German submarine U-654 was a Type VIIC U-boat that was built for Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine for service during World War II. She was laid down on 1 June 1940 by Howaldtswerke, Hamburg as yard number 803, launched on 3 May 1941 and commissioned on 5 July 1941 under Korvettenkapitän Hans-Joachim Hesse.

Design German Type VIIC submarines were preceded by the shorter Type VIIB submarines. U-654 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-654 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 career began with training at 5th U-boat Flotilla on 5 July 1941, followed by active service on 1 November 1941 as part of the 1st Flotilla for the remainder of her service. In four patrols she sank three merchant ships, for a total of and one warship.

Wolfpacks U-654 took part in one wolfpack, namely: Zieten (6 – 22 January 1942)

Fate U-654 was sunk on 22 August 1942 in the Caribbean, around 200 miles/300 km north of Panama City, in position , by the depth charges from a United States Army Air Forces Douglas B-18 Bolo aircraft of the 45th Bombardment Squadron. All hands were lost.

Summary of raiding history DateShip NameNationalityTonnageMerchant ship tonnages are in gross register tons. Military vessels are listed by tons displacement.Fate9 February 1942FFL Alysse900Sunk10 April 1942Empire Prairie7,010Sunk20 April 1942Steel Maker6,176Sunk20 April 1942Agra4,569Sunk

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