German submarine U-873

German submarine U-873 being escorted to Portsmouth Navy Yard in May 1945
History
Nazi Germany
Name:	U-873
Ordered:	25 August 1941
Builder:	AG Weser, Bremen
Yard number:	1081
Laid down:	17 February 1943
Launched:	11 November 1943
Commissioned:	1 March 1944
Captured:	11 May 1945
Fate:	scrapped 1948
General characteristics
Class and type:	Type IXD2 U-boat
Displacement:	1,610 t (1,580 long tons) surfaced 1,799 t (1,771 long tons) submerged
Length:	87.58 m (287 ft 4 in) o/a 68.50 m (224 ft 9 in) pressure hull
Beam:	7.50 m (24 ft 7 in) o/a 4.40 m (14 ft 5 in) pressure hull
Height:	10.20 m (33 ft 6 in)
Draught:	5.35 m (17 ft 7 in)
Installed power:	9,000 PS (6,620 kW; 8,880 bhp) (diesels) 1,000 PS (740 kW; 990 shp) (electric)
Propulsion:	2 shafts 2 × diesel engines 2 × electric motors
Speed:	20.8 knots (38.5 km/h; 23.9 mph) urfaced 7 knots (13 km/h; 8.1 mph) submerged
Range:	12,750 nmi (23,610 km; 14,670 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) surfaced 57 nmi (106 km; 66 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph) submerged
Test depth:	Calculated crush depth: 230 m (750 ft)
Boats & landing craft carried:	2 dinghies
Complement:	55 - 64
Armament:	6 × bow torpedo tubes (four bow, two stern) 24 × torpedoes 1 × 10.5 cm (4.13 in) SK C/32 naval gun (150 rounds) various AA guns
Service record
Part of:	Kriegsmarine 4th U-boat Flotilla (training) 1 March 1944 – 31 January 1945 33rd U-boat Flotilla (operations) 1 February – 8 May 1945
Commanders:	Kptlt. Friedrich Steinhoff
Operations:	One patrol: 30 March – 17 May 1945

German submarine U-873 was a German long range Type IXD2 U-boat of World War II. Following the surrender of Germany, the United States Navy studied U-873 to improve United States submarine designs. U-873 is remembered for the controversial treatment of its crew as prisoners of war and the death of commanding officer Friedrich Steinhoff in a Boston jail cell. Six months after Steinhoff's death, his brother was one of the Operation Paperclip rocket scientists from Peenemünde arriving in the United States to work at White Sands Missile Range.

German Type IXD2 submarines were considerably larger than the original Type IXs. U-873 had a displacement of 1,610 tonnes (1,580 long tons) when at the surface and 1,799 tonnes (1,771 long tons) while submerged. The U-boat had a total length of 87.58 m (287 ft 4 in), a pressure hull length of 68.50 m (224 ft 9 in), a beam of 7.50 m (24 ft 7 in), a height of 10.20 m (33 ft 6 in), and a draught of 5.35 m (17 ft 7 in). The submarine was powered by two MAN M 9 V 40/46 supercharged four-stroke, nine-cylinder diesel engines plus two MWM RS34.5S six-cylinder four-stroke diesel engines for cruising, producing a total of 9,000 metric horsepower (6,620 kW; 8,880 shp) for use while surfaced, two Siemens-Schuckert 2 GU 345/34 double-acting electric motors producing a total of 1,000 metric horsepower (740 kW; 990 shp) for use while submerged. She had two shafts and two 1.85 m (6 ft) propellers. The boat was capable of operating at depths of up to 200 metres (660 ft).