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German submarine U-646
Career (Nazi Germany) War Ensign of Germany 1938-1945
Name: U-646
Ordered: 20 January 1941
Builder: Blohm & Voss, Hamburg
Yard number: 146
Laid down: 23 December 1941
Launched: 3 September 1942
Commissioned: 29 October 1942
Fate: Sunk 17 May 1943 by British aircraft south-east of Iceland
General characteristics [1]
Class & type: Type VIIC submarine
Displacement: 769 t (757 long tons) surfaced
871 t (857 long tons) submerged
Length: 67.10 m (220 ft 2 in) (o/a)
50.50 m (165 ft 8 in) (pressure hull)
Beam: 6.20 m (20 ft 4 in) (o/a)
4.70 m (15 ft 5 in) (pressure hull)
Height: 9.60 m (31 ft 6 in)
Draft: 4.74 m (15 ft 7 in)
Propulsion: 2 × supercharged Germaniawerft 6-cylinder 4-stroke F46 diesel engines, totalling 2,800–3,200 PS (2,800–3,200 bhp; 2,100–2,400 kW). Max rpm: 470-490
2 × Brown, Boveri & Cie. double-acting electric motors, totaling 750 PS (740 shp; 550 kW) and max rpm: 296.
Speed: 17.7 knots (32.8 km/h; 20.4 mph) surfaced
7.6 knots (14.1 km/h; 8.7 mph) submerged
Range: 8,500 nmi (15,700 km; 9,800 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) surfaced
80 nmi (150 km; 92 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph) submerged
Test depth: 230 m (750 ft)
Crush depth: 250–295 m (820–968 ft)
Complement: 44–52 officers & ratings
Armament:
Service record
Identification codes: M 49 751
Commanders: Lt.z.S.d.R. Heinrich Wulff
Operations: 2 war patrols
Victories: no ships sunk

German submarine U-646 was a Type VIIC U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II. The submarine was laid down on 23 December 1941 at the Blohm & Voss yard at Hamburg, launched on 3 September 1942, and commissioned on 29 October 1942 under the command of Leutnant zur See d.R. Heinrich Wulff.

Attached to 5th U-boat Flotilla based at Kiel, U-646 completed her training period on 31 March 1943 and was assigned to front-line service.

Service history[]

While on patrol in the North Atlantic, U-646 was detected by Hudson J of No. 269 Squadron RAF south-east of Iceland on 17 May 1943. In the subsequent attack, the U-boat was sunk and all 46 crew members perished.[2]

References[]

  1. Gröner 1985, pp. 72-74.
  2. Busch, Röll 1999, p. 99.

Bibliography[]

  • Busch, Rainer; Röll, Hans-Joachim (1999) (in German). Deutsche U-Boot-Verluste von September 1939 bis Mai 1945. IV. Hamburg, Berlin, Bonn: Mittler. ISBN 3-8132-0514-2. 
  • Gröner, Erich (1985) (in German). U-Boote, Hilfskreuzer, Minenschiffe, Netzleger, Sperrbrecher. III. Koblenz: Bernard & Graefe. ISBN 3-7637-4802-4. 

External links[]

Coordinates: 62°10′N 14°30′W / 62.167°N 14.5°W / 62.167; -14.5


All or a portion of this article consists of text from Wikipedia, and is therefore Creative Commons Licensed under GFDL.
The original article can be found at German submarine U-646 and the edit history here.
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