German submarine U-78 (1940)

History
Nazi Germany
Name	U-78
Ordered	25 January 1939
Builder	Bremer Vulkan, Bremen-Vegesack
Yard number	6
Laid down	28 March 1940
Launched	7 December 1940
Commissioned	15 February 1941
Fate	Sunk on 16 April 1945 by Soviet artillery fire.[1]
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
Height	9.60 m (31 ft 6 in)
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	2 × 53.3 cm (21 in) torpedo tubes (bow) 14 × torpedoes or 26 TMA mines 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:	22nd U-boat Flotilla 15 February 1941 – 28 February 1945 4th U-boat Flotilla 1 March – 16 April 1945
Identification codes:	M 29 850
Commanders:	Kptlt. Adolf Dumrese 15 February – July 1941 Oblt.z.S. Kurt Makowski July 1941 – February 1942 Kptlt. Max Bernd Dieterich February – 30 June 1942 Kptlt. Ernst Ziehm 1 July – November 1942 Kptlt. Helmut Sommer November 1942 – 16 May 1943 Oblt.z.S. Wilhelm Eisele 17 May 1943 – 26 November 1944 Oblt.z.S. Horst Hübsch 27 November 1944 – 16 April 1945
Operations:	None
Victories:	None

German submarine U-78 was a Type VIIC submarine of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II. She was the only German submarine to be sunk by land-based artillery fire during the war. Built by Bremen-Vegesack.

She was ordered on 25 January 1939, and laid down on 28 March 1940, in the shipyard of Bremer Vulkan in the port city of Bremen-Vegesack as yard number 6. U-78 was launched on 7 December 1940 and formally commissioned into the Kriegsmarine as a "school boat" on 15 February 1941, with a crew of 41 under the command of Kapitänleutnant Alfred Dumrese.^[1]