Den tyske ubåten U 974 ble den 19. April 1944 torpedert av den norske ubåten Ula da den var på vei ut fra Bergen, og ubåten knakk i to deler da den ble truffet av toprpedoene. Ubåten sank med førtito mann ned i dypet, og kun åtte menn av mannskapet overlevde denne senkingen. Den tyske ubåten hadde siden den ble bygget i Hamburg i 1942 vært i kun en patrulje, men dog uten noen senkninger eller suksess. Senkingen av U 974 ble notert i tyskernes utrolig effektive statistikk og glemt frem til 1996. Da ble vraket oppdaget av det norske marinefartøyet KNM Tyr med hjelp av en ROV, som lokaliserte vraket på nærmere 190 meters dyp utenfor Stavanger. Vraket ligger omtrentelig en kilometer sørøst for Loten i vestre Bokanfjorden nær Stavanger by...

The German submarine U 974 was torpedoed on 19. April 1944 by the Norwegian Submarine Ula when she was heading out from Bergen city, and the submarine broke in two pieces when she were hit by the torpedoes. The submarine sunk with forty two men in the deep, and only eight men of the crew survived this sinking. The German submarine had since she was laid down in Hamburg in 1942 been on only one patrol, thou without any sinking or sucesses. The sinking of U 974 was noted in the extremely effective German statistics and forgotten until 1996. The wreck was then discovered by the Norwegian navy vessel KNM Tyr with help from a ROV, which located the wreck at about 190m depth outside Stavanger city. The wreck lies approximately about one thousand meters south east of Loten in the western Bokanfjorden, near Stavanger city...

 

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U 974
  
Steel
       
Brt \ Depl: Built: Homeport: Cargo:
\ 769 Hamburg ( D ) 1942 Bergen ( N )  

 

Pictures: © Uboat Net

 

N 59.08 E 05.23

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U-Flotilla "Wegener" was founded on 25 June 1938 under the command of
Korvkpt. Werner Sobe. The Flotilla transferred in 1940/1941 to St. Nazaire
(France). The first boat of the Flotilla, which reached St. Nazaire was U-46
under Oblt. Engelbert Endrass on 29 Sept, 1940. In August/September 1944
most boats left the base for Norway. The last but one flotilla boat was U-267,
which left St. Nazaire on 23 Sept, 1944. After that only U-255 remained in St. Nazaire,
suffering from some technical problems. After the installation of a Schnorkel the boat
under the command of Korvkpt. Piening laid on 30 April, 1945 some mines near Les
sables d'Olonne. U-255 left St. Nazaire on 7 May, 1945 as last boat and surrendered
5 days later at sea.

History provided by German Kriegsmarine Encyclopedia;

With over 650 boats build, the Type VII was the most important submarine in the German Kriegsmarine. Built between 1936 and 1944 those boats mainly operated in the North Atlantic, and were known for the so called "Rudeltaktik" - a simultaneous night attack of several surfaces U-Boats on allied convoys. Besides torpedo attacks they could also be used for mine laying and were well known for their maneuverability and fast diving speed. Shortly after the introduction of the first model a improved version with a better maneuverability (Type VIIB) was built. The most built variant was the Type VIIC whose variant Type VIIC/41 was made of thicker steel to increase the diving depth. Other variants include the mine laying Type VIID and the torpedo supply variant Type VIIF. Today, one of those boats, U995, is on display in Laboe, Germany.

Edited 29.06.2007