German submarine ''U-224'' was a

Type VIIC Type VII U-boats were the most common type of German World War II U-boat. 703 boats were built by the end of the war. The lone surviving example, , is on display at the Laboe Naval Memorial located in Laboe, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. Conc ...

U-boat of Nazi Germany's ''

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'' during World War II. Ordered on 15 August 1940 from the Germaniawerft shipyard in Kiel, she was laid down on 15 July 1941 as yard number 654, launched on 7 May 1942 and commissioned on 20 June. ''U-224'' was attacked with depth charges and rammed by Canadian corvette west of Algiers on 13 January 1943. 45 crew members died when the boat sank.

Design

German Type VIIC submarines were preceded by the shorter Type VIIB submarines. ''U-224'' had a displacement of when at the surface and while submerged. She had a total length of , a pressure hull length of , a

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of , a height of , and a draught of . The submarine was powered by two Germaniawerft F 46 four-stroke, six-cylinder supercharged diesel engines producing a total of for use while surfaced, two

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double-acting electric motors producing a total of for use while submerged. She had two shafts and two propellers. The boat was capable of operating at depths of up to . The submarine had a maximum surface speed of and a maximum submerged speed of . When submerged, the boat could operate for at ; when surfaced, she could travel at . ''U-224'' was fitted with five torpedo tubes (four fitted at the bow and one at the stern), fourteen torpedoes, one deck machine gun, 220 rounds, and a C/30 anti-aircraft gun. The boat had a complement of between forty-four and sixty.

Wolfpacks

''U-224'' took part in three wolfpacks, namely: * Puma (26 – 29 October 1942) * Natter (30 October – 8 November 1942) * Kreuzotter (8 – 18 November 1942)

Summary of raiding history

References

Bibliography

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External links