U-406
Type | VIIC | |||
| Ordered | 16 Oct, 1939 | |||
| Laid down | 6 Sep, 1940 | Danziger Werft, Danzig (werk 107) | ||
| Launched | 16 Jun, 1941 | |||
| Commissioned | 22 Oct, 1941 | Oblt. Horst Dieterichs | ||
| Commanders |
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| Career | 11 patrols | 22 Oct, 1941 - 30 Apr, 1942 8. Flottille (training) 1 May, 1942 - 18 Feb, 1944 7. Flottille (front boat) | ||
| Successes | 1 ship sunk for a total of 7.452 GRT 3 ships damaged for a total of 13.285 GRT | |||
| Fate | Sunk 18 Feb, 1944 in the North Atlantic, in position 48.32N, 23.36W, by depth charges from the British frigate HMS Spey. 12 dead and 45 survivors. | |||
See the 4 ships hit by U-406 - View the 11 war patrols
Wolfpack operations
U-406 operated with the following Wolfpacks during its career:
Hecht (7 May, 1942 - 18 Jun, 1942)
Blücher (12 Aug, 1942 - 20 Aug, 1942)
Eisbär (23 Aug, 1942 - 29 Aug, 1942)
Iltis (9 Sep, 1942 - 23 Sep, 1942)
Spitz (24 Dec, 1942 - 31 Dec, 1942)
Neuland (6 Mar, 1943 - 12 Mar, 1943)
Dranger (14 Mar, 1943 - 20 Mar, 1943)
Drossel (30 Apr, 1943 - 9 May, 1943)
Attacks on this boat
5 May, 1942
The U-406 encountered a British submarine off St. Nazaire which fired a torpedo towards the German boat but failed to sink her.
23 Aug, 1943
An attack by an aircraft killed 2 men and wounded 3 more men.
2 recorded attacks on this boat.
General notes on this boat
On 1 January, 1943 U-406 had to abort her patrol in the North Atlantic due to serious engine trouble.
On 5 May, 1943 U-406 and U-600 had a collision in the North Atlantic. Both boats were damaged so badly that they had to return to base.
Men lost from the boat
23 Aug, 1943
An attack by an aircraft killed 2 men and wounded 3 more men.
Related: For more info on such losses see - Men lost from U-boats -
![]() | We have emblem entries for this boat! You can view the emblems here. (The emblem on the left is not the emblem for this boat). |
![]() German U-Boat Losses During World War II Niestle, Axel Buy this title at amazon.co.uk See more sellers |
Books dealing with this subject include: |


