U-96 1945
Marker: recorded wreck position (Second World War).
Key facts
| Name | U-96 | Wikidata label |
|---|---|---|
| Year lost | 1945 | Wikidata P793 significant event, point-in-time qualifier |
| Era | Second World War | derived from year |
| Ship type | U-boat | Wikidata P31 instance of |
| Nationality / flag | German Reich | Wikidata P8047 country of registry |
| Operator | Kriegsmarine | Wikidata P137 operator |
| Conflict | Battle of the Atlantic | Wikidata P607 conflict |
| Nearest coast | Germany | Natural Earth (public domain) |
| Position | 53.5130, 8.1226 | Wikidata P793 significant event, coordinate qualifier (CC0) |
About the wreck
German submarine U-96 was a Type VIIC U-boat of the German Navy (Kriegsmarine) during World War II. It was made famous after the war in Lothar-Günther Buchheim's 1973 bestselling novel Das Boot and the 1981 Oscar-nominated film adaptation of the same name, both based on his experience on the submarine as a war correspondent in 1941.
The keel was laid down on 16 September 1939, by Germaniawerft, of Kiel as yard number 601. She was commissioned on 14 September 1940, with Kapitänleutnant Heinrich Lehmann-Willenbrock in command. Lehmann-Willenbrock was relieved in March 1942 by Oberleutnant zur See Hans-Jürgen Hellriegel, who was relieved in turn in March 1943 by Oblt.z.S. Wilhelm Peters. In February 1944, Oblt.z.S. Horst Willner took command, turning the boat over to Oblt.z.S. Robert Rix in June of that year. Rix commanded the boat until 15 February 1945.
Location
- Recorded position: 53.5130, 8.1226 (Wikidata P793 significant event, coordinate qualifier (CC0); may be approximate)
- Nearest coast: Germany
Wreck positions on this site are for interest only and are not for navigation. Many wrecks are war graves or legally protected: never disturb human remains or remove artefacts, and check local law before diving.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article German submarine U-96 (1940) (revision 1371651810), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; condensed by selecting paragraphs; citations and formatting removed. No text added. This excerpt is available under the same licence.
Wreck facts from Wikidata (CC0).
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