German submarine U-66 (1940)

U-66 (left) and U-117 under attack by aircraft from USS Card on 7 August 1943
History
Nazi Germany
Name	U-66
Ordered	7 August 1939
Builder	AG Weser, Bremen
Yard number	985
Laid down	20 March 1940
Launched	10 October 1940
Commissioned	2 January 1941
Fate	Sunk 6 May 1944 west of the Cape Verde Islands by US aircraft and warships[1]
General characteristics
Class and type	Type IXC U-boat
Displacement	1,120 t (1,100 long tons) surfaced 1,232 t (1,213 long tons) submerged
Length	76.76 m (251 ft 10 in) o/a 58.75 m (192 ft 9 in) pressure hull
Beam	6.76 m (22 ft 2 in) o/a 4.40 m (14 ft 5 in) pressure hull
Height	9.60 m (31 ft 6 in)
Draught	4.70 m (15 ft 5 in)
Installed power	4,400 PS (3,200 kW; 4,300 bhp) (diesels) 1,000 PS (740 kW; 990 shp) (electric)
Propulsion	2 shafts 2 × diesel engines 2 × electric motors
Speed	18.3 kn (33.9 km/h; 21.1 mph) surfaced 7.3 knots (13.5 km/h; 8.4 mph) submerged
Range	13,450 nmi (24,910 km; 15,480 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) surfaced 63 nmi (117 km; 72 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph) submerged
Complement	4 officers, 44 enlisted
Armament	6 × torpedo tubes (4 bow, 2 stern) 22 × 53.3 cm (21 in) torpedoes 1 × 10.5 cm (4.1 in) SK C/32 deck gun (180 rounds) 1 × 3.7 cm (1.5 in) SK C/30 AA gun 1 × twin 2 cm FlaK 30 AA guns
Service record[1][2]
Part of:	2nd U-boat Flotilla 2 January 1941 – 6 May 1944
Identification codes:	M 21 181
Commanders:	Kptlt. / K.Kapt. Richard Zapp 2 January 1941 – 21 June 1942 Kptlt. Friedrich Markworth 22 June 1942 – 1 September 1943 Oblt.z.S.d.R. Paul Ferks 6 August – 1 September 1943 Oblt.z.S. Gerhard Seehausen 2 September 1943 – 6 May 1944
Operations:	9 patrols: 1st patrol: 13 May – 11 June 1941 2nd patrol: 23 June – 5 August 1941 3rd patrol: 28 August – 9 November 1941 4th patrol: 25 December 1941 – 10 February 1942 5th patrol: 21 March – 27 May 1942 6th patrol: 23 June – 29 September 1942 7th patrol (aborted): 9 – 11 Nov 1942 7th patrol (official): 6 January – 24 March 1943 8th patrol: 27 April – 1 September 1943 9th patrol: 16 January – 6 May 1944
Victories:	33 merchant ships sunk (200,021 GRT) 2 merchant ships damaged (22,674 GRT) 2 warships damaged (64 tons)

German submarine U-66 was a Type IXC U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II.^[1] The submarine was laid down on 20 March 1940 at the AG Weser yard at Bremen, launched on 10 October and commissioned on 2 January 1941 under the command of Kapitänleutnant Richard Zapp as part of the 2nd U-boat Flotilla.^[1]