Wreck of U-951

 Second World War 1939-1945, shipwreck

 Upload a photo

Unterseeboot 951 was a Type VIIC U-boat laid down at the Blohm & Voss Hamburg Shipyard in January 1942 and commissioned into Kriegsmarine service in December of the same year. Spending slightly over five months in training out of Kiel with the 5th Unterseebootsflottille, the U-951 and her crew stood out of Kiel on their first War Patrol on May 13th, 1943, bound for the mid-Atlantic.

Making her way to the her patrol area by way of the Iceland/UK gap, the U-951 began Wolfpack operations in June against Allied convoy GUS-7A, but found no chances to attack the merchant ships. Making her way East towards Gibraltar the U-951 joined with another wolfpack operating Northeast of Spain as she made her way towards her new homeport of Lorient. Her new area of operations and new wolfpack brought no successes to the U-951, and as she was running surfaced and recharging her batteries on June 7th, 1943 her radar signature was picked up by the crew of a patrolling USAAF B-24 Liberator, which promptly turned to investigate their contact.

Alert lookouts aboard the U-951 sighted the lumbering bomber closing on their position and within minutes all men were safely below deck as the sub began her crash dive. The crew of the B-24 observed the diving submarine and quickly moved to straddle the fleeing U-boat, still marked by a trail of air bubbles on the surface as she made for the safety of deep water. The bombardier rigged his depth charges for a descending spread and then dropped them alongside the diving U-951 where they straddled her hull before detonating and sinking her with all 46 hands at this location on July 7th, 1943.


uboat.net/boats/u951.htm