List of all U-boats

U-997

Type

VIIC/41

 
Ordered14 Oct 1941
Laid down7 Dec 1942 Blohm & Voss, Hamburg (werk 197)
Launched18 Aug 1943
Commissioned23 Sep 1943Oblt. Hans Lehmann
Commanders
23 Sep 1943 - 9 May 1945  Oblt. (R) Hans Lehmann (Knights Cross)
Career
7 patrols
23 Sep 1943-30 Apr 1944  5. Flottille (training)
1 May 1944-31 May 1944  9. Flottille (active service)
1 Jun 1944-1 Mar 1945  13. Flottille (active service)
1 Mar 1945-8 May 1945  14. Flottille (active service)
Successes1 ship sunk, total tonnage 1,603 GRT
1 warship sunk, total tonnage 105 tons
1 ship damaged, total tonnage 4,287 GRT
Fate

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

Transferred to Loch Eriboll, Scotland, on 19 May and later to Loch Ryan via Lisahally.

Operation Deadlight (post-war Allied operation, info)
Sunk on 13 December, 1945 at 55.50N x 10.05W by aircraft.

Final location

See the 3 ships hit by U-997 - View the 7 war patrols

The U-boats that were in the Narvik area at the end of the war were all moved to the Skjomenfjord upon Allied orders to avoid conflicts with the Norwegians on 12 May. On 15 May, a German convoy of five ships (the fleet tender Grille with the staff of FdU Norwegen aboard, the fleet oiler Kärnten, the repair ship Kamerun and the depot ships Huascaran and Stella Polaris) and 15 U-boats (U-278, U-294, U-295, U-312, U-313, U-318, U-363, U-427, U-481, U-668, U-716, U-968, U-992, U-997 and U-1165) left for transfer to Trondheim, but was intercepted after two days by the 9th Escort Group off the Norwegian coast and officially capitulated. While the ships were allowed to proceed to Trondheim, the U-boats were escorted to Loch Eriboll, Scotland, arriving on 19 May. All U-boats were later that month transferred to Lisahally or Loch Ryan for Operation Deadlight.

Wolfpack operations

U-997 operated with the following Wolfpacks during its career:
   Grimm (31 May 1944 - 6 Jun 1944)
   Trutz (17 Aug 1944 - 1 Sep 1944)
   Grimm (13 Sep 1944 - 1 Oct 1944)
   Regenschirm (14 Oct 1944 - 16 Oct 1944)
   Panther (16 Oct 1944 - 8 Nov 1944)
   Stier (21 Nov 1944 - 25 Dec 1944)
   Hagen (15 Mar 1945 - 21 Mar 1945)

Attacks on this boat and other events

5 Nov 1944
U-997 was attacked by an escort and sustained so much damage that she was forced to return to base.

1 recorded attack on this boat.

General notes on this boat

21 Apr 1945. On 21 April 1945 U-997 was depth charged by an Allied U-boat hunter group in the Barents Sea. A damaged periscope forced the boat to return to base.

Schnorchel-fitted U-boat

This boat was fitted with a Schnorchel underwater-breathing apparatus in March 1945.

Read more about the Schnorchel and see list of fitted boats.

Men lost from the boat

24 Feb 1945
The boat lost a man overboard in the Arctic Ocean. [Bootsmaat Erich Sachse]

  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 emblems individually below.


Man Riding with Torpedo

Media links


U-Boat Attack Logs

Daniel Morgan and Bruce Taylor


amazon.co.uk
(£ 38.25)


The Grey Wolves of Eriboll

David M. Hird


U-Boat Adventures

Wiggins, Melanie


German U-Boat Losses During World War II

Niestle, Axel


The Royal Navy and German Naval Disarmament, 1942-1947

Madsen, Chris


amazon.com
($ 58.77)


U-Boat Operations of the Second World War - Vol 2

Wynn, Kenneth


Hitler's U-boat War, Vol II

Blair, Clay




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