List of all U-boats

U-97

Type

VIIC

 
Ordered30 May 1938
Laid down27 Sep 1939 F. Krupp Germaniawerft AG, Kiel (werk 602)
Launched15 Aug 1940
Commissioned28 Sep 1940Kptlt. Udo Heilmann
Commanders
28 Sep 1940 - May, 1942   Udo Heilmann
May, 1942 - 15 Oct 1942  Oblt. Friedrich Bürgel
2 Feb 1943 - 16 Jun 1943  Kptlt. Hans-Georg Trox
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)
Successes15 ships sunk, total tonnage 64,404 GRT
1 auxiliary warship sunk, total tonnage 6,833 GRT
1 ship damaged, total tonnage 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

Wolfpack operations

U-97 operated with the following Wolfpacks during its career:
   West (8 May 1941 - 27 May 1941)
   Goeben (20 Sep 1941 - 29 Sep 1941)

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 attack 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 -

U-boat Emblems

We have 1 emblem entry for this boat! See the emblem page for this boat or view each one below.



Hitler's U-boat War
Blair, Clay


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Books dealing with this subject include

German U-Boat Losses During World War II. Niestle, Axel, 1998.
Hitler's U-boat War. Blair, Clay, 1996.
Hitler's U-boat War, Vol II. Blair, Clay, 1998.
U-Boat Operations of the Second World War - Vol 1. Wynn, Kenneth, 1998.
U-Boat Operations of the Second World War - Vol 2. Wynn, Kenneth, 1998.


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.