German submarine U-794

History
Nazi Germany
Name	U-794
Ordered	7 August 1942
Builder	Germaniawerft, Kiel
Yard number	718
Laid down	1 February 1943
Launched	7 October 1943
Commissioned	14 November 1943
Fate	Scuttled on 5 May 1945, later broken up
General characteristics
Class and type	Type XVIIA submarine
Displacement	236 long tons (240 t) surfaced 259 long tons (263 t) submerged 312 long tons (317 t) total
Length	36.60 m (120 ft 1 in) o/a
Beam	4.5 m (14 ft 9 in) o/a 3.4 m (11 ft 2 in) pressure hull
Draught	4.55 m (14 ft 11 in)
Propulsion	1 × Deutz SAA SM517 supercharged 8-cylinder diesel engine, 210 PS (210 shp; 150 kW) 1 × AEG Maschine AWT98 electric motor, 77 PS (76 shp; 57 kW) 2 × Walter gas turbines, 5,000 PS (4,900 shp; 3,700 kW) 1 shaft
Speed	9 knots (17 km/h; 10 mph) surfaced 5 knots (9.3 km/h; 5.8 mph) submerged (electric drive) 25 knots (46 km/h; 29 mph) submerged (HTP drive)
Range	1,840 nmi (3,410 km; 2,120 mi) at 9 knots (17 km/h; 10 mph) surfaced 76 nmi (141 km; 87 mi) at 2 knots (3.7 km/h; 2.3 mph) submerged (electric drive) 117 nmi (217 km; 135 mi) at 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph) submerged (HTP drive)
Complement	12
Armament	2 × 53.3 cm (21 in) torpedo tubes (bow) 4 × torpedoes
Service record
Part of:	5th U-boat Flotilla 14 – 30 November 1943 8th U-boat Flotilla 1 December 1943 – 14 February 1945 5th U-boat Flotilla 15 February – 5 May 1945
Identification codes:	M 52 496
Commanders:	Oblt.z.S. Werner Klug 14 November 1943 – 31 August 1944 Oblt.z.S. Philipp Becker 1 September 1944 – 5 May 1945
Operations:	None
Victories:	None

German submarine U-794 was a Type XVIIA U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during the Second World War. She was one of a small number of U-boats fitted with Hellmuth Walter's high test peroxide propulsion system, which offered a combination of air-independent propulsion and high submerged speeds. She spent the war as a trials vessel and was scuttled on 5 May 1945 in Gelting Bay.

U-794 was built by Friedrich Krupp Germaniawerft, Kiel. The keel was laid down on 1 February 1943, the boat was launched on 7 October. She was commissioned on 14 November. The Feldpost Number was M 52 496.

U-794 did not undertake any combat patrols and was instead assigned as a trials boat at first to the 5th U-boat Flotilla, followed by the 8th U-boat Flotilla, before returning to the 5th flotilla for the rest of the war. In late March 1944, Admiral Karl Dönitz and four other admirals took part in a trial of U-794. Although they were enthusiastic, the boat, designed for high underwater speed (over 20 m.p.h.) was difficult to manoeuvre, and the keel to beam ratio was too high.

Bibliography

• Busch, Rainer; Röll, Hans-Joachim (1999). German U-boat commanders of World War II : a biographical dictionary. Translated by Brooks, Geoffrey. London, Annapolis, Md: Greenhill Books, Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-186-6.
• Busch, Rainer; Röll, Hans-Joachim (1999). Der U-Boot-Krieg, 1939-1945: Deutsche U-Boot-Verluste von September 1939 bis Mai 1945 [German U-boat losses from September 1939 to May 1945] (in German). Vol. IV. Hamburg, Berlin, Bonn: Mittler. ISBN 3-8132-0514-2.
• Gröner, Eric; Jung, Dieter; Maass, Martin (1991). German Warships 1815-1945: U-boats and Mine Warfare Vessels. Vol. 2. Translated by Thomas, Keith; Magowan, Rachel. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-593-4.
• "U-Boat Operations of the Second World War: Vol. 2: Career histories, U511-UIT25" by Kenneth Wynn, Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, 1998.

External links

• Helgason, Guðmundur. "Type XVIIA Walter boats". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 10 April 2010.
• "Details on the German U-Boat Type III, Type IV, Type V, Type VI, Type VIII, Type XI, Type XII, Type XIII, XV, XVI, VB60, V80, U-179, XVII". www.sharkhunters.com. Archived from the original on 24 February 2010. Retrieved 20 April 2010.
• Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type XVIIA boat U-794". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 20 April 2010.