German World War II submarine
German submarine "U-804" was a Type IXC/40 U-boat of Nazi Germany's "Kriegsmarine" during World War II. "U-804" was ordered on 7 December 1940, and was laid down on 1 December 1942 at Deutsche Schiff- und Maschinenbau AG Seebeckwerft, Bremerhaven as yard number 362. She was launched on 1 April 1943 and commissioned under the command of "Oberleutnant zur See der Reserve" Herbert Meyer (Crew III/37) on 4 December of that year.
Design.
German Type IXC/40 submarines were slightly larger than the original Type IXCs. "U-804" had a displacement of when at the surface and while submerged. The U-boat 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 MAN M 9 V 40/46 supercharged four-stroke, nine-cylinder diesel engines producing a total of for use while surfaced, two Siemens-Schuckert 2 GU 345/34 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-804" was fitted with six torpedo tubes (four fitted at the bow and two at the stern), 22 torpedoes, one SK C/32 naval gun, 180 rounds, and a Flak M42 as well as two twin C/30 anti-aircraft guns. The boat had a complement of forty-eight.
Service history.
Training.
"U-804" began training exercises with the 4th U-boat Flotilla on 4 December 1943, and finished her sea trials on 30 June 1944. On 16 June 1944, "U-804" was attacked by a Norwegian Mosquito aircraft from No. 333 Squadron RAF, but succeeded in shooting down its attacker at the cost of eight crew members wounded; only minor damage was inflicted on the submarine. The two-man crew of the Mosquito was picked up by on 18 June, and taken to occupied Norway.
First patrol.
"U-804" began her first war patrol on 19 June 1944 (while still undergoing training) with the 10th U-boat Flotilla. She left Bergen and headed into the North Sea, passing north of the British Isles into the North Atlantic, where she remained for 116 days. On 2 August, during a special hunt for several submarines known to be transmitting weather information from stations in the central and north Atlantic (of which effort "U-804" was a part), two American destroyer escorts, and , were detached from the task group to investigate the whereabouts of "U-804", which both had made contact with. Upon sighting the destroyers, the U-boat quickly dived, but the two escorts detected her on their sonar and began their attack approach. Suddenly, USS "Fiske" was torpedoed on her starboard side by "U-804", and within 10 minutes, she broke in two. Thirty-three of her men were killed and 50 were wounded, but all the survivors were rescued by . Amidst the confusion following the sinking of USS "Fiske", "U-804" slipped away and returned to her patrol.
Second patrol &amp; loss.
On 12 October 1944, "U-804" returned to the port of Flensburg after 116 days at sea. Five days later she left Flensburg for Kiel, where she remained until 4 April 1945 before leaving for occupied Norway. While en route in company with another of the flotilla's boats, , the two submarines were detected and attacked in the Skagerrak strait on 9 April 1945 by over 30 Mosquito aircraft from three Royal Air Force squadrons based at Banff. "U-1065" succeeded in shooting down one of the attacking aircraft before being hit by several rockets fired by 10 Mosquitos from 143 and 235 Squadrons; she exploded and sank with the loss of her crew of 45 men.
"U-804" suffered the same fate - after being hit by rockets from the attacking Mosquitos she also exploded and sank at , with no survivors from her crew of 55 men.
References.
Notes.
 ;templatestyles src="Reflist/styles.css" / ;
Citations.
 ;templatestyles src="Reflist/styles.css" / ;
Bibliography.
 ;templatestyles src="Refbegin/styles.css" / ;