German submarine U-1308

History
Nazi Germany
Name:	U-1308
Ordered:	1 August 1942
Builder:	Flensburger Schiffbau-Gesellschaft Flensburg
Yard number:	501
Laid down:	16 February 1944
Launched:	22 November 1944
Commissioned:	17 January 1945
Homeport:	Stettin
Fate:	Scuttled, 2 May 1945 Raised: February 1953 - Broken up at Neptun Dockyard,
Badge:
General characteristics
Class and type:	VIIC/41
Displacement:	759 tonnes (747 long tons) surfaced 860 t (846 long tons) submerged
Length:	67.10 m (220 ft 2 in) o/a 50.50 m (165 ft 8 in) pressure hull
Beam:	6.20 m (20 ft 4 in) o/a 4.70 m (15 ft 5 in) pressure hull
Height:	9.60 m (31 ft 6 in)
Draught:	4.72 m (15 ft 6 in)
Installed power:	2,800–3,200 PS (2,100–2,400 kW; 2,800–3,200 bhp) (diesels) 750 PS (550 kW; 740 shp) (electric)
Propulsion:	2 shafts 2 × diesel engines 2 × electric motors
Speed:	17.7 knots (32.8 km/h; 20.4 mph) surfaced 7.6 knots (14.1 km/h; 8.7 mph) submerged
Range:	8,500 nmi (15,700 km; 9,800 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) surfaced 80 nmi (150 km; 92 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph) submerged
Test depth:	230 m (750 ft) Calculated crush depth: 250–295 m (820–968 ft)
Complement:	4 officers, 40-48 enlisted
Sensors and processing systems:	Passive sonar
Armament:	5 × 53.3 cm (21 in) torpedo tubes (four bow, one stern) 14 × torpedoes 1 × 8.8 cm (3.46 in) deck gun (220 rounds) various AA guns
Service record
Part of:	4th U-boat Flotilla 17 January — 2 May 1945
Identification codes:	M 49 103
Commanders:	Oblt.z.S. Heinrich Besold 17 January — 2 May 1945
Operations:	17 January — 2 May 1945 Training No war time patrols
Victories:	None

U-1308 was the last Type VII/41 submarine to be laid down, launched and commissioned by Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II. The Oberkommando der Marine or OKM, (the German naval high command), had decided near the end of World War II to put all of its resources into building newer types of Unterseeboot, such as the types XXI and XXIII. U-1308 was part of a batch of eight U-boats (U-1301 to U-1308) ordered on 1 August 1942 to be built at Flensburger Schiffbau-Gesellschaft, Flensburg (54°48′30″N 9°26′07″E / 54.80833°N 9.435173°E / 54.80833; 9.435173). She was laid down on 16 February 1944 and launched on 22 November. The eight boats were commissioned over a 12-month period between February 1944 and 17 January 1945 .

As U-1308 was the last Type VII, the Kriegsmarine fitted her out to be one of the most advanced. U-1308 was one of nine Type VIIs that the Kriegsmarine fitted with an experimental synthetic rubber skin of anechoic tiles known as Alberich, which had been designed to counter the Allies' asdic/sonar devices. U-1308 was also one of two Type VIIC/41s that was equipped with a new design of passive sonar hydrophones, thus increasing detection ranges by approximately 70% over the older designs.

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