U-354

Type

VIIC

 
Ordered9 Oct 1939
Laid down15 Apr 1940 Flensburger Schiffsbau-Ges, Flensburg (werk 473)
Launched10 Jan 1942
Commissioned22 Apr 1942Kptlt. Karl-Heinz Herbschleb
Commanders
22 Apr 1942 - 22 Feb 1944  Kptlt. Karl-Heinz Herbschleb
22 Feb 1944 - 24 Aug 1944  Oblt. Hans-Jürgen Sthamer
Career
11 patrols
22 Apr 1942-30 Sep 1942  5. Flottille (training)
1 Oct 1942-14 Oct 1942  1. Flottille (front boat)
15 Oct 1942-31 May 1943  11. Flottille (front boat)
1 Jun 1943-24 Aug 1944  13. Flottille (front boat)
Successes1 ship sunk for a total of 7,176 GRT
1 warship sunk for a total of 1,300 tons
1 ship damaged for a total of 3,771 GRT
1 warship a total loss for a total of 11,420 tons
Fate

Sunk 24 Aug, 1944 in the Barents Sea north-east of North Cape, in position 72.49N, 30.41E, by depth charges from the British sloops HMS Mermaid and HMS Peacock, the British frigate HMS Loch Dunvegan and the British destroyer HMS Keppel. 51 dead (all hands lost).

See the 4 ships hit by U-354 - View the 11 war patrols

Previously recorded fate
(Last revised by FDS/NHB during September 1957. More on revised fates.)

The attack by the British Swordfish aircraft (Sqdn 825/X) of the escort carrier HMS Vindex on 22 August, 1944 in position 74.54N, 15.26E was in fact responsible for the loss of U-344.

Wolfpack operations

U-354 operated with the following Wolfpacks during its career:
   Eisbär (27 Mar 1943 - 1 Apr 1943)
   Wiking (4 Aug 1943 - 15 Sep 1943)
   Eisenbart (1 Nov 1943 - 4 Dec 1943)
   Eisenbart (8 Dec 1943 - 28 Dec 1943)
   Boreas (9 Mar 1944 - 10 Mar 1944)
   Hammer (10 Mar 1944 - 5 Apr 1944)
   Donner (5 Apr 1944 - 11 Apr 1944)
   Donner & Keil (20 Apr 1944 - 2 May 1944)
   Trutz (22 Aug 1944 - 24 Aug 1944)

Men lost from the boat

11 Nov 1942
U-354 lost one man overboard on 11 Nov. [Fähnrich zur See Horst Mayen]

12 Mar 1943
A man from U-354 took his own life. [Maschinenmaat Helmut Richter]

  Related: For more info on such losses see - Men lost from U-boats -


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-Boat Operations of the Second World War - Vol 2

Wynn, Kenneth


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Books dealing with this subject include:

German U-Boat Losses During World War II. Niestle, Axel, 1998.
Hitler's U-boat War. Blair, Clay, 1996.
Hitler's U-boat War, Vol II. Blair, Clay, 1998.
Red Sky in the Morning. Pearson, Michael, 2002.
Running the Gauntlet. Pearce, Frank, 1989.
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 at War. Showell, Jak P. Mallmann, 2001.