German submarine U-671


German submarine U-671 was a Type VIIC U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II. The submarine was laid down on 2 December 1941 at the Howaldtswerke yard at Hamburg, launched on 15 December 1942, and commissioned on 3 March 1943 under the command of Oberleutnant zur See August-Wilhelm hewicker.
Attached to 5th U-boat Flotilla based at Kiel, U-671 completed her training period on 30 April 1944 and was assigned to front-line service.

Design

German Type VIIC submarines were preceded by the shorter Type VIIB submarines. U-671 had a displacement of when at the surface and while submerged. She had a total length of, a pressure hull length of, a beam of, a height of, and a draught of. The submarine was powered by two Germaniawerft F46 four-stroke, six-cylinder supercharged diesel engines producing a total of for use while surfaced, two Siemens-Schuckert GU 343/38–8 double-acting electric motors producing a total of for use while submerged. She had two shafts and two propellers. The boat was capable of operating at depths of up to.
The submarine had a maximum surface speed of and a maximum submerged speed of. When submerged, the boat could operate for at ; when surfaced, she could travel at. U-671 was fitted with five torpedo tubes, fourteen torpedoes, one SK C/35 naval gun, 220 rounds, and two twin C/30 anti-aircraft guns. The boat had a complement of between forty-four and sixty.

Service history

On the second and last war patrol, U-671 was detected by two British warships in the English Channel south of Brighton in the early hours of 4 August 1944. attacked with depth charges and hedgehogs causing severe damage to the U-boat. Stayner was later joined by. Repeated attacks resulted in an oil spill and a number of survivors appeared at the surface. Of the crew of 52 all but five perished in the attack.