German submarine ''U-995'' is a Type VIIC/41

U-boat U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare ro ...

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's '' Kriegsmarine'' and the only one of its class still in existence. She was

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on 25 November 1942 by Blohm & Voss in

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, Germany, and commissioned on 16 September 1943 with ''

Oberleutnant zur See ''Oberleutnant zur See'' (''OLt zS'' or ''OLZS'' in the German Navy, ''Oblt.z.S.'' in the '' Kriegsmarine'') is traditionally the highest rank of Lieutenant in the German Navy. It is grouped as OF-1 in NATO. The rank was introduced in the Imp ...

'' Walter Köhntopp in command. She is preserved at

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near Kiel.

Design

German Type VIIC/41 submarines were preceded by the heavier Type VIIC submarines. ''U-995'' had a displacement of when at the surface and while submerged. She had a total length of , a

pressure hull A submarine hull has two major components, the ''light hull'' and the ''pressure hull''. The light hull (''casing'' in British usage) of a submarine is the outer non-watertight hull which provides a hydrodynamically efficient shape. The pressure ...

length of , a beam of , a height of , and a draught of . The submarine was powered by two Germaniawerft F46 four-stroke, six-cylinder supercharged

diesel engine The diesel engine, named after Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of the fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to mechanical compression; thus, the diesel engine is a so-ca ...

s producing a total of for use while surfaced, two

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GG UB 720/8 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-995'' was fitted with five

torpedo tube A torpedo tube is a cylindrical device for launching torpedoes. There are two main types of torpedo tube: underwater tubes fitted to submarines and some surface ships, and deck-mounted units (also referred to as torpedo launchers) installed aboa ...

s (four fitted at the bow and one at the stern), fourteen

torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, s ...

es, and three anti-aircraft guns. The boat had a

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of between forty-four and sixty.

Armament

FLAK weaponry

''U-995'' was mounted with a single

3.7 cm Flak M42 The ''3.7 cm Flak M42'' was the marine version of the Flak 36/37 and used by the Kriegsmarine on surface ships and as the M42U on Type VII and Type IX U-boats. The 3.7 cm Flak M42U used several types of mounts and entered service in ...

gun on the LM 42U mount. The LM 42U mount was the most common mount used with the 3.7 cm Flak M42U. The 3.7 cm Flak M42U was the marine version of the 3.7 cm Flak and was also used by the Kriegsmarine on other Type VII and Type IX U-boats. File:3.7cm Flak M42 LM42U.png, A single 3.7 cm Flak M42U gun on the LM 42U mount. Additionally, the boat was armed with a pair of twin Flak 38 20mm "Flakzwilling" mounts immediately adjacent to the 37mm gun mount.

Sonar

Passive sonar

''U-995'' was fitted with a Royal Norwegian Navy design ''Balkongerät'' sometime during the 1960s and then removed sometime between 4 November 1971 and 13 March 1972.Wetzel, Eckard. ''U-995''. Motorbuch Verlag; Erw. N.-A. edition (1 November 2004). . File:UBOAT1308_1.png, An exterior view of a ''U-995'' ''Balkongerät''This drawing is based foremost on the internal framing of the Type VIIC and photographs of ''U-995''s. Its dimensions and attachment points are based principally on the external framing of the Type VIIC. File:UBOAT1308_2.png, An interior view of a ''U-995'' ''Balkongerät''

Service history

The boat's career began with training at 5th Flotilla on 16 September 1943, followed by active service on 1 June 1944 as part of the 13th Flotilla. She later transferred to 14th Flotilla on 1 March 1945.

Wolfpacks

''U-995'' took part in five wolfpacks, namely: * Dachs (1 – 5 September 1944) * Zorn (26 September – 1 October 1944) * Panther (16 October – 10 November 1944) * Stier (11 December 1944 – 6 January 1945) * Hagen (17 – 21 March 1945)

Fate

At the end of the war, on 8 May 1945, ''U-995'' was stricken at

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, Norway. She was surrendered to the British on 9 DecemberBlair, p. 819. and then transferred to Norwegian ownership in October 1948. On 1 December 1952 ''U-995'' became the Norwegian submarine ''Kaura'' ( Norwegian K class) and in 1965 she was stricken from service by the

Royal Norwegian Navy The Royal Norwegian Navy ( no, Sjøforsvaret, , Sea defence) is the branch of the Norwegian Armed Forces responsible for naval operations of Norway. , the Royal Norwegian Navy consists of approximately 3,700 personnel (9,450 in mobilized state, ...

. She then was offered to the West German government for the ceremonial price of one

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. The offer was refused; however, the boat was saved by the German Navy League, DMB. ''U-995'' became a museum ship at

in October 1971.

Summary of raiding history

Gallery

File:U995 Torpedorohre.png, ''U-995'' forward torpedo tubes File:U995 Zentrale.png, ''U-995'' control room File:U995 Turm.png, ''U-995'' hatches File:U995 Dieselmotorenraum.png, ''U-995'' diesel engine room File:U995 E-Maschinenraum.png, ''U-995'' electric motor compartment File:U995 Hecktorpedoraum.png, ''U-995'' aft torpedo compartment File:U-995.png, Turret logo of ''U-995''

References

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

*Clay Blair : ''Hitler's U-Boat War'' Vol II (1998). * * *

External links

Documentary about U995
* {{DEFAULTSORT:U0995 German Type VIIC/41 submarines U-boats commissioned in 1943 World War II submarines of Germany Norwegian K-class submarines Museum ships in Germany Museums in Schleswig-Holstein 1943 ships Ships built in Hamburg