German submarine U-47 (1938)

U-47 was a Type VIIB U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II. She was laid down on 25 February 1937 by Friedrich Krupp Germaniawerft in Kiel as yard number 582, launched on 29 October 1938, and commissioned on 17 December 1938 under the command of Kapitänleutnant Günther Prien.

U-47 became one of the most famous and successful U-boats of the war under Prien's leadership. Her most notable achievement was the daring penetration of the heavily defended British Royal Navy base at Scapa Flow on 14 October 1939. During this raid, U-47 torpedoed and sank the battleship HMS Royal Oak. This event significantly damaged British morale and demonstrated the vulnerability of even heavily fortified naval installations.

Throughout her career, U-47 conducted ten war patrols, sinking a total of 30 ships (19 merchant ships, one battleship, three auxiliary warships, and seven armed trawlers) and damaging eight more. Her operations primarily took place in the North Atlantic.

U-47's eventual fate remains a subject of some debate, though the most widely accepted account is that she was sunk on 8 March 1941, west of Ireland, by the British destroyer HMS Wolverine. All 45 crew members were lost. The circumstances surrounding her sinking are disputed, with some sources suggesting she was sunk by HMS Wolverine and HMS Verity, while others credit HMS Wolverine alone. An alternative theory suggests that U-47 was sunk by her own torpedoes that circled back after being fired. Regardless, the loss of U-47 and her crew marked the end of a highly successful and audacious U-boat career. The sinking of U-47 was not confirmed until after the war.