German submarine U-621 was a Type VIIC U-boat built for Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine for service during World War II. She was laid down on 1 July 1941 by Blohm & Voss in Hamburg as yard number 597, launched on 19 March 1942 and commissioned on 7 May 1942 under Kapitänleutnant Horst Schünemann.
Design German Type VIIC submarines were preceded by the shorter Type VIIB submarines. U-621 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-621 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.
Service history The boat's service began on 7 May 1942 for training as part of the 8th U-boat Flotilla. After training was completed she transferred to the 9th flotilla on 1 October 1942 for active service.
In ten patrols she sank four merchant ships for a total of , plus one auxiliary warship. She also damaged two more ships.
Wolfpacks She took part in eleven wolfpacks, namely: Panther (10 – 16 October 1942) Puma (16 – 29 October 1942) Raufbold (11 – 18 December 1942) Hartherz (3 – 7 February 1943) Ritter (11 – 26 February 1943) Burggraf (4 – 5 March 1942) Raubgraf (7 – 15 March 1943) Amsel 1 (3 – 6 May 1943) Elbe (7 – 10 May 1943) Elbe 2 (10 – 14 May 1943) Mosel (19 – 24 May 1943)
Fate She was sunk by depth charges dropped by three Royal Canadian Navy destroyers, , and on 18 August 1944 near La Rochelle at position .
Summary of raiding history DateShip NameNationalityTonnageMerchant ship tonnages are in gross register tons. Military vessels are listed by tons displacement.Fate23 October 1942Empire Turnstone6,113Sunk18 December 1942Oropos4,474Sunk20 December 1942Otina6,217Sunk11 March 1943Baron Kinnaird3,355Sunk15 June 1944USS LST-1331,625Damaged29 July 1944HMS Prince Leopold2,938Sunk30 July 1944Ascanius10,048Damaged
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