German submarine U-439
German submarine "U-439" was a Type VIIC U-boat of Nazi Germany's "Kriegsmarine" during World War II. She carried out four patrols. She sank no ships. She was a member of six wolfpacks. She was sunk after a collision with another U-boat on 4 May 1943. Design. German Type VIIC submarines were preceded by the shorter Type VIIB submarines. "U-439" 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 460/8–27 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-439" 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. Service history. The submarine was laid down on 1 October 1940 at Schichau-Werke in Danzig (now Gdansk, Poland) as yard number 1490, launched on 11 October 1941 and commissioned on 20 December under the command of "Oberleutnant zur See" Wolfgang Sporn. She served with the 5th U-boat Flotilla from 20 December 1941 for training and the 1st flotilla from 1 November 1942 for operations. First patrol. "U-439"s first patrol was from Kiel in  Germany. She headed for the Atlantic Ocean, via the gap separating the Faroe and Shetland Islands. She arrived at Brest in occupied France on 24 December. Second and third patrols. For her second sortie, she barely got out of the Bay of Biscay. Her third foray took her into the middle of the North Atlantic. Fourth patrol and loss. Having left Brest on 27 April 1943, she, along with , were both shadowing a southbound convoy on 4 May in preparation for an attack on the surface when the two U-boats collided. Both boats sank. Forty men went down with  U-439; there were nine survivors. Wolfpacks. "U-439" took part in six wolfpacks, namely: