German submarine U-962


German submarine U-962 was a Type VIIC U-boat built for Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II. Her keel was laid at the yards of Blohm & Voss in Hamburg on 7 April 1942. Launched on 17 December 1942, she was formally commissioned on 11 February 1943 and given to Oberleutnant zur See Ernst Liesberg, who commanded the submarine on both of her active war patrols.

Design

German Type VIIC submarines were preceded by the shorter Type VIIB submarines. U-962 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 Brown, Boveri & Cie GG UB 720/8 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-962 was fitted with five torpedo tubes, fourteen torpedoes, one SK C/35 naval gun, 220 rounds, and one twin C/30 anti-aircraft gun. The boat had a complement of between forty-four and sixty.

Service history

War patrols

After her working up period ended, U-962 departed Kiel for Bergen, Norway on 23 September 1943, arriving on 27 September. After a stay of about a month, the crew cast off on their first active patrol 3 November 1943. This 56-day cruise in the mid-Atlantic Ocean yielded no targets and the patrol was terminated at St. Nazaire in occupied France on 28 December 1943.
On 14 February 1944, U-962 departed St. Nazaire on her second and last patrol. She again cruised in the central Atlantic for 55 days until she ran afoul of the British sloops and and sunk in position by depth charges on 8 April 1944. There were no survivors.

Wolfpacks

U-962 took part in five wolfpacks, namely:
  • Coronel
  • Coronel 2
  • Coronel 3
  • Borkum
  • Preussen