The submarine was laid down on 24 February 1942 at the Bremer Vulkan yard at Bremen-Vegesack as yard number 41. She was launched on 24 October and commissioned on 9 December under the command of Oberleutnant zur See Jürgen Thimme.[1]
Design
German Type VIIC submarines were preceded by the shorter Type VIIB submarines. U-276 had a displacement of 769 tonnes (757 long tons) when at the surface and 871 tonnes (857 long tons) while submerged.[3] She had a total length of 67.10 m (220 ft 2 in), a pressure hull length of 50.50 m (165 ft 8 in), a beam of 6.20 m (20 ft 4 in), a height of 9.60 m (31 ft 6 in), and a draught of 4.74 m (15 ft 7 in). The submarine was powered by two Germaniawerft F46 four-stroke, six-cylinder superchargeddiesel engines producing a total of 2,800 to 3,200 metric horsepower (2,060 to 2,350 kW; 2,760 to 3,160 shp) for use while surfaced, two AEG GU 460/8–27 double-acting electric motors producing a total of 750 metric horsepower (550 kW; 740 shp) for use while submerged. She had two shafts and two 1.23 m (4 ft) propellers. The boat was capable of operating at depths of up to 230 metres (750 ft).[3]
The submarine had a maximum surface speed of 17.7 knots (32.8 km/h; 20.4 mph) and a maximum submerged speed of 7.6 knots (14.1 km/h; 8.7 mph).[3] When submerged, the boat could operate for 80 nautical miles (150 km; 92 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph); when surfaced, she could travel 8,500 nautical miles (15,700 km; 9,800 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph). U-276 was fitted with five 53.3 cm (21 in) torpedo tubes (four fitted at the bow and one at the stern), fourteen torpedoes, one 8.8 cm (3.46 in) SK C/35 naval gun, 220 rounds, and two twin 2 cm (0.79 in) C/30anti-aircraft guns. The boat had a complement of between forty-four and sixty.[3]
Service history
U-276 served with the 8th U-boat Flotilla for training from December 1942 to February 1944 and operationally with the 1st U-boat Flotilla from 1 March 1944.[1] She was then reassigned to the 31st U-boat Flotilla on 1 July. She carried out three patrols, but sank no ships.
She was 'stricken' in September 1944 at Neustadt and used as a floating electrical generating plant. She was scuttled in May 1945.
She carried out short voyages between Kiel in Germany and Bergen and Trondheim in Norway over February and March 1944.
First patrol
The boat departed Trondheim on 22 March 1944 and returned to the Norwegian port fifteen days later on 6 April.
Second patrol
Her second sortie was relatively uneventful, apart from two crew members being wounded in an accident with the anti-aircraft gun.
Third patrol
By now the boat was based at Stavanger, from where she departed on 8 June 1944. She returned there on the 25th.
The submarine sailed back to Kiel in July 1944.
Fate
The boat was 'stricken' at Neustadt on 29 September 1944 and re-employed as a floating electrical generator. On 3 May 1945, the U-boat was damaged in a rocket attack by four Hawker Typhoons of No. 175 Squadron RAF. As a result of the damage, she was scuttled later that same day.[4]
^Hofmann, Markus. "U 276". Deutsche U-Boote 1935-1945 – u-boot-archiv.de (in German). Retrieved 26 December 2014.
Bibliography
Busch, Rainer; Röll, Hans-Joachim (1999). German U-boat commanders of World War II : a biographical dictionary. Translated by Brooks, Geoffrey. London, Annapolis, Md: Greenhill Books, Naval Institute Press. ISBN1-55750-186-6.
