 Scale model ofU-96 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 Nazi Germany | |
| Name | U-96 |
| Ordered | 30 May 1938 |
| Builder | Germaniawerft,Kiel |
| Yard number | 601 |
| Laid down | 16 September 1939 |
| Launched | 1 August 1940 |
| Commissioned | 14 September 1940 |
| Decommissioned | 15 February 1945 |
| Fate | Sunk on 30 March 1945 atWilhelmshaven by bombs during US air raid[1] |
| Badge |  |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Type VIICsubmarine |
| Displacement | |
| Length |
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| Beam |
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| Height | 9.60 m (31 ft 6 in) |
| Draught | 4.74 m (15 ft 7 in) |
| Installed power |
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| Propulsion |
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| Speed |
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| Range | |
| Test depth |
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| Complement | 4 officers, 40–56 enlisted |
| Armament |
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| Service record | |
| Part of: |
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| Identification codes: | M 29 052 |
| Commanders: |
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| Operations: |
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| Victories: | |
German submarineU-96 was aType VIICU-boat of the German Navy (Kriegsmarine) duringWorld War II. It was made famous after the war inLothar-Günther Buchheim's 1973 bestselling novelDas Boot and the 1981Oscar-nominated film adaptation of the same name, both based on his experience on the submarine as a war correspondent in 1941.
The keel waslaid down on 16 September 1939, byGermaniawerft, ofKiel as yard number 601. She wascommissioned on 14 September 1940, withKapitänleutnantHeinrich Lehmann-Willenbrock in command. Lehmann-Willenbrock was relieved in March 1942 byOberleutnant zur SeeHans-Jürgen Hellriegel, who was relieved in turn in March 1943 byOblt.z.S. Wilhelm Peters. In February 1944,Oblt.z.S. Horst Willner took command, turning the boat over toOblt.z.S. Robert Rix in June of that year. Rix commanded the boat until 15 February 1945.
German Type VIIC submarines were preceded by the shorterType VIIB submarines.U-96 had a displacement of 769 tonnes (757 long tons) when at the surface and 871 tonnes (857 long tons) while submerged.[2] She had a total length of 67.10 m (220 ft 2 in), apressure hull length of 50.50 m (165 ft 8 in), abeam of 6.20 m (20 ft 4 in), a height of 9.60 m (31 ft 6 in), and adraught of 4.74 m (15 ft 7 in). The submarine was powered by twoGermaniawerft F46 four-stroke, six-cylindersuperchargeddiesel engines producing a total of 2,800 to 3,200 metric horsepower (2,060 to 2,350 kW; 2,760 to 3,160 shp) for use while surfaced, twoAEG GU 460/8–27double-acting electric motors producing a total of 750 metric horsepower (550 kW; 740 shp) for use while submerged. She had two shafts and two 1.23 m (4 ft)propellers. The boat was capable of operating at depths of up to 230 metres (750 ft).[2]
The submarine had a maximum surface speed of 17.7 knots (32.8 km/h; 20.4 mph) and a maximum submerged speed of 7.6 knots (14.1 km/h; 8.7 mph).[2] When submerged, the boat could operate for 80 nautical miles (150 km; 92 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph); when surfaced, she could travel 8,500 nautical miles (15,700 km; 9,800 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph).U-96 was fitted with five 53.3 cm (21 in)torpedo tubes (four fitted at the bow and one at the stern), fourteentorpedoes, one8.8 cm (3.46 in) SK C/35 naval gun, 220 rounds, and a2 cm (0.79 in) C/30 anti-aircraft gun. The boat had acomplement of between forty-four and sixty.[2]
As part of the7th U-boat Flotilla, stationed inSaint Nazaire, on the French Atlantic coast,U-96 conducted 11 patrols, sinking 27 ships totalling 181,206 gross register tons (GRT) and damaging four others totalling 33,043 GRT. She also caused one vessel of 8,888 GRT to be declared a total loss. The boat was a member of elevenwolfpacks. On 30 March 1945,U-96 was sunk by US bombs while in the submarine pens inWilhelmshaven. In her entire career, she suffered no casualties to her crew. The boat was also known for her emblem, a green laughingsawfish. It became the symbol of the9th Flotilla after Lehmann-Willenbrock took command in March 1942.
U-96 departedKiel on 4 December 1940 on her first patrol. Her route took her across theNorth Sea, through thegap between theFaroe andShetland Islands and into the North Atlantic.
On 11 December,U-96 made contact with the scatteredconvoy HX 92 and attacked the British passenger shipRotorua of 10,890 GRT, sinking her with a single torpedo launched at 15:12 in position58°56′N11°20′W / 58.933°N 11.333°W /58.933; -11.333.[3] Most of her passengers and crew survived, her master, the convoy commodore and 21 others, however, perished. Later the same day,U-96 launched a torpedo at the Dutch merchant shipTowa of 5,419 GRT, hitting her amidships. The crippled ship did not immediately sink, so at 21:30U-96 launched a second torpedo. After the second hit, the ship still stayed afloat, so the U-boat began shelling her half an hour later. The ship finally went under at 22:42 in position58°50′N10°10′W / 58.833°N 10.167°W /58.833; -10.167.[4] The 37 crew members ofTowa abandoned ship in three lifeboats, one of which capsized, drowning its occupants. 19 survivors were later picked up by an escort. A torpedo attack onCardita of 8,237 GRT was unsuccessful.
In the early hours of 12 December,U-96 attacked the Swedish steamerStureholm of 4,575 GRT, sinking her with a single torpedo launched at 01:56 in position57°50′N8°40′W / 57.833°N 8.667°W /57.833; -8.667.[5] Two and a half hours later the un-escorted BelgianMacedonier was sighted and attacked with a single torpedo, which hit amidships, sinking her within 10 minutes in position57°52′N8°42′W / 57.867°N 8.700°W /57.867; -8.700.[6] The crew had immediately abandoned ship and all but four out of 47 survived.
Two days later, on 14 DecemberU-96 sank the British motor shipWestern Prince of 10,926 GRT in position59°32′N17°47′W / 59.533°N 17.783°W /59.533; -17.783 with two torpedoes.[7] Later that day, at 21:02,U-96 fired at the British steamerEmpire Razorbill,[8] trying to stop her. After six rounds from herdeck gun which resulted in three hits,U-96 abandoned the attack on the armed merchantman due to bad weather.
On 18 December,U-96 encountered the Dutch motor tankerPendrecht and attacked her with a single torpedo at 16:15. The ship was hit astern but remained afloat.[9] The crew, which had initially abandoned the ship, was able to re-board and sail her to Rothesay escorted by a British destroyer.U-96, which had lost contact during the night, remained in the general area, encountering a British battleship and her escorts, but could not attack.
After 26 days at sea,U-96 arrived inLorient in occupied France on 29 December, having sunk five ships for a total of 37,037 GRT and damaging a further two ships for a total of 15,864 GRT.[10]
On 9 January 1941,U-96 departed Lorient for her second war patrol. She returned to the waters west of Scotland, where she attacked the BritishSS Oropesa of 14,118 GRT early in the morning of 16 January. Three torpedoes were launched byU-96 in the space of two hours, finally sinking the ship in position56°28′N12°0′W / 56.467°N 12.000°W /56.467; -12.000 at 06:16.[11] One hundred and six passengers and crew perished, while 143 survivors were picked up by British destroyers.
The next day,U-96 encountered the un-escorted British passenger steamerAlmeda Star of 14,936 GRT. A first torpedo was launched at 07:45, hitting the ship amidships, causing her to stop. A second torpedo hit the ship astern 20 minutes later, but still did not sink. Two more torpedoes were needed beforeAlmeda Star sank in position58°16′N13°40′W / 58.267°N 13.667°W /58.267; -13.667, three minutes after the fourth and last torpedo was launched at 13:55.[12] All passengers and crew, in total 360, were lost.
U-96 returned to base on 22 January 1941 and once more docked in Lorient after 14 days at sea, sinking two ships for a total of 29,054 GRT.[13]
On 30 January 1941,U-96 left Lorient for her third war patrol in the North Atlantic. Two weeks into the patrol, she sighted a straggler fromconvoy HX 106 s, the British motor tankerClea. The U-boat attacked shortly after 15:00 with a single torpedo, which hitClea amidships, snapping her in half and setting the wreck on fire. The two halves were then sunk with artillery.[14]Later the same day, another tanker,Arthur F. Corwin, of 10,516 GRT, was sighted. The tanker had already been hit by torpedoes fromU-103, and was lagging behind the same convoy asClea.U-96 launched two more torpedoes into the burning wreck, sinking her in position60°25′N17°11′W / 60.417°N 17.183°W /60.417; -17.183.[15] All 59 crew members perished in the attack. In the morning, escorts of HX 106 spotted and attackedU-96 with four depth charges, but the U-boat escaped without damage.
At 02:27 on 18 February, the BritishBlack Osprey of 5,589 GRT, part of HX 107 s, was attacked with a torpedo. A second torpedo sank the ship twelve minutes later.[16]Black Osprey's crew of 36 abandoned ship in heavy weather, however, only eleven survivors were picked up two days later.
On 21 February aFocke Wulf "Condor" of I./KG 40 attacked and damaged a straggler fromconvoy OB 287, the 6,999 GRTScottish Standard, killing five of her crew. The crew abandoned ship and 39 survivors were picked up by an escort,HMS Montgomery. On the next day, 22 February,U-96 came upon the abandoned tanker. Although there was a destroyer patrolling the area,U-96 was able to launch two torpedoes, sinkingScottish Standard in position59°20′N16°12′W / 59.333°N 16.200°W /59.333; -16.200.[17] Following the second explosion, HMSMontgomery pursued the U-boat for five hours, dropping 37 depth charges without causing serious damage.
On 23 February 1941,U-96 made contact with convoy OB 288, and proceeded to attack in conjunction withU-69,U-73,U-95, andU-107 as well as theItalian submarine Michele Bianchi. The U-boats sank nine ships, including one escort, three of which were claimed byU-96.[18]
The first, the British 5,457 GRT cargo shipAnglo-Peruvian, was mistaken for an auxiliary cruiser and attacked with two torpedoes at 23:27. The ship sank within three minutes after being hit[19] with the loss of 29 of her crew in position59°30′N21°00′W / 59.500°N 21.000°W /59.500; -21.000. The 17 survivors were later picked up by a British merchant ship. Later the same night, at 01:16 on 24 February, the unescorted BritishSS Linaria of 3,385 GRT was attacked with a single torpedo. The ship sank 25 minutes after being hit by the torpedo at the stern.[20] All 35 crew members were lost in the attack.[21]An hour afterLinaria was attacked,U-96 attacked the BritishSS Sirikishna of 5,458 GRT, hitting the ship amidships. Six hours later,U-96 launched a second torpedo at the wreck, that had been abandoned by the crew, which included the commodore of OB 288, Rear Admiral R.A.A. Plowden, DSO. There were no survivors.[22]
After escaping the attack of an escort,HMS Churchill,U-96 made for port in St. Nazaire, France, where she arrived after 30 days at sea on 28 February, having sunk seven ships for a total of 45,391 GRT.[23] Upon arrival the commander ofU-96, Heinrich Lehmann-Willenbrock, was presented with theKnight's Cross of the Iron Cross, which he had been awarded two days before. TheWehrmachtbericht had announced on 25 February that Lehmann had sunk 55,600 tons on his last patrol, and a total of 125,580 tons of Allied shipping since taking command ofU-96.
On 12 April 1941U-96 set to sea again for her fourth war patrol. On 16 April, the U-boat made contact with convoy OB 309 and was immediately attacked by an escort,HMSRockingham, resulting in some damage to the boat. On 28 April,U-96 encountered her sisterU-95 in contact with convoy HX 121. At 19:25U-96 launched three torpedoes against three tankers in the convoy. The first ship to be hit,Oilfield, a British motor tanker of 8,516 GRT,[24] went up in flames upon being hit, all but eight of her crew of 55 perished in the attack.[25]The second ship, the Norwegian tankerCaledonia, was hit in the engine room, killing seven crew members there. A further five crew members were killed when they drifted into the burning wreck ofOilfield nearby after jumping overboard. The rest of the crew survived when the rescue shipZaafaran picked up 25 survivors in a lifeboat.[26] The third ship sunk that day, the British steamshipPort Hardy of 8,897 GRT, was hit accidentally when the third torpedo missed its target.[27] Before the torpedo hit,U-96 was forced to submerge, as an escort, the Flower-classcorvetteHMS Gladiolus arrived on the scene.Port Hardy lost one crew member in the attack, while 97 passengers and crew were picked up byZaafaran.[28]
Shortly after 13:00 the next day, a slightly damagedU-96 was attacked by an aircraft, aLockheed Hudson fromNo. 233 Squadron RAF, but the bombs did not cause any further damage. In the evening of 1 May,U-96 unsuccessfully attacked an unescorted freighter, before making contact with another convoy on 4 May. Contact was lost the next day, however. On 7 May,U-96 was spotted by aShort Sunderland shortly after noon, and over the course of two and a half hours, 32 bombs were dropped. Another air attack occurred a week later, on 14 May, when a four-engine aircraft dropped three bombs on the U-boat.[29]
Early on 19 May, the British steamshipEmpire Ridge of 2,922 GRT, crossedU-96's path 90 nautical miles (170 km; 100 mi) west ofBloody Foreland (Ireland). Mistaking her for a 9000 GRT tanker,U-96 launched two torpedoes.[30]Empire Ridge broke in half when the torpedoes hit, taking with her 31 of a crew of 33.[31]
After 41 days at sea,U-96 returned to Saint Nazaire on 22 May, having sunk four ships for a total of 30,227 GRT.[32]
The fifth war patrol started on 19 June 1941, whenU-96 left Saint Nazaire for the North Atlantic again. Two weeks into the patrol,U-96 made contact with a small convoy. The boat was about 300 nautical miles (560 km; 350 mi) north of theAzores on 5 July 1941 when she found the survey vesselHMS Challenger leading anarmed merchant cruiser (AMC)HMSCathay andSS Anselm, a cargo and passenger liner of 5,954 GRT that had been converted into a troop ship. Also escorting the small convoy were threeFlower-classcorvettes:HMS Lavender,Petunia andStarwort.U-96 was under the impression that she had hit the survey ship and the AMC; instead, she had struckAnselm twice, sinking her and killing 254 people.Starwort'sASDIC was not working, butLavender andPetunia counter-attacked withdepth charges. The U-boat was seriously damaged and forced to curtail her patrol.[33]
After 21 days at sea,U-96 arrived in Saint Nazaire, having sunk one ship of 5,954 GRT.[34]
On 2 August 1941,U-96 left for her sixth patrol in the North Atlantic. On 12 August, the U-boat was part of groupGreenland. Two weeks later, on 28 August, she joined groupPrince-Elector. In early September,U-96 belonged to groupSeawolf before returning to base. On 12 September she entered St.Nazaire after 42 days at sea, without attacking any ships.[35]
On 27 October,U-96 left for her seventh patrol with journalistLothar-Günther Buchheim aboard and joined groupStoßtrupp three days later. The next day, 31 October, the group made contact withconvoy OS 10.U-96 launched four torpedoes at a long range, one of which struck the DutchSS Bennekom. The ship went down half an hour after being hit, taking nine of her crew of 56 with her.[36]Following the attack, the sloopHMS Lulworth arrived on the scene and forcedU-96 under water with gun fire. The U-boat escaped the barrage of 27 depth charges unscathed.[37]The next day,U-96 encountered two more of the escorts,HMS Gorleston andVerbena, but managed to escape again.
The U-boat spent November patrolling the North Atlantic as part of groupsStörtebecker andBenecke, until secretly entering the neutral port ofVigo, Spain, and being resupplied by the interned GermanMV Bessel on 27 November. After leaving Vigo,U-96 made for theStrait of Gibraltar, with orders to enter the Mediterranean. However, late on 30 November the U-boat was spotted by aFairey Swordfish of812 Naval Air Squadron and heavily damaged by two bombs dropped by the aircraft. Unable to reach her destination,U-96 made for the port of Saint Nazaire. On the way she encountered the SpanishSS Cabo de Hornos, which returned from South America, after delivering a group of Jewish refugees to the Dutch colony ofCuraçao, when Brazil denied them entry.[38] WhenU-96's torpedo missed, the ship was stopped and her papers checked.[39] On 6 December 1941, after 41 days at sea,U-96 returned to Saint Nazaire, having sunk one ship of 5,998 GRT.[40]
The boat's eighth patrol saw success when she operated off the Canadian east coast. She sankLake Osweya nearHalifax on 20 February 1942. She was only 500 yd (460 m) from her target when the torpedo was launched.
She sankTorungen offNova Scotia on 22 February and attackedKars later the same day. The latter ship broke in two following the torpedo's impact. The bow section quickly sank, but the stern section was beached and declared a total loss.
The submarine's final victory this time out came on 9 March when she sankTyr about 100 nautical miles (190 km; 120 mi) from Halifax.
For the ninth patrol,U-96 left St. Nazaire on 23 April 1942 and returned 73 days later, on 1 July without attacking anything.
On the tenth patrol, the boat damagedF. J. Wolfe on 10 September 1942 (although this ship was able to keep up with her convoy).U-96 also sankSveve on the same day, as well asElisabeth van Belgie. It also sankDeläes on the 11th.
The boat's final operational patrol commenced with her departure from Saint Nazaire on 26 December 1942. Crossing the Atlantic for the last time, she then came back to the eastern side and after transferring a sick crew-member toU-163 on 3 January 1943, arrived atKönigsberg (nowKaliningrad, Russia) on 8 February.
She spent most of the rest of the war as a training vessel. She was decommissioned on 15 February 1945 inWilhelmshaven.
When USEighth Air Force attacked Wilhelmshaven on 30 March 1945,U-96 was sunk in Hipper basin. The remains of the U-boat werebroken up after the war.[41]
During 1941, war correspondentLothar-Günther Buchheim joinedU-96 for her seventh patrol. His orders were to photograph and describe the U-boat in action for propaganda purposes. Over 5,000 photographs, most of them taken by Buchheim, survived the war. From his experiences, he wrote a short story, "Die Eichenlaubfahrt" (The Oak-Leaves Patrol) and a 1973 novel which was to become an international best-seller,Das Boot (The Boat), followed in 1976 byU-Boot-Krieg (U-boat War), a nonfiction chronicle of the voyage.
In 1981 Wolfgang Petersen created the critically acclaimed filmDas Boot based on Buchheim's novel of the same name with several alterations to the plot and characters. Both the novel and the film had a much darker ending than in reality, where the U-boat returns to port only to be destroyed during an air raid with many of her crew killed or wounded. In reality,U-96 survived war service, being decommissioned in February 1945 and converted into a training vessel.U-96 was sunk one month later in March by Allied bombs. The same replica ofU-96 was used in Steven Spielberg's 1981 filmRaiders of the Lost Ark, but has the numberU-26, which in reality was aType IA U-boat.[citation needed]
In 2019, Deep Water Studio released thevideo gameUBOAT inearly access.UBOAT gives the player command ofU-96 during the Second World War.[42]
UBOAT was officially released on August 4th, 2024, and was received positively.
U-96 is also featured as one of the five playable submarines in the video gameWolfpack released by Usurpator AP into early access in 2019.[43]
The U-boat is also featured in the mobile gameAzur Lane in an anthropomorphised form.
U-96 took part in elevenwolfpacks:
U-96 conducted eleven patrols, sinking 27 ships totalling 181,206 gross register tons (GRT) and damaging four others totalling 33,043 GRT. She also caused one vessel of 8,888 GRT to be declared atotal loss.
*Sunk the next day byU-91 with all hands lost.
![Fresco of U-96, outside the Grand Blockhaus Museum [Wikidata] (Batz-sur-Mer, France)](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aBatz_Grand_Blockhaus_fresque_U_96.JPG)
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