 She was launched on 19 August 1941, and commissioned on 4 November 1941 under the command of "Korvettenkapitän" Karl-Heinz Wolff.The U-boat served with the 4th U-boat Flotilla for training, before being assigned to the 10th U-boat Flotilla from 1 July 1942, for front-line service.German Type IXC submarines were slightly larger than the original Type IXBs.