Recognition Guide Warships of the Second World War
Kriegsmarine — Submarine

German submarine U-903

Type VIIC submarine

German submarine U-903
UK Government — This photograph A 16040 comes from the collections of the Imperial War Museums — Public domain — Wikimedia Commons Plate U 570, a Type VIIC submarine.

Service

  1. Kriegsmarine as U-9034 September 1943 — 5 May 1945609 days of the war
Type VIIC submarine Particulars
Name
U-903
Builder
Flender Werke AG, Lübeck
Ordered
16 July 1942
Laid down
25 August 1942
Launched
17 July 1943
Commissioned
4 September 1943
Fate
Scuttled on 5 May 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)
Main gun
88 mm (3.5 in)

U-903 was a Type VIIC submarine, operated by the Kriegsmarine. Her keel was laid at Flender Werke AG, Lübeck on 25 August 1942. Launched on 17 July 1943, she entered service on 4 September 1943.

612 ships of the class were built. 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.

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

She was in commission for 609 days of the Second World War.

She was scuttled on 5 May 1945. 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 × 53.3 cm torpedo tubes (four bow, one stern)
  • 14 × torpedoes or
  • 26 TMA mines
  • 1 × 8.8 cm deck gun (220 rounds)
  • 1 × 3.7 cm Flak M42 AA gun
  • 2 × twin 2 cm C/30 anti-aircraft guns

Sister ships

587 more in the class

Sources

  • Facts harvested from German submarine U-903 on Wikipedia. Figures only — no wording is taken from it.
  • Photograph: UK Government — This photograph A 16040 comes from the collections of the Imperial War Museums — Public domain — Wikimedia Commons