German submarine U-224

German submarine U-224 was a Type VIIC U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II.

Ordered on 15 August 1940 from the Germaniawerft shipyard in Kiel, she was laid down on 15 July 1941 as yard number 654, launched on 7 May 1942 and commissioned on 20 June.

U-224 was attacked with depth charges and rammed by Canadian corvette HMCS Ville de Quebec (K242) west of Algiers on 13 January 1943. 45 crew members died when the boat sank.

Design
German Type VIIC submarines were preceded by the shorter Type VIIB submarines. U-224 had a displacement of 769 t when at the surface and 871 t while submerged. She had a total length of 220 ft, a pressure hull length of 165 ft, a beam of 20 ft, a height of 31 ft, and a draught of 15 ft. The submarine was powered by two Germaniawerft F 46 four-stroke, six-cylinder supercharged diesel engines producing a total of 2800 to 3200 PS for use while surfaced, two AEG double-acting electric motors producing a total of 750 PS for use while submerged. She had two shafts and two 1.23 m propellers. The boat was capable of operating at depths of up to 230 m.

The submarine had a maximum surface speed of 17.7 kn and a maximum submerged speed of 7.6 kn. When submerged, the boat could operate for 80 nmi at 4 kn; when surfaced, she could travel 8500 nmi at 10 kn. U-224 was fitted with five 21 in torpedo tubes (four fitted at the bow and one at the stern), fourteen torpedoes, one 8.8 cm deck machine gun, 220 rounds, and a 2 cm C/30 anti-aircraft gun. The boat had a complement of between forty-four and sixty.

Wolfpacks
U-224 took part in three wolfpacks, namely:
 * Puma (26 – 29 October 1942)
 * Natter (30 October – 8 November 1942)
 * Kreuzotter (8 – 18 November 1942)