Name U-76 Yard number 4 Commissioned 9 December 1940 Launched 3 October 1940 Draft 4.74 m | Ordered 2 June 1938 Laid down 28 December 1939 Construction started 28 December 1939 Length 67 m Beam 6.2 m | |
Fate Sunk, 5 April 1941 by British warships; 1 dead, 42 rescued | ||
German submarine U-76 was a Type VIIB U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II. She played a minor role in the Battle of the Atlantic, but was destroyed south of Iceland.
Contents
Design
German Type VIIB submarines were preceded by the shorter Type VIIA submarines. U-76 had a displacement of 753 tonnes (741 long tons) when at the surface and 857 tonnes (843 long tons) while submerged. She had a total length of 66.50 m (218 ft 2 in), a pressure hull length of 48.80 m (160 ft 1 in), a beam of 6.20 m (20 ft 4 in), a height of 9.50 m (31 ft 2 in), and a draught of 4.74 m (15 ft 7 in). The submarine was powered by two MAN M 6 V 40/46 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 BBC GG UB 720/8 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 17.9 knots (33.2 km/h; 20.6 mph) and a maximum submerged speed of 8 knots (15 km/h; 9.2 mph). When submerged, the boat could operate for 90 nautical miles (170 km; 100 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph); when surfaced, she could travel 8,700 nautical miles (16,100 km; 10,000 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph). U-76 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 one 2 cm (0.79 in) anti-aircraft gun The boat had a complement of between forty-four and sixty.
Service history
She was laid down at Bremer Vulkan in Bremen on 28 December 1939 as yard number 4. She was launched on 3 October 1940 and commissioned on 9 December.
U-76 was available for service from March 1941 following the completion of her working-up period and sea trials. Her commander, Kapitänleutnant (Kptlt.) Friedrich von Hippel, had previously served in U-144 during her trials until November the previous year.
War patrol
Six days into her first and only patrol on 2 April, U-76 sank the Finnish steam merchant ship SS Daphne which was on her way to Lillehammer, Norway. All twenty-two crew members were killed in the attack.
The next day, U-76 followed the mostly British convoy SC 26 travelling from Sydney, Nova Scotia to Liverpool. The U-boat fired a torpedo at the British merchantman SS Athenic, disabling the vessel. The 40 people aboard were rescued by HMS Arbutus.
The attack attracted the attention of the armed escort vessels, who pinpointed her position. Deploying depth-charges from HMS Wolverine and Scarborough, U-76 was sunk. Forty-two of her forty-three-man crew survived and were captured.