In December 1943, U-972 vanished at sea. The U-boat had embarked on its initial patrol in November 1943 and had encountered no problems. Although it’s believed she was active until early January 1944, her final radio transmission was made two weeks earlier, after which she went missing with her entire crew.
Even now, the exact fate of U-972 remains a mystery.
U-972
U-972 was a Type VIIC U-boat inducted into the Kriegsmarine on April 8, 1943. Similar to others in its class, it measured 220 feet, two inches in length, with a beam of 20 feet, three inches, a height of 31 feet, six inches, and a draught of 15 feet, seven inches.
The U-boat was propelled by two supercharged diesel engines with six cylinders and two electric motors, giving it the ability to achieve speeds of up to 17.6 knots on the surface and 7.5 knots while submerged. U-972 had an operational range of 8,500 nautical miles at 10 knots on the surface and 80 nautical miles at four knots underwater.
The vessel was equipped with a 3.46-inch deck gun carrying 220 rounds and a single 1.5-inch Flak M42 anti-aircraft gun. It was also equipped with five 21-inch torpedo tubes—four in the bow and one at the stern. This particular torpedo tube may have contributed to U-972‘s mysterious disappearance.
Disappearance of U-972
Between her commissioning and November 30, 1943, U-972 served as a training vessel with the 5th U-boat Flotilla. On the latter date, she departed Kiel with a crew of 49 for her first patrol in the North Atlantic. Lasting until December 15, this was uneventful.
At the completion of this patrol, the U-boat was ordered to work with four different wolfpacks. Between December 15 and 17, she worked with the Coronel wolfpack, followed by an assignment to one named Sylt from the 18-23. U-972 was then assigned to the Rügen 1 wolfpack from December 23-28, after which she was to join Rügen 2 until January 1, 1944.
The events surrounding these assignments is where the story begins to get murky. While U-972 wasn’t officially reported missing until February 1, 1944 – one month after her work with Rügen 2 was meant to finish – the last-known radio contact with the U-boat was a month and a half prior, on December 15, 1943.
What happened to U-972?
No one knows exactly what happened to U-972. Some believe the U-boat was sunk by an Allied ship. However, it’s also equally possible that she fell victim to one of her own torpedoes.
U-972 carried G7es “Zaunkönig” – or T5 torpedoes. These were passive acoustic torpedoes equipped with a homing system that consisted of two hydrophone receivers that moved the rudder, directing the weapons toward an enemy vessel’s propellers.
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While it cannot be confirmed, it’s possible U-972 fired one of these torpedoes and it circled around, homing in on the U-boat’s screws, sinking the same vessel that fired it. This certainly could have happened. Another vessel, U-862, experienced the same problem and had to crash-dive to 200 feet and go silent to stop her own torpedo from homing in on the U-boat.