U 976
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U 976 ( previous / next - all submarines ) |
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| Type : | VII C |
| Field Post Number : | 51 982 |
| Shipyard: | Blohm & Voss , Hamburg |
| Construction contract: | June 5, 1941 |
| Build number: | 176 |
| Keel laying: | July 9, 1942 |
| Launch: | March 25, 1943 |
| Commissioning: | May 5, 1943 |
| Commanders: |
Raimund Tiesler |
| Calls: | two ventures |
| Sinkings: |
no depressions |
| Whereabouts: | Sunk by an air raid on March 25, 1944 in the Bay of Biscay |
U 976 was a German type VII C submarine, a so-called "Atlanticboat". It was used by the German Navy during the U-Boat War in World War II in the North Atlantic and Biscay .
Technical specifications
A VII-C boat is 66.5 m long and displaces 760 t of water. It made a speed of up to 17 knots over water, propelled by the two 3000 hp diesel engines, and had a maximum range of 9500 nautical miles . Two electric motors produced a speed of 7.6 knots under water. Until 1944, the armament consisted of an 8.8 cm cannon and a 2.0 cm flak on deck as well as four bow torpedo tubes and a stern torpedo tube.
Commitment and history
From May 5 to October 31, 1943, U 976 was assigned to the 5th U-Flotilla as a training boat and was stationed in Kiel . From November 1st, the boat belonged to the 7th U-Flotilla as a front boat . U 976 remained with this flotilla until it was sunk.
Loss of the boat
U 976 crossed the Bay of Biscay under the protection of two escort ships with a course for the Saint-Nazaire submarine base when it was discovered by patrolling British air forces . It was a matter of several mosquitos that attacked the small escort with machine gun fire. Two of the mosquitos were equipped with 57-mm cannons, so-called tsetse-guns , which had been specially built into some aircraft of the 618th RAF Squadron for testing against submarines. While the two specially equipped mosquitos attacked the submarine, they were covered by four other mosquitos from the 248th RAF Squadron. After the crew of U 976 had defended themselves with artillery for a short time, the on-board anti-aircraft gun failed . In the meantime, the submarine had suffered severe damage and, due to several leaks, significant water ingress. Since U 976 had sunk as a result, large parts of the crew gathered on deck. Some tried to take cover behind the tower . While U 976 continued to approach Saint-Nazaire at full speed, the stern sagged and 30 crew members were washed overboard. Shortly afterwards, the British planes broke off their attack and Commander Teisler ordered the boat to be abandoned. Except for three men who were killed by the mosquito bombardment, all crew members of U 976 survived the loss of the boat. They were picked up by the escort ships.
Notes and individual references
- ↑ The 618th Squadron of the RAF was entrusted with the testing of weapons, z. B. the highball called variation of the roll bomb
- ^ Paul Kemp: The German and Austrian submarine losses in both world wars. Urbes-Verlag, Graefelfing before Munich 1998, ISBN 3-924896-43-7 , page 187
literature
- Rainer Busch, Hans-Joachim Röll: The submarine war 1939-1945. Volume 2: U-boat construction in German shipyards. ES Mittler und Sohn, Hamburg et al. 1997, ISBN 3-8132-0512-6 .
- Rainer Busch, Hans-Joachim Röll: The submarine war 1939-1945. Volume 4: German submarine losses from September 1939 to May 1945. ES Mittler und Sohn, Hamburg et al. 1999, ISBN 3-8132-0514-2 .
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