[conus00]

Originally Posted by Mikhayl

The conning tower seems to be that of a VIIB so the number is most likely for something else :hmm:
It's probably U-46: http://www.uboat.net/boats/u46.htm

I agree with you. The pictured boat is indeed VIIB. There were only 24 commissioned U-boats of that type. To my best knowledge only 3 of them ever sported the "snorting bull" insignia: U-46, U-47 and U-75.
If you take a look on the picture the damage seems to be caused by physical contact (ramming) rather than depth charge explosion. According to www.uboat.net the facts about U-46 say "8 Jun, 1941 The torpedoed British tanker Ensis rammed its attacker, the U-46, and damaged its tower and periscope. The damages forced the boat to abort the patrol."

I believe that the picture was taken after the patrol in the port. What the number 1008 on the tower means still eludes me though. Unless there are more digits in front of 1008 not visible due the tower curvature. In that case it could mean the total tonnage up to date.