Recognition Guide Warships of the Second World War
Kriegsmarine — Submarine

German submarine U-427

Type VIIC submarine

German submarine U-427
Darkone — CC BY-SA 2.0 — Wikimedia Commons Plate U 995 , Naval Museum in Laboe near Kiel, Germany

Service

  1. Kriegsmarine as U-4272 June 1943 — 9 May 1945707 days of the war
Type VIIC submarine Particulars
Name
U-427
Builder
Danziger Werft, Danzig
Ordered
5 June 1941
Laid down
27 July 1942
Launched
6 February 1943
Commissioned
2 June 1943
Fate
Surrendered on 9 May 1945
Scuttled on 21 December 1945 (1945)
Status
Wreck

Specifications

Displacement, surfaced
757 long tons (769 t)
Displacement, submerged
857 long tons (871 t)
Length
67.1 m (220.1 ft) OA
Beam
6.2 m (20.3 ft)
Draught
4.74 m (15.6 ft)
Speed
17.7 knots (32.8 km/h, 20.4 mph)
Range
8,500 nmi (15,742 km)
Complement
44
Main gun
88 mm (3.5 in)

U-427 was a Type VIIC submarine built for the Kriegsmarine. Danziger Werft, Danzig laid her keel on 27 July 1942. Launched on 6 February 1943, she entered service on 2 June 1943.

Her class ran to 612 ships. The class followed the Type UB III, Vetehinen class and was succeeded by the Type XXI (Late-war replacement).

The boat displaced 757 long tons surfaced and 857 long tons submerged. She measured 67.1 m (220 ft) long with a beam of 6.2 m (20 ft). Her designed speed was 17.7 knots, and she carried a complement of 44.

Her main battery was one 88 mm (3.5 in) guns.

She was in commission for 707 days of the Second World War.

She was scuttled on 9 May 1945, at 56°04′N 9°35′W. The wreck survives.

Written from the harvested record. Every figure above is sourced; the wording is this site's own.

Armament and machinery

Armament and machinery
Propulsion
  • 2 shafts
  • 2 × diesel engines
  • 2 × electric motors
Power
  • 2800 - 3200 PS (diesels)
  • 750 PS (electric)
Armament
  • 5 × torpedo tubes (four bow, one stern)
  • 14 × 53.3 cm torpedoes
  • 1 × 8.8 cm SK C/35 naval gun
  • various anti-aircraft guns

Sister ships

587 more in the class

Sources