German Submarine U-47 (1938)
October 1939. U-47 returns to port after sinking HMS Royal Oak. The battleship Scharnhorst can be seen in the background |
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| Career (Nazi Germany) | |
|---|---|
| Name: | U-47 |
| Ordered: | 21 November 1936 |
| Builder: | Germaniawerft, Kiel |
| Yard number: | 582 |
| Laid down: | 27 February 1937 |
| Launched: | 29 October 1938 |
| Commissioned: | 17 December 1938 |
| Fate: | Disappeared, 7 March 1941, in the North Atlantic near the Rockall Bank and Trough. |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Type VIIB |
| Displacement: | 761 t (749 long tons) 865 t (851 long tons) submerged |
| Length: | 66.6 m (219 ft) |
| Beam: | 6.2 m (20 ft) |
| Depth: | 220 m (720 ft) |
| Propulsion: | 2 × 1400 PS (1 MW) diesel engines 2 × 375 PS (280 kW) electric motors |
| Speed: | 17 knots (31 km/h) surfaced 7.6 knots (14.1 km/h) submerged |
| Range: | 6,500 nautical miles (12,000 km) |
| Complement: | 44-48 |
| Crew: | 47 |
| Armament: |
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| Service record | |
| Part of: | 7th U-boat Flotilla (17 December 1938-7 March 1941) |
| Identification codes: | M 18 837 |
| Commanders: | KrvKpt. Günther Prien (17 December 1938-7 March 1941) |
| Operations: | 10 patrols |
| Victories: | 30 ships sunk for a total of 162,769 gross register tons (GRT) one warship sunk for a total of 29,150 tons eight ships damaged for a total of 62,751 GRT |
The German submarine U-47 was a Type VIIB U-boat of the Nazi German Kriegsmarine during World War II. She was laid down on 25 February 1937 at Krupp Germaniawerft in Kiel as 'werk' 582 and went into service on 17 December 1938 under the command of Günther Prien.
During U-47's career, she sank a total of 31 enemy vessels and damaged eight more. She is also noted for the sinking of the British battleship HMS Royal Oak on 14 October 1939. U-47 ranks as one of the most successful German U-boats of World War II.
Read more about German Submarine U-47 (1938): Service History, Summary of Raiding Career
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