German submarine U-953
German submarine U-953 was a Type VIIC U-boat of Nazi Germany's navy (Kriegsmarine) during World War II. The submarine was laid down on 10 February 1942 in the Blohm & Voss yard at Hamburg, launched on 28 October 1942, and commissioned on 17 December 1942 under the command of Oberleutnant zur See Karl-Heinz Marbach. After training with the 5th U-boat Flotilla at Kiel, U-953 was transferred to the 3rd U-boat Flotilla based at La Pallice (in southwestern France), for front-line service on 1 June 1943. She sailed on ten war patrols with no ships sunk. She was transferred to the 33rd U-boat Flotilla on 15 October 1944, under the command of her second skipper, Oberleutnant zur See Herbert Werner, author of the memoir Iron Coffins. U-953 was surrendered at Trondheim in Norway on 9 May 1945. Design German Type VIIC submarines were preceded by the shorter Type VIIB submarines. U-953 had a displacement of when at the surface and while submerged. She had a total length of , a pressure hull length of , a beam of , a height of , and a draught of . The submarine was powered by two Germaniawerft F46 four-stroke, six-cylinder supercharged diesel engines