German submarine U-976 was a Type VIIC U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II. She was ordered on 5 June 1941, and was laid down on 9 July 1942 at Blohm & Voss, Hamburg, as yard number 176. She was launched on 25 March 1943 and commissioned under the command of Oberleutnant zur See Raimund Tiesler on 5 May 1943. Design German Type VIIC submarines were preceded by the shorter Type VIIB submarines. U-976 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 Garbe, Lahmeyer & Co. RP 137/c 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 as low as . 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-976 was fitted with five torpedo tubes (four fitted at the bow and one at the stern), fourteen torpedoes or 26 TMA mines, one SK C/35 naval gun, 220 rounds, and one twin C/30 anti-aircraft gun. The boat had a complement of between 44 — 52 men. Service history On 25 March 1944, U-976 was sunk by aerial gunfire southwest of St. Nazaire, France, in the Bay of Biscay. U-976 was attacked by four British Mosquito FB VIs and two Mosquito FB.XVIIIs (nicknamed Tsetse), armed with 6-pounder cannon, of 248 Squadron/L & I RAF. Forty-nine of the crew of fifty-three survived. The wreck is located at . Wolfpacks U-976 took part in six wolfpacks, namely: Coronel 1 (14 – 17 December 1943) Amrum (18 – 23 December 1943) Rügen 4 (23 – 28 December 1943) Rügen 6 (28 December 1943 – 2 January 1944) Rügen 5 (2 – 7 January 1944) Rügen (7 – 26 January 1944) References Bibliography External links Tsetse pilot's account of the sinking of U-976. German Type VIIC submarines U-boats commissioned in 1943 World War II submarines of Germany Ships built in Hamburg 1943 ships Maritime incidents in March 1944 World War II shipwrecks