German submarine U-663

History
Nazi Germany
Name	U-663
Ordered	15 August 1940
Builder	Deutsche Werft, Hamburg
Yard number	812
Laid down	31 March 1941
Launched	26 March 1942
Commissioned	14 May 1942
Fate	Sunk on 8 May 1943 in the Bay of Biscay in position 46°50′N 10°00′W / 46.833°N 10.000°W, by depth charges from a RAAF Sunderland.
General characteristics
Class and type	Type VIIC submarine
Displacement	769 tonnes (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;
Draught	4.74 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	2 shafts; 2 × diesel engines; 2 × electric motors;
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	4 officers, 40–56 enlisted
Armament	5 × 53.3 cm (21 in) torpedo tubes (four bow, one stern); 14 × torpedoes; 1 × 8.8 cm (3.46 in) deck gun (220 rounds); 1 x 2 cm (0.79 in) C/30 AA gun;
Service record
Part of:	5th U-boat Flotilla; 14 May – 30 September 1942; 11th U-boat Flotilla; 1 – 31 October 1942; 9th U-boat Flotilla; 1 November 1942 – 8 May 1943;
Identification codes:	M 45 175
Commanders:	Kptlt. / K.Kapt. Heinrich Schmid; 14 May 1942 – 8 May 1943;
Operations:	3 patrols:; 1st patrol:; 5 November – 31 December 1942; 2nd patrol:; a. 4 – 6 March 1943; b. 10 March – 4 April 1943; 3rd patrol:; 5 – 8 May 1943;
Victories:	2 merchant ships sunk ; (10,924 GRT)

German submarine U-663 was a Type VIIC U-boat built for Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine for service during World War II. She was laid down on 31 March 1941 by Deutsche Werft, Hamburg as yard number 812, launched on 26 March 1942 and commissioned on 14 May 1942 under Kapitänleutnant Heinrich Schmid.

^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type VIIC boat U-663". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 22 August 2014.

[uboatnet-1] Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type VIIC boat U-663". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 22 August 2014.

[1]

History

Nazi Germany
Name	U-663
Ordered	15 August 1940
Builder	Deutsche Werft, Hamburg
Yard number	812
Laid down	31 March 1941
Launched	26 March 1942
Commissioned	14 May 1942
Fate	Sunk on 8 May 1943 in the Bay of Biscay in position 46°50′N 10°00′W / 46.833°N 10.000°W / 46.833; -10.000, by depth charges from a RAAF Sunderland.
General characteristics
Class and type	Type VIIC submarine
Displacement	769 tonnes (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
Draught	4.74 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	2 shafts 2 × diesel engines 2 × electric motors
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	4 officers, 40–56 enlisted
Armament	5 × 53.3 cm (21 in) torpedo tubes (four bow, one stern) 14 × torpedoes 1 × 8.8 cm (3.46 in) deck gun (220 rounds) 1 x 2 cm (0.79 in) C/30 AA gun
Service record^[1]
Part of:	5th U-boat Flotilla 14 May – 30 September 1942 11th U-boat Flotilla 1 – 31 October 1942 9th U-boat Flotilla 1 November 1942 – 8 May 1943
Identification codes:	M 45 175
Commanders:	Kptlt. / K.Kapt. Heinrich Schmid 14 May 1942 – 8 May 1943
Operations:	3 patrols: 1st patrol: 5 November – 31 December 1942 2nd patrol: a. 4 – 6 March 1943 b. 10 March – 4 April 1943 3rd patrol: 5 – 8 May 1943
Victories:	2 merchant ships sunk (10,924 GRT)