German submarine U-279

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 * Ship type=Type VIIC submarine
 * Ship displacement={{convert|769|t|LT|0}} surfaced {{convert|871|t|LT|0|abbr=on}} submerged

German submarine U-279 was a Type VIIC U-boat of the Nazi German Kriegsmarine during World War II.

The submarine was laid down on 31 March 1942 at the Bremer Vulkan yard at Bremen-Vegesack as 'werk' 44. She was launched on 16 December 1942 and commissioned on 3 February 1943 under the command of Kapitänleutnant Otto Franke.

Service history
U-279 served with the 8th U-boat Flotilla for training from February to July 1943 and operationally with the 9th flotilla from 1 August 1943. She carried out one patrol, but sank no ships. She was a member of one wolfpack.

Patrol and loss
The boat departed Kiel on 4 September 1943. She entered the Atlantic Ocean after negotiating the 'gap' between Iceland and the Faroe Islands. She was sunk exactly a month after her departure (4 October), by depth charges dropped from a US Ventura aircraft southwest of Iceland. There were men in boats and in the water, but the Ventura could not call for assistance. Its radio had been put out of commission during the attack.

Forty-eight men died; there were no survivors.

Previously recorded fate
The submarine was initially categorized as having been sunk by a British Liberator southwest of Iceland on 4 October 1943.