U-997

Type

VIIC/41

Ordered

14 Oct 1941

Laid down

7 Dec 1942

Blohm & Voss, Hamburg (werk 197)

Launched

18 Aug 1943

Commissioned

23 Sep 1943

Oblt. Hans Lehmann

Commanders

23 Sep 1943

9 May 1945

Oblt. (R) Hans Lehmann (Knights Cross)

Career
7 patrols

23 Sep 1943	-	30 Apr 1944	5. Flottille (training)
1 May 1944	-	31 May 1944	9. Flottille (active service)
1 Jun 1944	-	1 Mar 1945	13. Flottille (active service)
1 Mar 1945	-	8 May 1945	14. Flottille (active service)

Successes

1 ship sunk, total tonnage 1,603 GRT
1 warship sunk, total tonnage 105 tons
1 ship damaged, total tonnage 4,287 GRT

Fate

Surrendered on 9 May 1945 at Narvik, Norway (Waller & Niestlé, 2010).

Transferred to Loch Eriboll, Scotland, on 19 May and later to Loch Ryan via Lisahally.

Operation Deadlight (post-war Allied operation, info)
Sunk on 13 December, 1945 at 55.50N x 10.05W by aircraft.

Final location

See the 3 ships hit by U-997 - View the 7 war patrols

The U-boats that were in the Narvik area at the end of the war were all moved to the Skjomenfjord upon Allied orders to avoid conflicts with the Norwegians on 12 May. On 15 May, a German convoy of five ships (the fleet tender Grille with the staff of FdU Norwegen aboard, the fleet oiler Kärnten, the repair ship Kamerun and the depot ships Huascaran and Stella Polaris) and 15 U-boats (U-278, U-294, U-295, U-312, U-313, U-318, U-363, U-427, U-481, U-668, U-716, U-968, U-992, U-997 and U-1165) left for transfer to Trondheim, but was intercepted after two days by the 9th Escort Group off the Norwegian coast and officially capitulated. While the ships were allowed to proceed to Trondheim, the U-boats were escorted to Loch Eriboll, Scotland, arriving on 19 May. All U-boats were later that month transferred to Lisahally or Loch Ryan for Operation Deadlight.

Wolfpack operations

U-997 operated with the following Wolfpacks during its career:
   Grimm (31 May 1944 - 6 Jun 1944)
   Trutz (17 Aug 1944 - 1 Sep 1944)
   Grimm (13 Sep 1944 - 1 Oct 1944)
   Regenschirm (14 Oct 1944 - 16 Oct 1944)
   Panther (16 Oct 1944 - 8 Nov 1944)
   Stier (21 Nov 1944 - 25 Dec 1944)
   Hagen (15 Mar 1945 - 21 Mar 1945)

Attacks on this boat and other events

5 Nov 1944
U-997 was attacked by an escort and sustained so much damage that she was forced to return to base.

1 recorded attack on this boat.

General notes on this boat

21 Apr 1945. On 21 April 1945 U-997 was depth charged by an Allied U-boat hunter group in the Barents Sea. A damaged periscope forced the boat to return to base.