Name U-671 Yard number 820 Commissioned 3 March 1942 Launched 15 December 1941 Draft 4.74 m | Ordered 20 January 1941 Laid down 2 December 1941 Construction started 2 December 1941 Length 67 m Beam 6.2 m | |
Fate Sunk by British warships in the English Channel on 4 August 1944 Builder Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft | ||
German submarine U-671 was a Type VIIC U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II. The submarine was laid down on 5 December 1941 at the Howaldtswerke yard at Hamburg, launched on 15 December 1942, and commissioned on 3 March 1943 under the command of Oberleutnant zur See August-Wilhelm hewicker.
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Attached to 5th U-boat Flotilla based at Kiel, U-671 completed her training period on 30 April 1944 and was assigned to front-line service.
Design
German Type VIIC submarines were preceded by the shorter Type VIIB submarines. U-671 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-671 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
On the second and last war patrol, U-671 was detected by two British warships in the English Channel south of Brighton in the early hours of 4 August 1944. HMS Stayner attacked with depth charges and hedgehogs causing severe damage to the U-boat. Stayner was later joined by HMS Wensleydale. Repeated attacks resulted in an oil spill and a number of survivors appeared at the surface. Of the crew of 52 all but five perished in the attack.