German submarine U-47 (1938)

	15 October 1939. U-47 returns to port after sinking HMS Royal Oak. The battleship Scharnhorst is in the background.
History
Nazi Germany
Name	U-47
Ordered	21 November 1936
Builder	Germaniawerft, Kiel
Yard number	582
Laid down	27 February 1937
Launched	29 October 1938
Commissioned	17 December 1938
Fate	Missing 7 March 1941, in the North Atlantic near the Rockall Bank and Trough.
General characteristics
Class and type	Type VIIB U-boat
Displacement	753 t (741 long tons) surfaced; 857 t (843 long tons) submerged;
Length	66.50 m (218 ft 2 in) o/a; 48.80 m (160 ft 1 in) pressure hull;
Beam	6.20 m (20 ft 4 in) o/a; 4.70 m (15 ft 5 in) pressure hull;
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	17.9 knots (33.2 km/h; 20.6 mph) surfaced; 8 knots (15 km/h; 9.2 mph) submerged;
Range	8,700 nmi (16,112 km; 10,012 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) surfaced; 90 nmi (170 km; 100 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph) submerged;
Test depth	230 m (750 ft); Calculated crush depth: 250–295 m (820–968 ft);
Complement	4 officers, 40–56 enlisted
Sensors and ; processing systems	Gruppenhorchgerät
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 × 2 cm (0.79 in) C/30 anti-aircraft gun;
Service record
Part of:	7th U-boat Flotilla; 17 December 1938 – 7 March 1941;
Identification codes:	M 18 837
Commanders:	Kptlt. / K.Kapt. Günther Prien; 17 December 1938 – 7 March 1941;
Operations:	10 patrols:; 1st patrol:; 19 August – 15 September 1939; 2nd patrol:; a. 8 – 17 October 1939; b. 20 – 21 October 1939; 3rd patrol:; a. 16 November – 18 December 1939; b. 29 February – 5 March 1940; 4th patrol:; 11 – 29 March 1940 ; 5th patrol:; 3 – 26 April 1940; 6th patrol:; 3 June – 6 July 1940; 7th patrol:; 27 August – 25 September 1940; 8th patrol:; 14 – 23 October 1940; 9th patrol:; 3 November – 6 December 1940; 10th patrol:; 20 February – 7 March 1941;
Victories:	30 merchant ships sunk ; (162,769 GRT); 1 warship sunk ; (29,150 tons); 8 merchant ships damaged ; (62,751 GRT); 1 warship damaged ; (10,035 tons);

German submarine U-47 was a Type VIIB U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II.^[1] She was laid down on 25 February 1937 at Friedrich Krupp Germaniawerft in Kiel as yard number 582 and went into service on 17 December 1938 under the command of Günther Prien.

During U-47's career, she sank a total of 31 enemy vessels, including the British battleship HMS Royal Oak, and damaged nine more.^[3] U-47 ranks as one of the most successful German U-boats of World War II.^[4]

U-47 disappeared in March 1941, and the 45 crewmembers are presumed to have died. In 2016, one of the faulty torpedoes shot at HMS Royal Oak was found and identified.^[5]

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type VIIB boat U-47". German U-boats of WWII – uboat.net. Retrieved 28 February 2010.
^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "War Patrols by U-47". U-boat Patrols – uboat.net. Retrieved 23 March 2010.
^ ^a ^b Cite error: The named reference Hit was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Most Successful U-boats". German U-boats of WWII – uboat.net. Retrieved 23 March 2010.
^ "Found torpedo likely used during U-boat raid" March 4, 2016, Washington Post.

[U-47-1] Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type VIIB boat U-47". German U-boats of WWII – uboat.net. Retrieved 28 February 2010.

[2] Helgason, Guðmundur. "War Patrols by U-47". U-boat Patrols – uboat.net. Retrieved 23 March 2010.

[Hit-3] Cite error: The named reference Hit was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[Top-4] Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Most Successful U-boats". German U-boats of WWII – uboat.net. Retrieved 23 March 2010.

[5] "Found torpedo likely used during U-boat raid" March 4, 2016, Washington Post.

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History
15 October 1939. U-47 returns to port after sinking HMS Royal Oak. The battleship Scharnhorst is in the background.
Nazi Germany
Name	U-47
Ordered	21 November 1936
Builder	Germaniawerft, Kiel
Yard number	582
Laid down	27 February 1937
Launched	29 October 1938
Commissioned	17 December 1938
Fate	Missing 7 March 1941, in the North Atlantic near the Rockall Bank and Trough.^[1]
General characteristics
Class and type	Type VIIB U-boat
Displacement	753 t (741 long tons) surfaced 857 t (843 long tons) submerged
Length	66.50 m (218 ft 2 in) o/a 48.80 m (160 ft 1 in) pressure hull
Beam	6.20 m (20 ft 4 in) o/a 4.70 m (15 ft 5 in) pressure hull
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	17.9 knots (33.2 km/h; 20.6 mph) surfaced 8 knots (15 km/h; 9.2 mph) submerged
Range	8,700 nmi (16,112 km; 10,012 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) surfaced 90 nmi (170 km; 100 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph) submerged
Test depth	230 m (750 ft) Calculated crush depth: 250–295 m (820–968 ft)
Complement	4 officers, 40–56 enlisted
Sensors and processing systems	Gruppenhorchgerät
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 × 2 cm (0.79 in) C/30 anti-aircraft gun
Service record
Part of:	7th U-boat Flotilla 17 December 1938 – 7 March 1941^[1]
Identification codes:	M 18 837
Commanders:	Kptlt. / K.Kapt.^[2] Günther Prien 17 December 1938 – 7 March 1941^[1]
Operations:	10 patrols:^[1] 1st patrol: 19 August – 15 September 1939 2nd patrol: a. 8 – 17 October 1939 b. 20 – 21 October 1939 3rd patrol: a. 16 November – 18 December 1939 b. 29 February – 5 March 1940 4th patrol: 11 – 29 March 1940 5th patrol: 3 – 26 April 1940 6th patrol: 3 June – 6 July 1940 7th patrol: 27 August – 25 September 1940 8th patrol: 14 – 23 October 1940 9th patrol: 3 November – 6 December 1940 10th patrol: 20 February – 7 March 1941
Victories:	30 merchant ships sunk (162,769 GRT) 1 warship sunk (29,150 tons) 8 merchant ships damaged (62,751 GRT) 1 warship damaged (10,035 tons)^[3]