German U-Boat U-96 type VIIC COBI 4847 - World War II

You know that:

• The development was carried out from 1937 in strict secrecy, as the Versailles Peace Treaty forbade the Germans to build such vessels.
• The construction of the submarine known from the novel Das Boot began with the keel laying on 16 September 1939 at the Friedrich Krupp shipyard.
• Several VIIC class submarines were built in the shipyards. Krupp built reconnaissance, combat, training and experimental versions, for example with hydrogen peroxide propulsion.
• Construction progressed very quickly by today's standards. The submarine was launched as early as 1 August 1940 and entered service 6 weeks later.
• During active service, the submarine sank 28 merchant ships during 11 missions and severely damaged 4 others.
• Five interesting personalities took turns on the captain's bridge between 1940 and 1945. The most famous is probably the corvette captain Heinrich Lehmann-Willenbrock, nicknamed "Recke", mainly due to the memoirs of crew member Lothar G. Buchheim, who wrote the novel Das Boot based on his experiences. 
• In early 1943, the Kriegsmarine command deactivated the fleet operating under the designation Wolf Pack Jaguar and took the U-96 submarine out of service.
• The fate of the vessel was sealed by an Allied raid on the port of Wilhelmshaven on 30 March 1945, when the anchored submarine was sunk.

Technical parameters:

• dimensions: length 67.1 m, width 6.2 m, draught 4.74 m
• displacement 871 t (underwater 1070 t)
• propulsion 2x Germaniawerft F46 6-cylinder diesel engine with a total output of 2 350 kW +2x AEG 460/8-276 electric motor with an output of 550 kW
• maximum speed 17.7 knots (33 km/h) on the surface and 8 knots (14.8 km/h) underwater
• range 15 700 km on the surface and 150 km below the surface
• maximum diving depth 250 m
• crew 44-52 men
• armament 5x 533 mm torpedo tubes (14 G7A torpedoes on board) + 88 mm SK C/35 deck gun and 20 mm C/30 AA anti-aircraft gun.

From the memoirs of Lothar G. Buchheim, a member of the U-96 crew:

"The crew stood in silence and watched the captain move the periscope back and forth. He curses. The ship is zigzagging, making it a difficult target. After minutes of waiting, he finally has his chance. The order is given. "Torpedo launcher one! Fire!" A sleek metal torpedo bursts out of the tube and hurtles almost silently towards the ship. Torpedo Launcher 2 follows. The captain immediately floods the tanks to compensate for the weight loss - every kilogram counts when keeping the ship underwater."