German submarine U-993 was a Type VIIC U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II. Construction The U-993 was laid down on 16 November 1942 at the Blohm & Voss yard in Hamburg, Germany. She was launched on 8 July 1943 and commissioned on 19 August 1943 under the command of Oberleutnant zur See Kurt Hilbig, who was replaced on 17 August 1944 by Oberleutnant zur See Karl-Heinz Steinmetz. Her U-boat emblem was 13 and Clover. When she was completed, the submarine was long, with a beam of , a height of and a draft of . She was assessed at submerged. The submarine was powered by two Germaniawerft F46 four-stroke, six-cylinder supercharged diesel engines producing a total of for use while surfaced and two BBC GG UB 720/8 double-acting electric motors producing a total of for use while submerged. She had two shafts and two propellers. The submarine was capable of operating at depths of up to , had a maximum surface speed of and a maximum submerged speed of .When submerged, the U-boat could operate for at and when surfaced, she could travel at . The submarine was fitted with five torpedo tubes (four fitted at the bow and one at the stern), fourteen torpedoes, one deck gun (220 rounds) and a Flak M42 anti-aircraft gun. The boat had a complement of 44 to 57 men. Service history U-993 was used as a Training ship in the 5th U-boat Flotilla from 19 August 1943 until 29 February 1944 where she had been trained and tested at the individual commands (UAK, TEK, AGRU-Front, etc.) and had been part of Ausbildungsflottillen (26th U-boat Flotilla, 27th U-boat Flotilla, etc.) for remaining works and equipment, before serving in the 3rd U-boat Flotilla for active service on 1 March 1944. Patrols And Incidents During her active service, U-993 made 3 patrols. She left Marviken on 23 March 1944 for her first patrol and patrolled the North Atlantic between Ireland and Newfoundland. On 17 April 1944 at 3.51am, northwest of Cape Finisterre, U-993 was attacked by a British B-24 Liberator BZ945 (53 Sqdn RAF/O, pilot F/L L.M. Burton). The B-24 strafed the boat in a Leigh Light attack and dropped two depth charges and a small bomb on the submarine, which fell wide, causing no damage. The plane however wasn't so lucky as it was hit by flak during the approach, which set