German submarine U-604

German submarine U-604 was a Type VIIC U-boat built for Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine for service during World War II. She was laid down on 27 February 1941 by Blohm & Voss in Hamburg as yard number 580, launched on 16 November 1941 and commissioned on 8 January 1942 under Kapitänleutnant Horst Höltring (German Cross in Gold).

Design
German Type VIIC submarines were preceded by the shorter Type VIIB submarines. U-604 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 Brown, Boveri & Cie GG UB 720/8 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-604 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 a 2 cm C/30 anti-aircraft gun. The boat had a complement of between forty-four and sixty.

Service history
The boat's service began on 8 January 1942 for training as part of the 5th U-boat Flotilla. After training was completed she transferred to the 9th flotilla on 1 August 1942 for active service.

In 6 patrols she sank 6 ships for a total of.

Wolfpacks


She took part in five wolfpacks, namely:
 * Vorwärts (25 August – 1 September 1942)
 * Streitaxt (20 – 31 October 1942)
 * Draufgänger (1 – 11 December 1942)
 * Ungestüm (11 – 22 December 1942)
 * Knappen (19 – 25 February 1943)

Fate
She was scuttled on 11 August 1943 at position -4.5°N, -21.33333°W in the South Atlantic after being depth charged by two US aircraft, a Ventura and a Liberator. Her crew was rescued by GS U-185.