 The submarine was laid down on 20 June 1942 at the Danziger Werft (yard) at Danzig (now Gdansk), as yard number 127, launched on 6 February 1943 and commissioned on 12 May under the command of "Kapitänleutnant" Christian Reich.She served with the 8th U-boat Flotilla from 12 May 1943 and the 11th flotilla from 1 October of that year.The boat's first patrol was preceded by a trip from Kiel in Germany to Bergen in Norway.