German submarine U-608

History
Nazi Germany
NameU-608
Ordered22 May 1940
BuilderBlohm & Voss, Hamburg
Yard number584
Laid down27 March 1941
Launched11 December 1941
Commissioned5 February 1942
FateScuttled on 10 August 1944
General characteristics
Class and typeType VIIC submarine
Displacement
Length
Beam
  • 6.20 m (20 ft 4 in) o/a
  • 4.70 m (15 ft 5 in) pressure hull
Height9.60 m (31 ft 6 in)
Draught4.74 m (15 ft 7 in)
Installed power
  • 2,800–3,200 PS (2,100–2,400 kW; 2,800–3,200 bhp) (diesels)
  • 750 PS (550 kW; 740 shp) (electric)
Propulsion
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
  • As U-441 : 4 officers, 40–56 enlisted
  • As U-flak 1 : 67 officers & ratings
Armament
Service record[1]
Part of:
Identification codes: M 30 340
Commanders:
  • Kptlt. Rolf Struckmeier
  • 5 February 1942 – 12 January 1944
  • Oblt.z.S. Wolfgang Reisener
  • 21 January – 10 August 1944
Operations:
  • 9 patrols:
  • 1st patrol:
  • 20 August – 24 September 1942
  • 2nd patrol:
  • 20 October – 9 December 1942
  • 3rd patrol:
  • 20 January – 29 March 1943
  • 4th patrol:
  • 8 May – 18 July 1943
  • 5th patrol:
  • a. 23 – 25 September 1943
  • b. 2 October – 28 November 1943
  • 6th patrol:
  • 29 January – 3 April 1944
  • 7th patrol:
  • 6 – 14 June 1944
  • 8th patrol:
  • 22 – 23 July 1944
  • 9th patrol:
  • 7 – 10 August 1944
Victories:
  • 4 merchant ships sunk
    (35,539 GRT)
  • 1 warship sunk
    (291 tons)

German submarine U-608 was a Type VIIC U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II. During the Battle of the Atlantic, she was commanded by Kapitänleutnant Rolf Struckmeier as a unit of Wolfpack Vorwärts.

She was scuttled in the Bay of Biscay on 10 August 1944 after being attacked by a RAF Liberator aircraft with depth charges.

  1. ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type VIIC boat U-608". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 15 October 2014.