Recognition Guide Warships of the Second World War
Kriegsmarine — Submarine

German submarine U-966

Type VIIC submarine

German submarine U-966
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-9664 March 1943 — 10 November 1943251 days of the war
Type VIIC submarine Particulars
Name
U-966
Builder
Blohm & Voss, Hamburg
Ordered
5 June 1941
Laid down
1 May 1942
Launched
14 January 1943
Commissioned
4 March 1943
Fate
Scuttled on 10 November 1943 (1943)
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-966 was a Type VIIC submarine of the Kriegsmarine. Her keel was laid at Blohm & Voss, Hamburg on 1 May 1942. She entered service on 4 March 1943, having been launched on 14 January 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.

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

She was in commission for 251 days of the Second World War.

She was scuttled on 10 November 1943, at 43°45′N 8°00′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-966 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