German submarine U-96 (1940)

Scale model of U-96
History
Nazi Germany
Name	U-96
Ordered	30 May 1938
Builder	Germaniawerft, Kiel
Yard number	601
Laid down	16 September 1939
Launched	1 August 1940
Commissioned	14 September 1940
Decommissioned	15 February 1945
Fate	Sunk on 30 March 1945 at Wilhelmshaven by bombs during US air raid [1]
Badge
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	5 × 53.3 cm (21 in) torpedo tubes (four bow, one stern) 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
Part of:	7th U-boat Flotilla 14 September 1940 – 31 March 1943 24th U-boat Flotilla 1 April 1943 - 30 June 1944 22nd U-boat Flotilla 1 July 1944 - 15 February 1945
Identification codes:	M 29 052
Commanders:	Kptlt. Heinrich Lehmann-Willenbrock 14 September 1940 - 1 April 1942 Oblt.z.S. Hans-Jürgen Hellriegel 28 March 1942 - 15 March 1943 Oblt.z.S. Wilhelm Peters 16 March 1943 - 30 June 1944 Oblt.z.S. Horst Willner February - June 1944 Oblt.z.S. Robert Rix 1 July 1944 - 15 February 1945
Operations:	11 patrols: 1st patrol: 4 – 29 December 1940 2nd patrol: 9 – 22 January 1941 3rd patrol: 30 January – 28 February 1941 4th patrol: 12 April – 22 May 1941 5th patrol: 19 June – 9 July 1941 6th patrol: 2 August – 12 September 1941 7th patrol: 27 October – 6 December 1941 8th patrol: 31 January – 23 March 1942 9th patrol: 23 April – 1 July 1942 10th patrol: 24 August – 5 October 1942 11th patrol: 26 December 1942 – 8 February 1943
Victories:	27 merchant ships sunk (181,206 GRT) 1 merchant ship total loss (8,888 GRT) 4 merchant ships damaged (33,043 GRT)

German submarine U-96 was a Type VIIC U-boat of the German Navy (Kriegsmarine) during World War II. It was made famous after the war in Lothar-Günther Buchheim's 1973 bestselling novel Das Boot and the 1981 Oscar-nominated film adaptation of the same name, both based on his experience on the submarine as a war correspondent in 1941.

The keel was laid down on 16 September 1939, by Germaniawerft, of Kiel as yard number 601. She was commissioned on 14 September 1940, with Kapitänleutnant Heinrich Lehmann-Willenbrock in command. Lehmann-Willenbrock was relieved in March 1942 by Oberleutnant zur See Hans-Jürgen Hellriegel, who was relieved in turn in March 1943 by Oblt.z.S. Wilhelm Peters. In February 1944, Oblt.z.S. Horst Willner took command, turning the boat over to Oblt.z.S. Robert Rix in June of that year. Rix commanded the boat until 15 February 1945.