German submarine U-704
Introduction '''German submarine ''U-704''''' was a Type VIIC U-boat of Nazi Germany's ''Kriegsmarine'' during World War II.Commissioned on 18 November 1941 under the command of ''Kapitänleutnant'' Horst Wilhelm Kessler, ''U-704'' carried out training operations as part of the 8th U-boat Flotilla until 30 June 1942.
Design German Type VIIC submarines were preceded by the shorter Type VIIB submarines. ''U-704'' 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-704'' 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 a  C/30 anti-aircraft gun. The boat had a complement of between forty-four and sixty.
Service history ''U-704'' set out on its first patrol, a transit to its operational base at Saint-Nazaire on 30 June 1942.During this patrol, ''U-704'' formed part of wolfpack "Wolf" which was to patrol between Iceland and Greenland, out of the range of allied air cover. On 26 July 1942, ''U-704'' torpedoed the  British freighter ''Empire Rainbow'', part of convoy Convoy ON-113. ''Empire Rainbow'' had already been damaged by a torpedo from , and ''U-704''s torpedo sank the freighter. ''U-704'' carried out a further four operational patrols under the command of Kessler from Saint Nazaire and La Pallice, sinking no further ships. ''U-704'' did fire four torpedoes at the troopship ''Queen Elizabeth'' on 9 November 1942, with Kessler claiming a hit, although ''Queen Elizabeth'' was undamaged.===Fate===''U-704'' then served as a training submarine in the Baltic sea for the rest of the war, and was scuttled at Vegesack on 30 April 1945.===Wolfpacks===''U-704'' took part in seven wolfpacks, namely:* Wolf (13 – 31 July 1942) * Pirat (31 July – 3 August 1942) * Steinbrinck (3 – 11 August 1942) * Panther (10 – 20 October 1942) * Veilchen (20 October – 7 November 1942) * Habicht (10 – 19 January 1943) * Haudegen (19 January – 9 February 1943)
Summary of raiding history DateShip NameNationalityTonnage (GRT)Fate26 July 1942''Empire Rainbow''6,942Sunk
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