German submarine U-347 was a Type VIIC U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II.
She was a member of three wolfpacks.
She was on her fourth patrol when she was sunk by a British aircraft on 17 July 1944.
She sank or damaged no ships.
German Type VIIC submarines were preceded by the shorter Type VIIB submarines. U-347 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 460/8âÂÂ27 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-347 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.
The submarine was laid down on 19 October 1942 at the Nordseewerke yard at Emden as yard number 219, launched on 21 May 1943 and commissioned on 7 July under the command of Oberleutnant zur See Johahn de Buhr.
U-347 served with the 8th U-boat Flotilla, for training and the 9th flotilla for operations from 1 March 1944. She was reassigned to the 11th flotilla on 1 June 1944.
U-347 had sailed from Kiel in Germany to Stavanger in Norway March 1944, but her first patrol began when she departed Stavanger on 9 May. She arrived at Narvik on the 13th.
Her second foray began on 15 May 1944 when she departed Narvik (a port she would use as a base for the rest of her career), for the Norwegian Sea. She returned on 8 June.
U-347 departed Narvik on 23 June 1944; she returned the same day.
The boat had departed Narvik on 3 July 1944. On the 17th, she was sunk by a B-24 Liberator of No. 86 Squadron RAF.
Forty-nine men died in the U-boat's sinking; there were no survivors.
U-347 was thought to have been sunk on 17 July 1944 west of Narvik by a British PBY Catalina of No. 210 Squadron RAF. The pilot, Flying Officer John Cruickshank, was awarded the Victoria Cross for sinking .
U-347 took part in three wolfpacks, namely: