German submarine U-959 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 21 March 1942 at Blohm & Voss, Hamburg, as yard number 159. She was launched on 3 December 1942 and commissioned under the command of Oberleutnant zur See Martin Duppel on 21 January 1943. Design German Type VIIC submarines were preceded by the shorter Type VIIB submarines. U-959 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 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-959 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 2 May 1944, U-959 was sunk by depth charges, south-east of Jan Mayen Island, in the Norwegian Sea, from a British Swordfish of 842 Squadron/K RNFAA from the escort carrier . Her crew of 53 were all lost. The wreck is located at . Wolfpacks U-959 took part in two wolfpacks, namely: Boreas (29 February – 10 March 1944) Thor (10 – 15 March 1944) References Bibliography External links German Type VIIC submarines U-boats commissioned in 1943 World War II submarines of Germany Ships built in Hamburg 1942 ships Maritime incidents in May 1944 World War II shipwrecks in the Norwegian Sea