German submarine U-355

History
Nazi Germany
Name	U-355
Ordered	26 October 1939
Builder	Flensburger Schiffbau-Gesellschaft, Flensburg
Yard number	474
Laid down	4 May 1940
Launched	5 July 1941[1]
Commissioned	29 October 1941[1]
Fate	Missing since 1 April 1944
General characteristics
Class and type	Type VIIC submarine
Displacement	769 tonnes (757 long tons) surfaced 871 t (857 long tons) submerged
Length	67.10 m (220 ft 2 in) o/a 50.50 m (165 ft 8 in) pressure hull
Beam	6.20 m (20 ft 4 in) o/a 4.70 m (15 ft 5 in) pressure hull
Height	9.60 m (31 ft 6 in)
Draught	4.74 m (15 ft 7 in)
Installed power	2,800–3,200 PS (2,100–2,400 kW; 2,800–3,200 bhp) (diesels) 750 PS (550 kW; 740 shp) (electric)
Propulsion	2 shafts 2 × diesel engines 2 × electric motors
Speed	17.7 knots (32.8 km/h; 20.4 mph) surfaced 7.6 knots (14.1 km/h; 8.7 mph) submerged
Range	8,500 nmi (15,700 km; 9,800 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) surfaced 80 nmi (150 km; 92 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph) submerged
Test depth	230 m (750 ft) Crush depth: 250–295 m (820–968 ft)
Complement	4 officers, 40–56 enlisted
Armament	5 × 53.3 cm (21 in) torpedo tubes (four bow, one stern) 14 × torpedoes or 26 TMA mines 1 × 8.8 cm (3.46 in) deck gun (220 rounds) 1 x 2 cm (0.79 in) C/30 AA gun
Service record[2][3]
Part of:	5th U-boat Flotilla 29 October 1941 – 30 June 1942 11th U-boat Flotilla 1 July 1942 – 1 April 1944
Identification codes:	M 34 321
Commanders:	K.Kapt. Günter La Baume 29 October 1941 – 1 April 1944
Operations:	9 patrols: 1st patrol: 16 June – 12 July 1942 2nd patrol: a. 25 July – 24 August 1942 b. 26 – 29 August 1942 c. 6 – 9 October 1942 d. 11 – 13 November 1942 e. 26 – 29 January 1943 3rd patrol: 2 February – 6 March 1943 4th patrol: a. 17 March – 17 April 1943 b. 27 – 29 April 1943 5th patrol: 6 July – 5 August 1943 6th patrol: 16 August – 5 September 1943 7th patrol: 6 – 9 September 1943 8th patrol: a. 2 – 25 October 1943 b. 27 – 28 Oct 1943 c. 31 October – 2 November 1943 d. 4 – 7 November 1943 e. 20 – 23 March 1944 9th patrol: 25 March – 1 April 1944
Victories:	1 merchant ship sunk (5,082 GRT)

German submarine U-355 was a Type VIIC U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II. The submarine was laid down on 4 May 1940 at the Flensburger Schiffbau-Gesellschaft yard at Flensburg, launched on 5 July 1941, and commissioned on 29 October 1941 under the command of Kapitänleutnant Günter La Baume. After training with the 5th U-boat Flotilla, U-355 was transferred to the 11th U-boat Flotilla, based at Bergen in Norway, for front-line service from 1 July 1942.^[2] The boat went missing on 1 April 1944 while on patrol, and was never heard from again.