Patrol info for U-73
| Departure | Arrival / Fate | Days | ||
| 22 Dec 1942 | La Spezia | 13 Jan 1943 | La Spezia | 23 days |
Commander | Officers * | |
 Oblt. Horst Deckert |
1WO Oblt. Heinz Bentzien |
2WO Ltn. Detlev Fritz |
U-73's daily positions during the patrol
We have daily positions for all 23 days on this patrol.
Ships hit by U-73 during this patrol
| Date | U-boat | Commander | Name of ship | Tons | Nat. | Convoy | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Jan 1943 | U-73 | Horst Deckert | Arthur Middleton | 7,176 |  | am | UGS-3 | |
| 1 Jan 1943 | U-73 | Horst Deckert | USS LCT-21 [Trans.] | 255 | | am | UGS-3 | |
| 7,431 | ||||||||
2 ships sunk (7,431 tons). Legend | ||||||||
Locations of ships hit during this patrol
We have 1 position of the 2 ships attacked.
General Events during this patrol
We have no events listed for this patrol. Add more events! If you know of an interesting event either missing from this date or an upcoming event that you'd like to share please contact us. We continuously update these databases. |
Attacks on U-73 during this patrol
27 Dec 1942
At 07.15 hours, the boat was attacked by a British Wellington aircraft LA971 (179 Sqdn RAF/T, pilot F/L A.H. Comfort). The aircraft (misidentified as Beaufort) had picked up a radar contact and made a Leigh Light attack, but the boat had been warned by Metox and opened fire with the AA guns, immediately scoring hits on the port engine. Four depth charges missed and the Wellington was forced to head for the coast, making it to Tafaraoui after jettison all loose equipment. (Sources: Franks/Zimmerman)
27 Dec 1942
Aircraft attack, aircraft shot down:British Hudson AM689 (500 Sqdn RAF/M, pilot P/O J.R. Pugh)
At 08.17 hours, the boat was attacked by the Hudson. AA fire hit the aircraft during the initial strafing run and its four depth charges fell in 80 to 250 metres distance, causing only light damages. Hit in the cockpit area and in the starboard engine, the Hudson headed for the coast about 50 miles away, but had to ditch only 3 minutes after the attack. The crew of 4 made it into a dinghy and were rescued in the afternoon by a Walrus flying boat (700 Sqdn FAA, pilot SubLt Neil Fuller) after being spotted and escorted by Hudsons (500 and 608 Sqdn RAF).
(Sources: Franks/Zimmerman)About this data
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* These are officers that later became commanders themselves.
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