U-109
Type | IXB | |||||||
| Ordered | 24 May, 1938 | |||||||
| Laid down | 9 Mar, 1940 | AG Weser, Bremen (werk 972) | ||||||
| Launched | 14 Sep, 1940 | |||||||
| Commissioned | 5 Dec, 1940 | Korvkpt. Hans-Georg Fischer | ||||||
| Commanders |
| |||||||
| Career | 9 patrols | 5 Dec, 1940 - 30 Apr, 1941 2. Flottille (training) 1 May, 1941 - 4 May, 1943 2. Flottille (front boat) | ||||||
| Successes | 12 ships sunk for a total of 79.969 GRT 1 ship damaged for a total of 6.548 GRT | |||||||
| Fate | Sunk 4 May, 1943 south of Ireland, in position 47.22N, 22.40W, by 4 depth charges from a British Liberator aircraft (Sqdn. 86/P). 52 dead (all hands lost). | |||||||
See the 13 ships hit by U-109 - View the 9 war patrols
The Liberator was on an outbound patrol to link up with convoy HX.236 north-east of the Azores when she got a contact with her 10cm radar. Shortly afterwards the crew saw a surfaced U-boat and dropped 4 depth charges onto the boat.
The boat was seen on the surface after the depth charges had straddled her and then she slowly sank, seemingly leaving enough time for at least some survivors but possibly the hatches were all damaged from the blast and no one seemed to get out of the boat.
Wolfpack operations
U-109 operated with the following Wolfpacks during its career:
Wohlgemut (12 Mar, 1943 - 22 Mar, 1943)
Men lost from U-boats
Unlike many other U-boats, which during their service lost men due to accidents and various other causes, U-109 did not suffer any casualties (we know of) until the time of her loss.
 | We have an emblem for this boat! You can view it here. (The emblem on the left is not the emblem for this boat). |
 U-Boats of World War Two Volume 1 Stern, Robert C. Buy this title at amazon.co.uk See more sellers |
Books dealing with this subject include: The Approaching Storm, Chewning, Alpheus J., 1994  Feindfahrten, Hirschfeld, Wolfgang, 1991 German U-Boat Losses During World War II, Niestle, Axel, 1998 Hirschfeld, Brooks, Geoffrey told by Wolfgang Hirschfeld, 1996 Sinking of the Montrolite, Constant, Alan R., 2002 U-Boat Operations of the Second World War - Vol 1, Wynn, Kenneth, 1998 U-Boat Operations of the Second World War - Vol 2, Wynn, Kenneth, 1998 U-Boats of World War Two Volume 1, Stern, Robert C., 1988 |
There was another U-109 in World War One
That boat was launched from its shipyard on 25 Sep, 1917 and commissioned into the Imperial Navy on 7 Jul, 1917. The Naval war in WWI was brought to an end with the Armistice signed on 11 Nov, 1918. Read about the U 109 during WWI.