th U-boat Flotilla for crew training. On 1 August 1944, U-978 was assigned to 3rd U-boat Flotilla for operational service, and completed one patrol with that unit. On 4 September 1944 she was ordered to 11th U-boat Flotilla, beginning service on 5 September. During her second war patrol, U-978 completed the longest underwater Schnorchel patrol of World War II, lasting 68 days.[1] The record-breaking patrol began on 9 October 1944 when she left Bergen, Norway and ended on 16 December when she returned to Bergen from her patrol. Note that the famed underwater patrol of U-977, during her surrender to Argentina, was not the longest, as sometimes stated, it lasted at most 66 days. During her two patrols U-978, did not sink any ships, but damaged one ship beyond repair, which totalled 7,176 GRT.
Fate
U-978 survived the war as did her whole crew, and was surrendered at Trondheim on 8 May 1945. She was sunk on 11 December 1945 during Operation Deadlight by torpedoes at location 55°50′N 10°05′W / 55.833°N 10.083°W.
Summary of Raiding Career
Date | Ship Name | Nationality | Tonnage (GRT) | Fate[2] |
---|---|---|---|---|
23 November 1944 | William D. Burnham | United States | 7,176 | Total Loss |
Notes
- ↑ Bishop, p.116.
- ↑ http://uboat.net/boats/successes/u978/html
References
- Bishop, C. Kriegsmarine U-Boats, 1939 –45. Amber Books, 2006.
- uboat.net. Retrieved, 14 February 2007.