Name U-704 Yard number 763 Commissioned 18 November 1941 Launched 28 August 1941 Draft 4.74 m | Ordered 9 October 1939 Laid down 26 August 1940 Construction started 26 August 1940 Length 67 m Beam 6.18 m | |
Builder HC Stülcken & Sohn, Hamburg | ||
German submarine U-704 was a Type VIIC U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II.
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Commissioned on 18 November 1941 under the command of Kapitänleutnant Horst Kessler, U-704 carried out training operations as part of the 8th U-boat Flotilla until June 1942.
Design
German Type VIIC submarines were preceded by the shorter Type VIIB submarines. U-704 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 AEG GU 460/8–27 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-704 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
U-704 set out on its first patrol, a transit to its operational base at Saint-Nazaire on 30 June 1942. During this patrol, U-704 formed part of wolfpack "Wolf" which was to patrol between Iceland and Greenland, out of the range of allied air cover. On 26 July 1942, U-704 torpedoed the 6,942 gross register tons (GRT) British freighter Empire Rainbow, part of convoy Convoy ON-113. Empire Rainbow had already been damaged by a torpedo from U-607, and U-704's torpedo sank the freighter.
U-704 carried out a further four operational patrols under the command of Kessler from Saint Nazaire and La Pallice, sinking no further ships. U-704 did fire four torpedoes at the troopship Queen Elizabeth on 9 November 1942, with Kessler claiming a hit, although Queen Elizabeth was undamaged.
Fate
U-704 then served as a training submarine in the Baltic sea for the rest of the war, and was scuttled at Vegesack on 4 May 1945.
Wolfpacks
U-704 took part in seven wolfpacks, namely.