German submarine U-270 was a Type VIIC U-boat of Nazi Germany'sKriegsmarine during World War II. The submarine was laid down on 15 October 1941 at the Bremer-Vulkan-Vegesacker Werft in Bremen as yard number 35. She was launched on 11 July 1942 and commissioned on 5 September under the command of Oberleutnant zur See Paul-Fredrich Otto. In six patrols, she caused one British warship of to be declared a total loss. She was a member of seven wolfpacks. She was sunk in August 1944 in the Bay of Biscay by an Australian aircraft.
Design
were preceded by the shorter Type VIIB submarines. U-270 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-270 was fitted with five torpedo tubes, 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.
U-270s first patrol began when she departed Kiel on 23 March 1943. She entered the Atlantic Ocean after negotiating the gap between Iceland and the Faroe Islands. Two crew members were injured in bad weather on 4 April. She then docked at the French Atlantic port of St. Nazaire on 15 May. For her second sortie, the boat moved through the Atlantic waters off northwest Spain.
3rd and 4th patrols
She attacked the British frigate which caused the warship to be declared a total loss. During an attack on a convoy in mid-Atlantic, the boat's pressure hull was cracked by depth charges dropped by the escorts; the submarine was forced to return to base. U-270 was attacked by a British B-17 Flying Fortress on 6 January 1944 and succeeded in shooting the aircraft down, but not before sufficient damage was caused to force the U-boat to curtail the patrol.
5th patrol
The submarine was returning to base after being attacked and badly damaged by a Vickers Wellington of No. 172 Squadron RAF, when she was attacked by a second Fortress, this time from 53 Squadron. This B-17 was also shot down, but did not cause any further damage to the boat. Among the casualties here were Bert Peters, a former Victorian Football League player.
6th patrol and loss
U-270 departed Lorient for the last time on 10 August 1944. In the Bay of Biscay, she was attacked and sunk by an Australian Sunderland flying boat of No. 461 Squadron RAAF on the 13th. There were no deaths; seventy-one men survived.The German version of U 270 reports of 10 men dead and 71 survived; the boat was overloaded with staff, being evacuated.:de:U 270|U 270
