German World War II submarine
German submarine "U-314" was a Type VIIC U-boat of Nazi Germany's "Kriegsmarine" during World War II. The submarine was laid down on 9 June 1942 at the Flender Werke yard at Lübeck as yard number 314, launched on 17 April 1943 and commissioned on 10 June under the command of "Kapitänleutnant" Georg-Wilhelm Basse.
During her short career, the U-boat sailed on two combat patrols, but sank no ships before she was sunk on 30 January 1944. She was a member of four wolfpacks.
Design.
German Type VIIC submarines were preceded by the shorter Type VIIB submarines. "U-314" 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 &amp; 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-314" 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 two twin C/30 anti-aircraft guns. The boat had a complement of between forty-four and sixty.
Service history.
The boat's service life began with training with the 8th U-boat Flotilla from June 1943. She was then transferred to the 11th flotilla for operations on 1 January 1944.
First patrol.
"U-314"'s first patrol took her to the Barents Sea, then south of Bear Island. She departed from Trondheim in Norway on 22 December 1943; the patrol finished at Hammerfest, northeast of Narvik, on 14 January 1944.
Second patrol and loss.
The boat left Hammerfest on 25 January 1944. She was sunk on the 30th by depth charges dropped by the British destroyers and southeast of Bear Island.
Forty-nine men died; there were no survivors.
Wolfpacks.
"U-314" took part in four wolfpacks, namely:
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