U-995

Type

VIIC/41

Ordered

14 Oct 1941

Laid down

25 Nov 1942

Blohm & Voss, Hamburg (werk 195)

Launched

22 Jul 1943

Commissioned

16 Sep 1943

Oblt. Walter Köhntopp

Commanders

16 Sep 1943	-	9 Oct 1944		Kptlt. Walter Köhntopp
10 Oct 1944	-	9 May 1945		Oblt. (R) Hans-Georg Hess (Knights Cross)

Career
9 patrols

16 Sep 1943	-	31 May 1944	5. Flottille (training)
1 Jun 1944	-	28 Feb 1945	13. Flottille (active service)
1 Mar 1945	-	8 May 1945	14. Flottille (active service)

Successes

3 ships sunk, total tonnage 1,560 GRT
1 auxiliary warship sunk, total tonnage 633 GRT
1 warship sunk, total tonnage 105 tons
1 ship a total loss, total tonnage 7,176 GRT

Fate

Surrendered on 9 May 1945 at Trondheim, Norway (Waller & Niestlé, 2010).

Post war information (see more post-war boats):
Unseaworthy. Not transferred to UK. Taken over by Norway. Became the Norwegian submarine Kaura on 1 Dec, 1952. Stricken in 1965. Returned to Germany where she became a museum ship in Oct 1971.

Final location

See the 6 ships hit by U-995 - View the 9 war patrols

Wolfpack operations

U-995 operated with the following Wolfpacks during its career:
   Dachs (1 Sep 1944 - 5 Sep 1944)
   Zorn (26 Sep 1944 - 1 Oct 1944)
   Panther (16 Oct 1944 - 10 Nov 1944)
   Stier (11 Dec 1944 - 6 Jan 1945)
   Hagen (17 Mar 1945 - 21 Mar 1945)

Attacks on this boat and other events

21 May 1944
An attack by a Canadian Sunderland flying boat (4 OTU RCAF/S) wounded five men.

21 Jul 1944
00:19 hrs, Norwegian Sea: a B-24 Liberator (59 Sqn RAF/Z, pilot SL B.A. Sisson, DFC) located U-995 on radar while on A/S patrol. The aircraft was forced to take evasive action by intense and very accurate flak while the nose, beam and tail gunners returned fire. The U-boat dived as the Liberator turned away to a distance of approx. one mile (1.6 km). The aircraft then dropped six depth charges 30 yards ahead of the swirl about 10 seconds after the U-boat disappeared. A small patch of oil was sighted, but nothing was heard via a sonobuoy pattern that was subsequently dropped. U-995 continued her patrol, but five days later a leak in the mounting of a radio antenna was discovered which forced a return to base, as it restricted diving capability. (Sources: ADM 199/1786)

2 recorded attacks on this boat.