German submarine U-325
German submarine U-325 was a Type VIIC/41 U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II.
The submarine was laid down on 13 April 1943 at the Flender Werke at Lübeck, launched on 25 March 1944, and commissioned on 6 May 1944 under the command of Oberleutnant zur See Erwin Dohrn.
Design
German Type VIIC/41 submarines were preceded by the heavier Type VIIC submarines. U-325 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 Garbe, Lahmeyer & Co. RP 137/c 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-325 was fitted with five torpedo tubes, fourteen torpedoes, one SK C/35 naval gun,, one Flak M42 and two C/30 anti-aircraft guns. The boat had a complement of between forty-four and sixty.
Service history
U-325s first patrol took her from Kiel in Germany to Horten Naval Base in Norway, between 1 and 4 December 1944. She then sailed from Horten on 9 December 1944, and around the British Isles into the western English Channel, before returning to Trondheim on 14 February 1945, although she recorded no successes.Loss
U-325 sailed from Trondheim on 20 March 1945 for her third and final patrol and was ordered to return to the waters off Lands End. Even though her last report was received on 7 April, when Germany surrendered on 8 May 1945 U-325 was still considered operational by the U-boat High Command. However it soon became apparent that the submarine was lost.The British initially attributed the loss of U-325 to a depth charge attack by the destroyers and on 30 April 1945. However, after later analysis of German records that submarine was re-identified as, and U-325s fate was officially classified as "unknown".