German submarine U-262 was a Type VIIC U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II. The submarine was laid down on 29 May 1941 at the Bremer Vulkan yard at Bremen-Vegesack as yard number 27. She was launched on 10 March 1942 and commissioned on 15 April under the command of Kapitänleutnant Günther Schiebusch. She was a member of nine wolfpacks, sinking three merchant ships and one warship. Design German Type VIIC submarines were preceded by the shorter Type VIIB submarines. U-262 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 AEG GU 460/8–27 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-262 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 two twin C/30 anti-aircraft guns. The boat had a complement of between forty-four and sixty. Service history First and second patrols Having moved from Kiel in Germany to Bergen in Norway in September 1942, U-262s first patrol was marked by an unsuccessful attack by two Lockheed Hudsons, but the damage inflicted was serious enough to warrant an early return to Bergen. Her second foray followed the Norwegian coast to Narvik but was otherwise uneventful. Third patrol The U-boat sailed from Narvik on 5 November 1942, now under the command of Oberleutnant zur See Heinz Franke, and headed out to the waters east of Newfoundland, sailing first west from Narvik then north, parallel to the eastern Greenland coast; after that turning about, negotiating the Denmark Strait between Greenland and Iceland. On 18 November, as part of wolfpack Kreuzotter, she attacked the Convoy ONS 144, firing a spread of three torpedoes, one of which hit the Norwegian , fatally damaging the vessel. The commander ordered the crew to abandon