German submarine U-88 was a Type VIIC U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II.
She was laid down at the Flender Werke in Lübeck as yard number 292, launched on 16 August 1941 and commissioned on 15 October with Kapitänleutnant Heino Bohmann in command.
She was a fairly successful boat, succeeding in sinking 12,304 GRT of Allied shipping in a career lasting just one year over three patrols.
German Type VIIC submarines were preceded by the shorter Type VIIB submarines. U-88 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 MAN M 6 V 40/46 four-stroke, six-cylinder supercharged diesel engines producing a total of for use while surfaced, two Brown, Boveri & Cie GG UB 720/8 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-88 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.
Having moved from Kiel to Kirkenes in Norway in April 1942, U-88 departed for her first patrol on the 29th. She returned on 3 May.
The boat moved from Kirkenes to Narvik in early May and set-off for her second patrol on 17 June 1942. She sank two American ships, part of the ill-fated Convoy PQ 17, on 5 July. After a three-hour pursuit, the Carlton was hit by a torpedo which did not detonate. A second torpedo exploded on impact, the ship sank in ten minutes. U-88 then hit the Daniel Morgan which had already been attacked by German aircraft. Three men died, there were 51 survivors.
U-88 left Narvik on 25 August 1942 for her final patrol. She was sunk south of Spitzbergen at by depth charges from the British destroyer on 12 September. Forty-six men died; there were no survivors.
U-88 was sunk on 14 September 1942 by depth charges from the British destroyer .
U-88 took part in three wolfpacks, namely: