German submarine U-794

German submarine U-794
Career
Name:	U-794
Ordered:	7 August 1942
Builder:	Friedrich Krupp 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
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 hp (160 kW) 1 × AEG Maschine AWT98 electric motor, 77 hp (57 kW) 2 × Walter gas turbines, 5,000 hp (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 kn (17 km/h; 10 mph) surfaced 76 nmi (141 km; 87 mi) at 2 kn (3.7 km/h; 2.3 mph) submerged (electric drive) 117 nmi (217 km; 135 mi) at 20 kn (37 km/h; 23 mph) submerged (HTP drive)
Complement:	12
Armament:	• 2 × 533 mm (21 in) torpedo tubes (bow) • 4 × torpedoes

Service record
Part of:	5th U-boat Flotilla (14 November 1943–30 November 1943) 8th U-boat Flotilla (1 December 1943–14 February 1945) 5th U-boat Flotilla (15 February 1945–5 May 1945)
Commanders:	Oblt. Werner Klug (14 November 1943–31 August 1944) Oblt. Philipp Becker(1 September 1944–5 May 1945)
Operations:	None
Victories:	None

U-794 was a Type XVIIA U-boat of the German 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.

References

• "U-Boat Operations of the Second World War: Vol. 2: Career histories, U511-UIT25" by Kenneth Wynn, Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, 1998.
• "Type XVIIA Walter boats - German U-boat Types of WWII - uboat.net". uboat.net. http://uboat.net/types/xviia.htm. 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. http://www.sharkhunters.com/typeadditional.htm. Retrieved 20 April 2010. 
• "The Type XVIIA boat U-794 - German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net". www.uboat.net. http://uboat.net/boats/u794.htm. Retrieved 20 April 2010.