German submarine ''U-621'' was a Type VIIC

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 ...

built for

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

's '' Kriegsmarine'' for service during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. She was

laid down Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship. Keel laying is one o ...

on 1 July 1941 by Blohm & Voss in

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

as yard number 597, launched on 19 March 1942 and commissioned on 7 May 1942 under ''

Kapitänleutnant ''Kapitänleutnant'', short: KptLt/in lists: KL, ( en, captain lieutenant) is an officer grade of the captains' military hierarchy group () of the German Bundeswehr. The rank is rated OF-2 in NATO, and equivalent to Hauptmann in the Heer an ...

'' Horst Schünemann.

Design

German Type VIIC submarines German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

were preceded by the shorter Type VIIB submarines. ''U-621'' 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

Brown, Boveri & Cie Brown, Boveri & Cie. (Brown, Boveri & Company; BBC) was a Swiss group of electrical engineering companies. It was founded in Zürich, in 1891 by Charles Eugene Lancelot Brown and Walter Boveri who worked at the Maschinenfabrik Oerlikon. In 1 ...

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-621'' 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, one SK C/35 naval gun, 220 rounds, and a C/30 anti-aircraft gun. The boat had a

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of between forty-four and sixty.

Service history

The boat's service began on 7 May 1942 for training as part of the 8th U-boat Flotilla. After training was completed she transferred to the 9th flotilla on 1 October 1942 for active service. In ten patrols she sank four merchant ships for a total of , plus one auxiliary warship. She also damaged two more ships.

Wolfpacks

She took part in eleven wolfpacks, namely: *Panther (10 – 16 October 1942) *Puma (16 – 29 October 1942) *Raufbold (11 – 18 December 1942) *Hartherz (3 – 7 February 1943) *Ritter (11 – 26 February 1943) *Burggraf (4 – 5 March 1942) * Raubgraf (7 – 15 March 1943) *Amsel 1 (3 – 6 May 1943) *Elbe (7 – 10 May 1943) *Elbe 2 (10 – 14 May 1943) *Mosel (19 – 24 May 1943)

Fate

She was sunk by depth charges dropped by three Royal Canadian Navy destroyers, , and on 18 August 1944 near

La Rochelle La Rochelle (, , ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''La Rochéle''; oc, La Rochèla ) is a city on the west coast of France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime department. Wi ...

at position .

Summary of raiding history

References

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

* * * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:U0621 Submarines lost with all hands German Type VIIC submarines 1942 ships U-boats commissioned in 1942 U-boats sunk in 1944 U-boats sunk by Canadian warships World War II submarines of Germany World War II shipwrecks in the Atlantic Ocean Ships built in Hamburg Maritime incidents in August 1944