German submarine U-986 was a Type VIIC U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II. She was ordered on 25 May 1941, and was laid down on 18 September 1942 at Blohm & Voss, Hamburg, as yard number 186. She was launched on 20 May 1943 and commissioned under the command of Oberleutnant zur See Karl-Ernst Kaiser on 1 July 1943.