German submarine U-608 was a Type VIIC U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II. During the Battle of the Atlantic, she was commanded by Kapitänleutnant Rolf Struckmeier as a unit of Wolfpack Vorwärts.
She was scuttled in the Bay of Biscay on 10 August 1944 after being attacked by an RAF Liberator aircraft with depth charges.
Design German Type VIIC submarines were preceded by the shorter Type VIIB submarines. U-608 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 BBC 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-608 was fitted with five torpedo tubes (four fitted at the bow and one at the stern), fourteen torpedoes, one SK C/35 naval gun, 220 rounds, and a C/30 anti-aircraft gun. The boat had a complement of between forty-four and sixty.
Fate She was scuttled in the Bay of Biscay on 10 August 1944 after being attacked by an RAF Liberator aircraft with depth charges. The damaged boat surfaced unnoticed and was scuttled by her crew, which was rescued by six hours later suffering no losses.
Wolfpacks U-608 took part in 19 wolfpacks, namely: Stier (29 August – 2 September 1942) Vorwärts (2 – 15 September 1942) Pfeil (1 – 9 February 1943) Neptun (18 February – 3 March 1943) Neuland (8 – 13 March 1943) Dränger (14 – 20 March 1943) Trutz (1 – 16 June 1943) Trutz 1 (16 – 29 June 1943) Geier 1 (30 June – 15 July 1943) Schlieffen (14 – 22 October 1943) Siegfried (22 – 27 October 1943) Siegfried 1 (27 – 30 October 1943) Jahn (31 October – 2 November 1943) Tirpitz 2 (2 – 8 November 1943) Eisenhart 7 (9 – 11 November 1943) Schill 2 (17 – 22 November 1943) Igel 2 (9 – 17 February 1944) Hai 1 (17 – 22 February 1944) Preussen (22 February – 14 March 1944)
Summary of raiding history Date Ship Name Nationality TonnageMerchant ship tonnages are in gross register tons. Military vessels are listed by tons displacement. Fate12 September 194213,797Sunk12 September 1942Empire Moonbeam6,849Sunk16 November 19425,621Sunk8 February 1943Daghild9,272Sunk8 February 1943HMS LCT-2335Being carried by Daghild.291Sunk
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External links
U-608 at wrecksite.eu