U-boat patrols

Patrol info for U-96


DepartureArrival / FateDuration
27 Oct 1941St. Nazaire6 Dec 1941St. Nazaire41 days

Commander

Officers *


Kptlt. Heinrich Lehmann-Willenbrock
1WO

Oblt. Gerhard Groth
2WO

Ltn. Werner Herrmann
ObStrm

Alfred Radermacher
WO sea training

Hans-Heinrich Haß

Daily positions, sinkings and allied attacks during the patrol of U-96

Legend

means a ship hit (sunk or damaged). indicates an Allied attack on the boat.

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We have daily positions for all 41 days on this patrol.

Wolfpack operations during this patrol

U-96 operated with the following Wolfpacks during this patrol
   Stosstrupp (30 Oct 1941 - 4 Nov 1941)
   Störtebecker (5 Nov 1941 - 19 Nov 1941)
   Benecke (19 Nov 1941 - 22 Nov 1941)

Ships hit by U-96 during this patrol

Date U-boat Commander Name of ship Tons Nat. Convoy
31 Oct 1941U-96Heinrich Lehmann-Willenbrock Bennekom5,998nlOS-10
 5,998

1 ship sunk (5,998 tons).

Legend
We have a picture of this vessel.

General Events during this patrol

1941

27 Nov 1941. At 2203hrs U-96 reached the German tanker and support ship Vessel in the harbor of Vigo. The boat left harbor at 0400hrs.

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Attacks on U-96 during this patrol

31 Oct 1941
While attacking convoy OS-10 on the surface during a full moon, Lehmann-Willenbrock bravely fired into the convoy at long range sinking one ship. The British escort sloop HMS Lulworth chased the boat, fired her guns and finally, having driven the boat under, dropped 27 depth charges but none fell close. The boat evaded the attack and continued its patrol. (Sources: Blair, vol 1, page 394)

30 Nov 1941
While penetrating the Straits of Gibraltar, U-96 was attacked at 2235hrs by a British Swordfish aircraft. Suffering some damage, the boat dived, surfaced in the next morning at 0445hrs, and headed back to base in France. The much longer and more dramatic stay in the deep described by Buchheim in his novel Das Boot was one of the numerous occasions in this book where the author fictionalized the events he experienced during his time as a war correspondent on U-96. (Sources: Blair, vol 1, page 401)

About this data
If you believe we have missed an attack on a German U-boat in this listing please let us know.


See all patrols for U-96


* These are officers that later became commanders themselves.

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