German submarine U-286

German submarine U-286 was a Type VIIC U-boat of the Nazi German Kriegsmarine during World War II.

The submarine was laid down on 3 August 1942 at the Bremer Vulkan yard at Bremen-Vegesack as 'werk' 51. She was launched on 21 April 1943 and commissioned on 5 June under the command of Oberleutnant Willi Dietrich.

She was sunk by British warships in April 1945 off Murmansk.

Service history
U-286 served with the 8th U-boat Flotilla for training from June to July 1944 and operationally with the 11th flotilla from 1 August. She was then reassigned to the 13th flotilla on 5 November and back to the 11th flotilla on 1 March 1945. She carried out four patrols, sinking one warship of 1,150 GRT.

She was a member of three wolfpacks.

The boat's first patrol was preceded by a short voyage from Kiel on 10 June 1944 to Flekkefjord in Norway (west of Kristiansand).

1st, 2nd and 3rd patrols
U-285's first patrol proper began with her departure from Flekkefjord on 5 July 1944. On the 18th, she was attacked by a Norwegian De Haviland Mosquito of No. 333 Squadron RAF. One man was killed, seven others were wounded. The boat was also damaged, but docked at Kristiansand the same day.

Her second sortie was preceded by a series of short voyages between Kristiansand, Bergen and Horten which culminated in Trondheim. This patrol took her three times to the Norwegian Sea and Murmansk, but success continued to elude her. She arrived in Harstad, (northwest of Narvik). on 7 January 1945.

The boat's third foray was relatively uneventful, starting and finishing in Harstad.

4th patrol and loss
The submarine sank the British frigate HMS Goodall (K479) in the Kola Inlet 7 mi from Murmansk on 29 April 1945. Her success was short-lived; she was attacked and sunk by depth charges dropped by the British frigates HMS Loch Insh (K433), HMS Anguilla (K500), and HMS Cotton (K510) in the Barents Sea later that day north of Murmansk at 69.48333°N, 33.61667°W with the loss of her entire crew of 51 men.