Name U-654 Yard number 803 Commissioned 5 July 1941 Launched 3 May 1941 Draft 4.74 m | Ordered 9 October 1939 Laid down 1 June 1940 Construction started 1 June 1940 Length 67 m Beam 6.2 m | |
Fate Sunk 22 August 1942 in the Caribbean Sea in position , by depth charges from a USAAF Douglas Digby aircraft. Builder Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft Part of 5th U-boat Flotilla, 1st U-boat Flotilla | ||
German submarine U-654 was a Type VIIC U-boat built for Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine for service during World War II. She was laid down on 1 June 1940 by Howaldtswerke, Hamburg as yard number 803, launched on 3 May 1941 and commissioned on 5 July 1941 under Korvettenkapitän Hans-Joachim Hesse.
Contents
Design
German Type VIIC submarines were preceded by the shorter Type VIIB submarines. U-654 had a displacement of 769 tonnes (757 long tons) when at the surface and 871 tonnes (857 long tons) while submerged. She had a total length of 67.10 m (220 ft 2 in), a pressure hull length of 50.50 m (165 ft 8 in), a beam of 6.20 m (20 ft 4 in), a height of 9.60 m (31 ft 6 in), and a draught of 4.74 m (15 ft 7 in). The submarine was powered by two Germaniawerft F46 four-stroke, six-cylinder supercharged diesel 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, two Siemens-Schuckert GU 343/38-8 double-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).
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). 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-654 was fitted with five 53.3 cm (21 in) torpedo tubes (four fitted at the bow and one at the stern), fourteen torpedoes, one 8.8 cm (3.46 in) SK C/35 naval gun, 220 rounds, and an anti-aircraft gun. The boat had a complement of between forty-four and sixty.
Service history
The boat's career began with training at 5th U-boat Flotilla on 5 July 1941, followed by active service on 1 November 1941 as part of the 1st Flotilla for the remainder of her service. In four patrols she sank three merchant ships, for a total of 17,755 gross register tons (GRT) and one warship.
Wolfpacks
U-654 took part in one wolfpack, namely
Fate
U-654 was sunk on 22 August 1942 in the Caribbean in position 12°00′N 79°56′W, by the depth charges from a United States Army Air Forces Douglas B-18 Bolo aircraft. All hands were lost. This was the first German U-Boat sunk by American aircraft.