German submarine U-361 was a Type VIIC U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II.
She carried out three patrols. She did not sink or damage any ships.
She was a member of six wolfpacks.
She was sunk by a British aircraft west of Narvik on 17 July 1944.
German Type VIIC submarines were preceded by the shorter Type VIIB submarines. U-361 had a displacement of 769t when at the surface and 871t while submerged. She had a total length of 67.1m (220.1feet), a pressure hull length of 50.5m (165.7feet), a beam of 6.2m (20.3feet), a height of 9.6m (31.5feet), and a draught of 4.74m (15.55feet). The submarine was powered by two Germaniawerft F46 four-stroke, six-cylinder supercharged diesel engines producing a total of NaNPS for use while surfaced, two AEG GU 460/8–27 double-acting electric motors producing a total of 750PS for use while submerged. She had two shafts and two 1.23abbr=onNaNabbr=on 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-361 was fitted with five 53.30NaN0 torpedo tubes (four fitted at the bow and one at the stern), fourteen torpedoes, one 8.82NaN2 SK C/35 naval gun, 220 rounds, and two twin 2sp=usNaNsp=us C/30 anti-aircraft guns. The boat had a complement of between forty-four and sixty.
The submarine was laid down on 12 September 1941 at the Flensburger Schiffbau-Gesellschaft yard at Flensburg as yard number 480, launched on 9 September 1942 and commissioned on 18 December under the command of Kapitänleutnant Hans Seidel.
She served with the 8th U-boat Flotilla from 18 December 1942 and the 11th flotilla from 1 March 1944.
U-359s first patrol took her from Kiel in Germany to Narvik in Norway.
Her second foray was toward Bear Island in the Barents Sea, then into the Norwegian Sea.
U-361 left Narvik for the last time on 27 June 1944. On 17 July, she was attacked by a British Catalina flying boat of No. 210 Squadron RAF. On the initial attack, the Catalina's depth charges failed to release, and U-361s crew were able to fire their anti-aircraft gun, hitting the aeroplane as it attacked again, killing the navigator and injuring four others. The first pilot, John Cruickshank, was hit in seventy-two places, with two serious wounds to his lungs and ten penetrating wounds to his lower limbs. In this second attack, Cruikshank's depth charges hit the U-361, sinking her. For his heroism in the attack, and in the five and a half hours until the Catalina returned to Sullum Voe, Cruickshank was awarded the Victoria Cross. There were no survivors of the U-boat's crew, all 52 men died.[1]
U-361 was originally noted as sunk on 17 July 1944 by a British B-24 Liberator of 86 Squadron. This attack sank .
U-361 took part in six wolfpacks, namely: