German submarine U-486 was a Type VIIC U-boat built for Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine for service during World War II. She was laid down at the Deutsche Werke in Kiel as yard number 321, launched on 12 February 1944 and commissioned on 22 March with Oberleutnant zur See Gerhard Meyer in command.
The boat began training on 22 March with the 5th U-boat Flotilla but moved on to the 11th flotilla for operations.
She was one of nine Type VIIs that the Kriegsmarine fitted with an experimental synthetic rubber skin of anechoic tiles known as Alberich, which had been designed to counter the Allies' asdic/sonar devices.[1]
Her remains were positively identified in March 2013 after they were found during oil exploration operations off the coast of Norway, not far from the remains of .
German Type VIIC submarines were preceded by the shorter Type VIIB submarines. U-486 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 Siemens-Schuckert GU 343/38–8 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-486 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), one 3.7cm (01.5inches) Flak M42 and two twin 2sp=usNaNsp=us C/30 anti-aircraft guns. The boat had a complement of between forty-four and sixty.
The submarine moved to Horten Naval Base in Norway between 6 and 9 November 1944 and then Egersund, (also in Norway, on the southwest coast, between Stavanger and Kristiansand), arriving there on 20 November.
She departed Egersund on her first patrol on 26 November 1944, taking a circuitous route around the British Isles to the Western Approaches. The U-boat claimed her first victim south of the Eddystone Lighthouse by sinking the Silverlaurel on 18 December. She then attacked the on 24 December five miles off the coast of Cherbourg, France. This resulted in the death of over 750 Allied soldiers (819 total deaths). The Leopoldville sank about two hours later.[2] She crippled the US-built but British manned frigate on the 26th. She also sank, another frigate, on the same day.[3]
She was unsuccessfully attacked by a Canadian Vickers Wellington of 407 Squadron, RCAF on 30 December.
She returned to Norway, this time to Bergen, on 15 January 1945.
The boat departed Bergen on 9 April 1945, but was sunk by torpedoes from the British submarine on 12 April.
| Date | Ship Name | Nationality | Tonnage[4] | Fate[5] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 December 1944 | Silverlaurel |  United Kingdom | 6,142 | Sunk | |
| 24 December 1944 |  Belgium | 11,509 | Sunk | ||
| 26 December 1944 | 1,085 | Total loss | |||
| 26 December 1944 | 1,085 | Sunk |
In early 2013, the wreck of U-486 was discovered by the Norwegian petroleum company Statoil at a depth of 250m (820feet), off the coast of Western Norway. The wreck of U-486 is located c. 2km (01miles) from that of the fellow German submarine .[6]