Recognition Guide Warships of the Second World War
Kriegsmarine — Submarine

German submarine U-959

Type VIIC submarine

German submarine U-959
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-95921 January 1943 — 2 May 1944467 days of the war
Type VIIC submarine Particulars
Name
U-959
Builder
Blohm & Voss, Hamburg
Ordered
5 June 1941
Laid down
21 March 1942
Launched
3 December 1942
Commissioned
21 January 1943
Fate
Sunk on 2 May 1944 (1944)
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-959 was a Type VIIC submarine built for the Kriegsmarine. Her keel was laid at Blohm & Voss, Hamburg on 21 March 1942. Launched on 3 December 1942, she entered service on 21 January 1943.

She was one of 612 ships of her class. 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 467 days of the Second World War.

She was sunk on 2 May 1944, at 69°20′N 0°20′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 × 53.3 cm torpedo tubes (four bow, one stern)
  • 14 × torpedoes or
  • 26 TMA mines
  • 1 × 8.8 cm deck gun (220 rounds)
  • 1 × twin 2 cm C/30 anti-aircraft gun

Sister ships

587 more in the class

Sources

  • Facts harvested from German submarine U-959 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