German submarine U-117 (1941)

U-117 (right) and U-66 under attack by aircraft from the USS Card on 7 August 1943
History
Nazi Germany
Name:	U-117
Ordered:	31 January 1939
Builder:	Germaniawerft, Kiel
Yard number:	616
Laid down:	1 July 1939
Launched:	22 July 1941
Commissioned:	25 October 1941
Fate:	Sunk on 7 August 1943, by five Avenger aircraft while supplying U-66. All hands lost
General characteristics
Class and type:	Submarine minelayer
Displacement:	1,763 tonnes (1,735 long tons) surfaced 2,177 tonnes (2,143 long tons) submerged
Length:	89.80 m (294 ft 7 in) o/a 70.90 m (232 ft 7 in) pressure hull
Beam:	9.20 m (30 ft 2 in) o/a 4.75 m (15 ft 7 in) pressure hull
Height:	10.20 m (33 ft 6 in)
Draught:	4.71 m (15 ft 5 in)
Propulsion:	2 × supercharged GW F 46 a 9 pu 9-cylinder, four-stroke diesel engines, 4,800 PS (4,700 bhp; 3,500 kW) 2 × AEG GU 720/8-287 electric motors, 1,100 PS (1,100 shp; 810 kW)
Range:	18,450 nautical miles (34,170 km; 21,230 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) surfaced 93 nmi (172 km; 107 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph) submerged
Test depth:	Calculated crush depth: 220 m (720 ft)
Complement:	5 officers, 47 enlisted
Armament:	2 × 53.3 cm (21 in) stern torpedo tubes 15 × torpedoes 66 × SMA mines 1 × 10.5 cm (4.1 in) deck gun (200 rounds)
Service record
Part of:	2nd U-boat Flotilla (26 July 1941 - 31 January 1942) 1st U-boat Flotilla (1 February - 6 October 1942)
Commanders:	F.Kapt. Hans-Werner Neumann (25 October 1941 - 7 August 1943)
Operations:	Five 1st patrol: 19 September - 5 October 1942 2nd patrol: 12 October - 22 November 1942 3rd patrol: 23 December 1942 - 7 February 1943 4th patrol: 31 March - 13 May 1943 5th patrol: 22 July - 7 August 1943
Victories:	One commercial ship damaged (7,177 GRT) One commercial ship declared a total loss (7,092 GRT)

German submarine U-117 was a Type XB minelaying U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II.

She was ordered on 31 January 1939, and laid down on 1 July 1939, at Friedrich Krupp Germaniawerft, Kiel, as yard number 616. She was launched on 22 July 1941 and commissioned under the command of Fregattenkapitän Hans-Werner Neumann on 25 October of that year.

On 19 September 1942, U-117 departed from Kiel and headed out into the North Atlantic. Her first patrol involved sailing along the coast of Norway and then in the direction of Iceland. Upon reaching the island, she headed for her new home port of Lorient in France. U-117 made no attacks nor was she attacked during her first patrol.

Like her first patrol, U-117's second foray resulted in no attacks on either merchant vessels or the U-boat itself. Following her departure from Königsberg in East Prussia (now Kaliningrad) on 12 October 1942, she traveled up to Iceland once again. Then she headed south into the Bay of Biscay, she reached Lorient on 22 November 1942.

Much like her last two patrols, U-117's third sortie resulted in no contact with any Allied vessels. She departed Lorient on 23 December 1942, and returned on 3 February 1943.

U-117s fourth patrol was the first and last time that any Allied vessels were hit by the submarine. Following her departure from Lorient on 31 March 1943, she headed out into the Mid-Atlantic, made a sharp turn upon reaching the Canary Islands and headed for French Morocco. It was in this region that she scored her only two successes of the war. On 11 April 1943, Matt W. Ransom was hit and damaged by a mine from U-117. On 25 April 1943, SS Empire Morn struck another mine and was badly damaged.