German submarine U-76 (1940)


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German submarine U-76 was a Type VIIB U-boat of the Nazi German Kriegsmarine during World War II. She played a minor role in the Battle of the Atlantic, but was destroyed south of Iceland.

Construction
She was laid down at Bremer Vulkan in Bremen on 28 December 1939 as 'werk' 4. She was launched on 3 October 1940 and commissioned on 9 December.

U-76 was available for service from March 1941 following the completion of her working-up period and sea trials. Her commander, Kapitänleutnant (Kptlt.) Friedrich von Hippel, had previously served in GS U-144 (1940) during her trials until November the previous year.

War patrol
Six days into her first and only patrol on 2 April, U-76 sank the Finnish steam merchant ship SS Daphne which was on her way to Lillehammer, Norway. All twenty-two crew members were killed in the attack.

The next day, U-76 followed the mostly British convoy SC 26 travelling from Sydney, Nova Scotia to Liverpool. The U-boat fired a torpedo at the British merchantman SS Athenic (1937), disabling the vessel. The forty people on board were rescued by HMS Arbutus (K86).

The attack attracted the attention of the armed escort vessels, who pinpointed her position. Deploying depth-charges from HMS Wolverine (D78) and HMS Scarborough (L25), U-76 was sunk. Forty-two of her forty-three-man crew survived and were captured.