German submarine U-968 was a Type VIIC U-boat built for Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine for service during World War II. She was laid down on 14 May 1942 by Blohm & Voss, Hamburg as yard number 168, launched on 4 February 1943 and commissioned on 18 March 1943 under Oberleutnant zur See Otto Westphalen. Design German Type VIIC submarines were preceded by the shorter Type VIIB submarines. U-968 had a displacement of when at the surface and while submerged. She had a total length of , a pressure hull length of , a beam of , a height of , and a draught of . The submarine was powered by two Germaniawerft F46 four-stroke, six-cylinder supercharged diesel engines producing a total of for use while surfaced, two Brown, Boveri & Cie GG UB 720/8 double-acting electric motors producing a total of for use while submerged. She had two shafts and two propellers. The boat was capable of operating at depths of up to . The submarine had a maximum surface speed of and a maximum submerged speed of . When submerged, the boat could operate for at ; when surfaced, she could travel at . U-968 was fitted with five torpedo tubes (four fitted at the bow and one at the stern), fourteen torpedoes, one SK C/35 naval gun, 220 rounds, and one twin C/30 anti-aircraft gun. The boat had a complement of between forty-four and sixty. Service history The boat's career began with training at 5th U-boat Flotilla on 18 March 1943, followed by active service on 1 March 1944 as part of the 13th Flotilla for the remainder of her service. In seven patrols she sank two merchant ships, for a total of , damaged one other. Wolfpacks U-968 took part in seven wolfpacks, namely: Hammer (17 March – 1 April 1944) Dachs (1 – 5 September 1944) Zorn (26 September – 1 October 1944) Grimm (1 – 2 October 1944) Panther (16 October – 10 November 1944) Rasmus (7 – 13 February 1945) Hagen (13 – 21 March 1945) Fate U-968 surrendered on 9 May 1945 at Narvik, Norway. She was subsequently transferred to Loch Eriboll in Scotland on 19 May 1945, and later to Loch Ryan as part of Operation Deadlight. She was eventually sunk by Allied forces on 29 November 1945 in the North Atlantic in position . Summary of raiding history References Notes Citations Bibliography