German submarine U-455

	U-455 arriving in St. Nazaire after her third patrol on 16 June 1942
History
Nazi Germany
Name	U-455
Ordered	16 January 1940
Builder	Deutsche Werke AG, Kiel
Yard number	286
Laid down	3 September 1940
Launched	21 June 1941
Commissioned	21 August 1941
Fate	Sunk on 5 April 1944 in southeast of Genoa
General characteristics
Class & type	Type VIIC submarine
Displacement	769 tonnes (757 long tons) surfaced; 871 t (857 long tons) submerged;
Length	67.10 m (220 ft 2 in) o/a; 50.50 m (165 ft 8 in) pressure hull;
Beam	6.20 m (20 ft 4 in) o/a; 4.70 m (15 ft 5 in) pressure hull;
Height	9.60 m (31 ft 6 in)
Draught	4.74 m (15 ft 7 in)
Installed power	2,800–3,200 PS (2,100–2,400 kW; 2,800–3,200 bhp) (diesels); 750 PS (550 kW; 740 shp) (electric);
Propulsion	2 shafts; 2 × diesel engines; 2 × electric motors;
Speed	17.7 knots (32.8 km/h; 20.4 mph) surfaced; 7.6 knots (14.1 km/h; 8.7 mph) submerged;
Range	8,500 nmi (15,700 km; 9,800 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) surfaced; 80 nmi (150 km; 92 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph) submerged;
Test depth	230 m (750 ft); Crush depth: 250–295 m (820–968 ft);
Complement	4 officers, 40–56 enlisted
Armament	5 × 53.3 cm (21 in) torpedo tubes (four bow, one stern); 14 × torpedoes; 1 × 8.8 cm (3.46 in) deck gun (220 rounds); 1 × 3.7 cm (1.5 in) Flak M42 AA gun; 2 × 2 cm (0.79 in) C/30 AA guns;
Service record
Part of	5th U-boat Flotilla; 21 August – 31 December 1941; 7th U-boat Flotilla; 1 January 1942 – 29 February 1944; 29th U-boat Flotilla; 1 March – 5 April 1944;
Commanders	Kptlt. Hans-Heinrich Giessler; 21 August 1941 – 22 November 1942; Kptlt. Hans-Martin Scheibe; 22 November 1942 – 5 April 1944;
Operations	10 patrols:; 1st patrol:; 15 January – 28 February 1942; 2nd patrol:; 21 – 30 March 1942; 3rd patrol:; 16 April – 16 June 1942; 4th patrol:; 22 August – 28 October 1942; 5th patrol:; 24 November 1942 – 24 January 1943; 6th patrol:; 23 March – 23 April 1943; 7th patrol:; 30 May – 31 July 1943; 8th patrol:; 20 September – 11 November 1943; 9th patrol:; 6 January – 3 February 1944; 10th patrol:; 22 February – 5 April 1944;
Victories	3 merchant ships sunk ; (17,685 GRT)

German submarine U-455 was a Type VIIC U-boat built for Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine for service during World War II. She was laid down on 3 September 1940, launched on 21 June 1941 and commissioned on 21 August with Kapitänleutnant Hans-Heinrich Giessler in command of a crew of 51.

Her service began with the 5th U-boat Flotilla, a training outfit. She was transferred to the 7th flotilla for operations at the beginning of 1942 and again to the 29th flotilla in March 1944.

She carried out ten patrols and was a member of six wolfpacks; she sank three ships for a total of 17,685 gross register tons (GRT).

She was lost in the Ligurian Sea (north of Corsica) on 5 April 1944. Her wreck was discovered in 2005 off Genoa. She had previously been thought to be near La Spezia.