U-679

Type

VIIC

Ordered

5 Jun 1941

Laid down

3 Sep 1942

Howaldtswerke Hamburg AG, Hamburg (werk 828)

Launched

18 Sep 1943

Commissioned

29 Nov 1943

Ltnt. Friedrich Breckwoldt

Commanders

29 Nov 1943	-	20 Oct 1944		Oblt. (R) Friedrich Breckwoldt
21 Oct 1944	-	9 Jan 1945		Oblt. Eduard Aust

Career
3 patrols

29 Nov 1943	-	31 Jul 1944	31. Flottille (training)
1 Aug 1944	-	9 Jan 1945	8. Flottille (active service)

Successes

1 warship sunk, total tonnage 39 tons
1 warship damaged, total tonnage 36 tons

Fate

Sunk on or about 9 January 1945 in the Gulf of Finland off Odensholm, by a Soviet mine. 51 dead (all hands lost). (Axel Niestlé, March 2013).

Loss position

See the 2 ships hit by U-679 - View the 3 war patrols

The position shown is approximate as it was not yet published where the wreck of U-679 was found and dived in August 2015 by Immi Wallin and her Subzone team: Finding the last missing German WW2 U-boat in the Gulf of Finland.

Previously recorded fate

Sunk 9 Jan 1945 in the Baltic Sea in position 59.26N, 24.07E by depth charges from the USSR anti-submarine vessel MO 124. (, March 2013)

This boat is a dive site

Discovered in August 2015 by Immi Wallin and her Subzone team off the Estonian coast. The position given here, from Soviet MO-124 attack, is probably not correct as I've not seen the exact position of the wreck. Read Immi Wallin describe the dive.

Depth: 295 feet (90 meters)
Position (lat, long): 59.26, 24.07

See more U-boat dive sites.

Men lost from U-boats

Unlike many other U-boats, which during their service lost men due to accidents and various other causes, U-679 did not suffer any casualties (we know of) until the time of her loss.