German submarine U-968

Service record
Part of:	5th U-boat Flotilla; (18 March 1943 - 29 February 1944) - Training; 13th U-boat Flotilla; (1 March 1944 - 8 May 1945)
Commanders:	Lt.z.S. Otto Westphalen; (2 January 1942 - 12 September 1942)
Operations:	1st patrol:; 7 March 1944 - 2 April 1944; 2nd patrol:; 29 August 1944 - 10 September 1944; 3rd patrol:; 24 September 1944 - 3 October 1944; 4th patrol:; 14 October 1944 - 11 November 1944; 5th patrol:; 7 February 1945 - 20 February 1945; 6th patrol:; 12 March 1945 - 30 March 1945; 7th patrol:; 21 April 1945 - 7 May 1945
Victories:	2 merchant ships sunk (14,386 GRT); 1 merchant ship damaged (8,129 GRT); 1 merchant ship total loss (7,200 GRT); 1 warship sunk (1,350 tons); 1 warship total loss (1,350 tons)

German submarine U-968
German submarine U-968
Name:	U-968
Ordered:	5 June 1941
Builder:	Blohm & Voss, Hamburg
Yard number:	168
Laid down:	14 May 1942
Launched:	4 February 1943
Commissioned:	18 March 1943
Fate:	Sunk 29 November 1945 in the North Atlantic in position 55°24′N 06°22′W / 55.4°N 6.367°W in Operation Deadlight.
General characteristics
Class & type:	Type VIIC submarine
Displacement:	769 tonnes (757 long tons) surfaced; 871 t (857 long tons) submerged
Length:	67.1 m (220 ft 2 in) o/a; 50.5 m (165 ft 8 in) pressure hull
Beam:	6.2 m (20 ft 4 in) o/a; 4.7 m (15 ft 5 in) pressure hull
Height:	9.6 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 bhp (2,100–2,400 kW). Max rpm: 470-490; 2 × BBC GG UB 720/8 electric motors, totalling 750 shp (560 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) at 10 kn (19 km/h) surfaced; 80 nmi (150 km) at 4 kn (7.4 km/h) submerged
Test depth:	230 m (750 ft); Crush depth: 250–295 m (820–968 ft)
Complement:	44–52 officers & ratings
Armament:	5 × 53.3 cm (21 in) torpedo tubes (four bow, one stern); 14 × torpedoes or 26 TMA mines; 1 × 8.8 cm (3.46 in) deck gun (220 rounds); various AA guns;

German submarine U-968 was a Type VIIC U-boat built for Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine for service during World War II. She was laid down on 14 May 1942 by Blohm & Voss, Hamburg as yard number 168, launched on 4 February 1943 and commissioned on 18 March 1943 under Leutnant zur See Otto Westphalen.

Service History[]

The boat's career began with training at 5th U-boat Flotilla on 18 March 1943, followed by active service on 1 March 1944 as part of the 13th Flotilla for the remainder of her service.

In 7 patrols she sank 2 merchant ships, for a total of 14,386 gross register tons (GRT), damaged 1 other, plus 2 warships.

Wolfpacks[]

U-968 took part in seven wolfpacks, namely

Hammer (17 March – 1 April 1944)
Dachs (1–5 September 1944)
Zorn (26 September – 1 October 1944)
Grimm (1–2 October 1944)
Panther (16 October – 10 November 1944)
Rasmus (7–13 February 1945)
Hagen (13–21 March 1945)

Fate[]

U-968 surrendered on 9 May 1945 at Narvik, Norway. She was subsequently transferred to Loch Eriboll in Scotland on 19 May 1945, and later to Loch Ryan as part of Operation Deadlight. She was eventually sunk by Allied forces on 29 November 1945 in the North Atlantic in position 55°24′N 06°22′W / 55.4°N 6.367°W / 55.4; -6.367.

Summary of Raiding Career[]

Date	Name	Nationality	Tonnage (GRT)	Fate^[3]
14 February 1945	Norfjell	Norway	8,129	Damaged
14 February 1945	Horace Gray	United States	7,200	Total loss
17 February 1945	HMS Lark	Royal Navy	1,350	Total loss
17 February 1945	Thomas Scott	United States	7,176	Sunk
20 March 1945	Thomas Donaldson	United States	7,210	Sunk
20 March 1945	HMS Lapwing	Royal Navy	1,350	Sunk

References[]

↑ Gröner 1985, pp. 72-74.
↑ Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type VIIC boat U-968". http://www.uboat.net/boats/u968.htm. Retrieved 9 August 2014.
↑ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit by U-968". http://uboat.net/boats/successes/u968.html. Retrieved 9 August 2014.

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.
Sharpe, Peter (1998). U-Boat Fact File. Great Britain: Midland Publishing. ISBN 1-85780-072-9.

External links[]

Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type VIIC boat U-968". http://www.uboat.net/boats/u968.html. Retrieved 29 December 2014.

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-968 and the edit history here.

[FOOTNOTEGröner198572-74-1] Gröner 1985, pp. 72-74.

[uboatnet-2] Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type VIIC boat U-968". http://www.uboat.net/boats/u968.htm. Retrieved 9 August 2014.

[3] Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit by U-968". http://uboat.net/boats/successes/u968.html. Retrieved 9 August 2014.

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Service record^[2]
Part of:	5th U-boat Flotilla (18 March 1943 - 29 February 1944) - Training 13th U-boat Flotilla (1 March 1944 - 8 May 1945)
Commanders:	Lt.z.S. Otto Westphalen (2 January 1942 - 12 September 1942)
Operations:	1st patrol: 7 March 1944 - 2 April 1944 2nd patrol: 29 August 1944 - 10 September 1944 3rd patrol: 24 September 1944 - 3 October 1944 4th patrol: 14 October 1944 - 11 November 1944 5th patrol: 7 February 1945 - 20 February 1945 6th patrol: 12 March 1945 - 30 March 1945 7th patrol: 21 April 1945 - 7 May 1945
Victories:	2 merchant ships sunk (14,386 GRT) 1 merchant ship damaged (8,129 GRT) 1 merchant ship total loss (7,200 GRT) 1 warship sunk (1,350 tons) 1 warship total loss (1,350 tons)