German submarine U-968

History




Nazi Germany
Name	U-968
Ordered	5 June 1941
Builder	Blohm & Voss, Hamburg
Yard number	168
Laid down	14 May 1942
Launched	4 February 1943
Commissioned	18 March 1943
Fate	Surrendered on 9 May 1945; sunk as part of Operation Deadlight on 29 November 1945


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 or 26 TMA mines 1 × 8.8 cm (3.46 in) deck gun (220 rounds) 1 × twin 2 cm (0.79 in) C/30 anti-aircraft gun


Service record
Part of	5th U-boat Flotilla 18 March 1943 – 29 February 1944 13th U-boat Flotilla 1 March 1944 – 8 May 1945
Identification codes	M 51 536
Commanders	Oblt.z.S. Otto Westphalen 18 March 1943 – 9 May 1945
Operations	7 patrols: 1st patrol: a. 7 March – 2 April 1944 b. 4 – 6 April 1944 c. 11 – 14 July 1944 d. 17 – 21 July 1944 e. 20 – 22 August 1944 2nd patrol: 29 August – 10 September 1944 3rd patrol: 24 September – 3 October 1944 4th patrol: a. 14 October – 11 November 1944 b. 13 – 16 November 1944 c. 23 – 25 January 1945 d. 1 February 1945 5th patrol: 7 – 20 February 1945 6th patrol: 12 – 30 March 1945 7th patrol: a. 21 April – 6 May 1945 b. 7 May 1945 c. 15 – 19 May 1945
Victories	2 merchant ships sunk (14,386 GRT) 1 warship sunk (1,350 tons) 1 merchant ship total loss (7,200 GRT) 1 warship total loss (1,350 tons) 1 merchant ship damaged (8,129 GRT)

German submarine U-968 was a Type VIIC U-boat built for Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine for service during World War II. She was laid down on 14 May 1942 by Blohm & Voss, Hamburg as yard number 168, launched on 4 February 1943 and commissioned on 18 March 1943 under Oberleutnant zur See Otto Westphalen.