Type | VIIC | |||||||||||||
| Ordered | 20 Jan 1941 | |||||||||||||
| Laid down | 6 Jun 1942 | Howaldtswerke AG, Kiel (werk 28) | ||||||||||||
| Launched | 27 Aug 1943 | |||||||||||||
| Commissioned | 16 Oct 1943 | Oblt. Ernst-Günther Unterhorst | ||||||||||||
| Commanders |
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| Career 5 patrols |
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| Successes | No ships sunk or damaged | |||||||||||||
| Fate | The boat went missing in middle or late April 1945 on its return from weather-reporting duties. No explanation exists for its loss. 45 dead (all hands lost). (Axel Niestlé, June 1993). | |||||||||||||
Previously recorded fate
- Sunk 23 April, 1945, in the North Atlantic southwest of the Shetlands, in position 59.29N, 05.22W, by depth charges from a British Liberator aircraft (Sqdn. 86/U). (Postwar assessment)
Notes. This was probably against a nonsub target.
Attacks on this boat
28 Jun 1944
At 20.08 hours, the boat was attacked by a British Catalina aircraft (RAF Sqdn 210/Q, pilot F/O J.C. Campbell) with depth charges. The aircraft was not hit by the AA fire and U-396 submerged after a strafing run. The boat had to abort its patrol due to carbon-monoxide leak as a result. (Sources: Franks)
1 recorded attack on this boat.
Schnorchel-fitted U-boat
This boat was fitted with a Schnorchel underwater-breathing apparatus in May 1944. Read more about the Schnorchel and see list of fitted boats.
Men lost from U-boats
Unlike many other U-boats, which during their service lost men due to accidents and various other causes, U-396 did not suffer any casualties (we know of) until the time of her loss.
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