German submarine U-5269

Miniature submarine "Seehund Class"
History
Nazi Germany
Name	U-5269
Ordered	7 July 1944
Builder	F. Schichau, Elbing
Commissioned	3 November 1944
General characteristics (XXVIIB)
Type	Type XXVIIB
Displacement	17 long tons (17 t) submerged
Length	12 m (39 ft)
Beam	1.5 m (4.9 ft)
Draught	3.66 m (12 ft 0 in)
Installed power	575 PS (423 kW; 567 shp) (diesel drive) 572 PS (421 kW; 564 shp) (standard electric drive) 35 PS (26 kW; 35 shp) (silent electric drive)
Propulsion	1 × 60 hp Büssing Diesel engine 25 hp AEG electric motor 1 × AEG GU4463-8 double-acting electric motor 1 × BBC CCR188 electric creeping motor
Speed	7 knots (13 km/h; 8.1 mph) surfaced 3 knots (5.6 km/h; 3.5 mph) submerged
Range	270 nmi (500 km; 310 mi) at 7 knots (13 km/h; 8.1 mph) surfaced 63 nmi (117 km; 72 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph) submerged
Complement	2
Armament	2 G7e torpedoes

German submarine U-5269 was a Type XXVIIB "Seehund" midget submarine which bears one of the highest registry numbers of the Kriegsmarine to be issued to a submarine during World War II. U-5269 was not, however, the last German submarine commissioned (that boat was U-4712) but was issued a higher registry since contracted boats were frequently commissioned out of order due to scheduling and construction conflicts.

As with the majority of the German mini-submarines of late World War II, U-5269 was part of the "wonder weapon" effort of Nazi Germany in an attempt to stem the defeats of 1944 and 1945. Karl Dönitz had originally hoped for over one thousand miniature submarines to be constructed, but in the end the total number commissioned were just under three hundred. The vessel is thought to have operated during the winter of 1944 and either scrapped or sunk in early 1945^[1]

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