German submarine U-505

U-505 shortly after being captured, pictured from the USS Pillsbury in preparation for towing
History
Nazi Germany
Name	U-505
Ordered	25 September 1939
Builder	Deutsche Werft AG, Hamburg-Finkenwerder
Yard number	295
Laid down	12 June 1940
Launched	24 May 1941
Commissioned	26 August 1941
Fate	Captured by US Navy on 4 June 1944[1][2]
Status	Preserved as a museum ship[2]
General characteristics
Type	Type IXC submarine
Displacement	1,120 t (1,100 long tons) surfaced 1,232 t (1,213 long tons) submerged
Length	76.76 m (251 ft 10 in) o/a 58.75 m (192 ft 9 in) pressure hull
Beam	6.76 m (22 ft 2 in) o/a 4.40 m (14 ft 5 in) pressure hull
Height	9.60 m (31 ft 6 in)
Draught	4.70 m (15 ft 5 in)
Installed power	4,400 PS (3,200 kW; 4,300 bhp) (diesels) 1,000 PS (740 kW; 990 shp) (electric)
Propulsion	2 shafts 2 × diesel engines 2 × electric motors
Speed	18.2 knots (33.7 km/h; 20.9 mph) surfaced 7.3 knots (13.5 km/h; 8.4 mph) submerged
Range	13,450 nmi (24,910 km; 15,480 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) surfaced 64 nmi (119 km; 74 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph) submerged
Test depth	230 m (750 ft)
Complement	48 to 56
Armament	6 × torpedo tubes (4 bow, 2 stern) 22 × 53.3 cm (21 in) torpedoes 1 × 10.5 cm (4.1 in) SK C/32 deck gun (180 rounds) 1 × 3.7 cm (1.5 in) SK C/30 AA gun 1 × twin 2 cm FlaK 30 AA guns
Service record
Part of:	4th U-boat Flotilla 26 August 1941 – 31 January 1942 2nd U-boat Flotilla 1 February 1942 – 4 June 1944
Identification codes:	M 46 074
Commanders:	K.Kapt. Axel-Olaf Loewe 26 August 1941 – 5 September 1942 Kptlt. Peter Zschech 6 September 1942 – 24 October 1943 Oblt.z.S. Paul Meyer (acting) 24 October – 7 November 1943 Oblt.z.S. Harald Lange 8 November 1943 – 4 June 1944
Operations:	12 patrols: 1st patrol: 19 January – 3 February 1942 2nd patrol: 11 February – 7 May 1942 3rd patrol: 7 June – 25 August 1942 4th patrol: 4 October – 12 December 1942 5th patrol: 1 – 13 July 1943 6th patrol: 1 – 2 August 1943 7th patrol: 14 – 15 August 1943 8th patrol: 21 – 22 August 1943 9th patrol: 18 – 30 September 1943 10th patrol: 9 October – 7 November 1943 11th patrol: 25 December 1943 – 2 January 1944 12th patrol: 16 March – 4 June 1944
Victories:	8 merchant ships sunk (45,005 GRT)
U-505 (IXC U-boat)
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. National Historic Landmark
Coordinates	41°47′30″N 87°34′53″W / 41.79167°N 87.58139°W / 41.79167; -87.58139 (Approximate location underground of U-505 at the Museum of Science and Industry)
Built	1941
Architect	Deutsche Werft AG, Hamburg, Germany
NRHP reference No.	89001231
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	1989[3]
Designated NHL	1989[4]

U-505 is a German Type IXC submarine built for Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II. It was captured by the United States Navy on 4 June 1944 and survives as a museum ship in Chicago.

In her unlucky career, it had the distinction of being the "most heavily damaged U-boat to successfully return to port" in World War II, suffering six botched patrols, and becoming the only submarine in which a commanding officer killed himself in combat conditions.^[5] Then it was captured on 4 June 1944 by United States Navy Task Group 22.3 (TG 22.3), one of six U-boats that were captured at sea by Allied forces during the war. All but one of U-505's crew were rescued by the Navy task group. The submarine was towed to Bermuda in secret, and her crew was interned in an American prisoner-of-war camp, where they were kept in isolation. The Navy classified the capture as top secret and went to great lengths to prevent the Germans from discovering it.

In 1954, U-505 was donated to the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago, Illinois. It is now one of four German World War II U-boats that survive as museum ships, and one of just two Type IXCs still in existence, along with U-534.