U-97
Type | VIIC | |||||||
| Ordered | 30 May, 1938 | |||||||
| Laid down | 27 Sep, 1939 | Germaniawerft, Kiel (werk 602) | ||||||
| Launched | 15 Aug, 1940 | |||||||
| Commissioned | 28 Sep, 1940 | Kptlt. Udo Heilmann | ||||||
| Commanders |
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| Career | 13 patrols | 28 Sep, 1940 - 31 Jan, 1941 7. Flottille (training) 1 Feb, 1941 - 31 Oct, 1941 7. Flottille (front boat) 1 Nov, 1941 - 30 Apr, 1942 23. Flottille (front boat) 1 May, 1942 - 16 Jun, 1943 29. Flottille (front boat) | ||||||
| Successes | 15 ships sunk for a total of 64.404 GRT 1 auxiliary warship sunk for a total of 6.833 GRT 1 ship damaged for a total of 9.718 GRT | |||||||
| Fate | Sunk on 16 June, 1943 in Mediterranean, west of Haifa in position 33.00N, 34.00E by depth charges from an Australian Hudson aircraft (Sqdn 459/T). 27 dead and 21 survivors. | |||||||
See the 17 ships hit by U-97 - View the 13 war patrols
Attacks on this boat
27 Mar, 1942
At 20.00 hours, the boat was unsuccessfully attacked with 5 bombs by a British Sunderland aircraft (Sqdn 230) in the Eastern Mediterranean. (Sources: Rohwer/Ritschel)
1 recorded attacks on this boat.
Men lost from the boat
3 Mar, 1941
The boat lost 1 man overboard in the Bay of Biscay. [Bootsmaat Artur Mei]
Related: For more info on such losses see - Men lost from U-boats -
![]() German U-Boat Losses During World War II Niestle, Axel Buy this title at amazon.co.uk See more sellers |
Books dealing with this subject include: |
There was another U-97 in World War One
That boat was launched from its shipyard on 4 Apr, 1917 and commissioned into the Imperial Navy on 16 May, 1917. The Naval war in WWI was brought to an end with the Armistice signed on 11 Nov, 1918. Read about the U 97 during WWI.

