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German submarine U-744
Career War Ensign of Germany 1938-1945
Name: U-744
Ordered: 5 June 1941
Builder: F Schichau GmbH, Danzig
Laid down: 5 June 1942
Launched: 11 March 1943
Commissioned: 5 June 1943
Fate: Sunk on 6 March 1944
General characteristics
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
Draught: 4.74 m (15 ft 7 in)
Propulsion: 2 × supercharged Germaniawerft 6-cylinder 4-stroke M6V 40/46 diesel engines, totalling 2,800–3,200 bhp (2,100–2,400 kW). Max rpm: 470-490
2 × electric motors, totalling 750 shp (560 kW). Max rpm: 296
Speed: 17.7 knots (20.4 mph; 32.8 km/h) surfaced
7.6 knots (8.7 mph; 14.1 km/h) submerged
Range: 15,170 km (8,190 nmi) at 10 kn (19 km/h) surfaced
150 km (81 nmi) 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 × 533 mm (21 in) torpedo tubes (4 bow, 1 stern)
• 14 × torpedoes or 26 TMA mines
• 1 × C35 88mm gun/L45 deck gun (220 rounds)
• Various AA guns

German submarine U-744 was a type VIIC U-boat, launched on 11 March 1943, commanded by Heinz Blischke.[1]

She had two patrols, one from 5 June 1943 to 30 November 1943 and 1 December 1943 to 6 March 1944. She sank two ships in total, SS Empire Housman on 3 January 1944, and the landing ship tank LST 362 on 2 March 1944. The LST 324 was also damaged that day.[2]

U-744 was forced to surface on 6 March 1944, after a 31 hour pursuit by British and Canadian ships. She was depth-charged by HMS Icarus, causing her crew to abandon her. They were picked up by the corvette HMS Kenilworth Castle, the Canadian frigate HMCS St. Catharines, corvettes HMCS Fennel and HMCS Chilliwack and destroyers HMCS Chaudiere and HMCS Gatineau in the North Atlantic. U-744 was then boarded by allied sailors, who retrieved code books and other documents. Most of this was lost while being transferred between the U-Boat and the allied ships. After attempts to tow the submarine into port failed, U-744 was scuttled by the allied warships.[3]

References[]

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-744 and the edit history here.
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