German World War II submarine
German submarine "U-960" was a Type VIIC U-boat built for Nazi Germany's "Kriegsmarine" for service during World War II.
She was laid down on 20 March 1942 by Blohm &amp; Voss, Hamburg as yard number 160, launched on 3 December 1942 and commissioned on 28 January 1943 under "Oberleutnant zur See" Günther Heinrich.
Design.
German Type VIIC submarines were preceded by the shorter Type VIIB submarines. "U-960" 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 &amp; 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-960" 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 one twin 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 28 January 1943, followed by active service on 1 August 1943 as part of the 3rd Flotilla for the remainder of her service.
In five patrols she sank two merchant ships, for a total of  gross register tons (GRT), plus one auxiliary warship of 611 GRT.
First patrol.
In August 1943 "U-960" carried out a patrol in the Barents Sea over a 15 day period, but had no success.
Second patrol.
In September 1943 she was part of the U-boat group "Wiking" on patrol in the Kara Sea beyond Novaya Zemlya. At the end of the month she fell in with a Soviet convoy, VA-18 and sank two ships, the steamer "Archangelsk" and the naval trawler/minesweeper "T-896".
Third patrol.
In December 1943 she was transferred to La Pallice, making a 62 day patrol in the North Atlantic "en route". She took part in four patrol lines during this period and had one success, sinking the freighter "Sumner I. Kimball", which had fallen out of convoy ON 219. She arrived at La Pallice in March 1944.
Fourth patrol.
Later that month "U-960" was assigned to weather-reporting, but was recalled after a few days. On returning under escort and in company with "U-763" the flotilla was attacked by Tsetse Mosquito aircraft; "U-960" suffered 14 casualties.
Fifth and final patrol.
In April "U-960" was transferred to the Mediterranean, passing the Straits of Gibraltar on 9 May. On 17 May she spotted the destroyer and fired three torpedoes, which missed. This sparked a massive hunt involving a hunter-killer group of five destroyers and aircraft from two RAF squadrons. After a 42 hour hunt "U-960" was forced to the surface and sunk.
Wolfpacks.
"U-960" took part in five wolfpacks, namely:
Fate.
"U-960" was sunk on 19 May 1944 in the Mediterranean NW of Algiers, in position following a 42 hour "hunt to exhaustion".
Following her attack on "Ellyson" on 17 May "U-960" was pursued by a group of five US destroyers (, , , and ), assisted by aircraft of 36 and 500 Squadrons, in a "Swamp" operation. "U-960" lay low during the daytime but late on 17 May she surfaced to recharge batteries: she was sighted and forced under but early on 18 May was able to surface and re-charge batteries. During the next day "U-960" evaded detection but in the early hours of 19 May she was spotted again on the surface by a Wellington of 36 Squadron which called in destroyers "Niblack" and "Ludlow". These carried out a series of depth-charge attacks over a four hour period, assisted also by a Ventura of 500 Squadron: "U-960" was forced to the surface and abandoned. 20 of her 51 crew were saved.
References.
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