German submarine U-390

German submarine U-390 was a Type VIIC U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II.

She carried out three patrols before being sunk by British warships 5 July 1944 in the English Channel.

She was a member of four wolfpacks.

She sank one auxiliary warship of.

Design
German Type VIIC submarines were preceded by the shorter Type VIIB submarines. U-390 had a displacement of 769 t when at the surface and 871 t while submerged. She had a total length of 67.10 m, a pressure hull length of 50.50 m, a beam of 6.20 m, a height of 9.60 m, and a draught of 4.74 m. The submarine was powered by two Germaniawerft F46 four-stroke, six-cylinder supercharged diesel engines producing a total of 2800 to 3200 PS for use while surfaced, two Garbe, Lahmeyer & Co. RP 137/c 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-390 was fitted with five 53.3 cm torpedo tubes (four fitted at the bow and one at the stern), fourteen torpedoes, one 8.8 cm SK C/35 naval gun, 220 rounds, and two twin 2 cm C/30 anti-aircraft guns. The boat had a complement of between forty-four and sixty.

Service history
The submarine was laid down on 6 December 1941 at the Howaldtswerke yard at Kiel as yard number 21, launched on 23 January 1943 and commissioned on 13 March under the command of Oberleutnant zur See Heinz Geissler.

First patrol
The boat's first patrol was divided into two parts; the first part was brief. It started in Kiel and terminated in Bergen. Part two began in Bergen on 7 December 1943 and took in the gap between Iceland and the Faroe Islands. The submarine then docked at St. Nazaire in occupied France on 13 February 1944.

Second patrol
U-390's second foray was relatively uneventful; starting from St. Nazaire but finishing further north, at Brest.

Third patrol and loss
The U-boat's third and final sortie began three weeks after the Normandy landings. She attacked and sank the British anti-submarine trawler HMS Ganilly (T376) on 5 July 1944. On the same day, she was sunk by depth charges dropped by two other British ships: the destroyer HMS Wanderer (D74) and the frigate HMS Tavy (K272).

Forty-eight men died in U-390; there was one survivor rescued by Wanderer.

Wolfpacks
U-390 took part in four wolfpacks, namely:
 * Coronel 2 (15 – 17 December 1943)
 * Rügen 3 (23 December 1943 – 7 January 1944)
 * Rügen (7 – 26 January 1944)
 * Stürmer (26 January – 3 February 1944)