U-43
Type | IX | |||||||||||||
| Ordered | 21 Nov 1936 | |||||||||||||
| Laid down | 15 Aug 1938 | AG Weser, Bremen (werk 948) | ||||||||||||
| Launched | 23 May 1939 | |||||||||||||
| Commissioned | 26 Aug 1939 | Kptlt. Wilhelm Ambrosius | ||||||||||||
| Commanders |
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| Career 14 patrols |
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| Successes | 21 ships sunk for a total of 117,036 GRT 1 ship damaged for a total of 10,350 GRT 1 ship a total loss for a total of 9,131 GRT | |||||||||||||
| Fate | Sunk 30 July, 1943 south-west of the Azores, in position 34.57N, 35.11W, by a Fido homing torpedo from an Avenger aircraft of the US escort carrier USS Santee 55 dead (all hands lost). | |||||||||||||
Wolfpack operations
U-43 operated with the following Wolfpacks during its career:
Rösing (12 Jun 1940 - 15 Jun 1940)
West (17 May 1941 - 16 Jun 1941)
Kurfürst (16 Jun 1941 - 20 Jun 1941)
Grönland (10 Aug 1941 - 27 Aug 1941)
Markgraf (27 Aug 1941 - 12 Sep 1941)
Steuben (14 Nov 1941 - 2 Dec 1941)
Wolf (13 Jul 1942 - 30 Jul 1942)
Pirat (31 Jul 1942 - 3 Aug 1942)
Rochen (27 Jan 1943 - 28 Feb 1943)
Tümmler (1 Mar 1943 - 19 Mar 1943)
Attacks on this boat
16 Nov 1939
After sinking the British vessel Arlington Court from convoy SL 7 convoy escorts hunted the boat for 20 hours severely damaging her (they also hunted U-41 at the same time). (Sources: Blair, vol 1, page 119)
22 Nov 1939
After a successful attack on the French convoy 14-BS, the boat was attacked by the escorts with 23 depth charges. No damages.
(Sources: Ritschel)
8 Dec 1939
The boat was attacked by an aircraft and severely damaged at 0931 in the morning. This was the third attack on the boat during this patrol. She reached base at Wilhelmshaven 6 days later. (Sources: KTB)
22 Apr 1940
The U-43 was attacked in the North Sea by two Hudson aircraft with bombs and suffered slight damage.
28 May 1940
The boat missed the British steam merchant Alca with a torpedo and then opened fire with the deck gun southwest of Lands End. The steamer returned fire, but neither sides scored hits and the boat soon broke off the attack. (Sources: Ritschel)
30 Nov 1941
After having sunk 2 British merchants from convoy OS-12 the boat was driven under and depth charged for several hours but managed to escape unharmed. (Sources: Blair, vol 1, page 409)
19 Jul 1943
At 21.25 hours, two outbound boats (U-43 and U-403) were attacked by the British Liberator Mk.V BZ772 (86 Sqdn RAF/J, pilot F/L W. Roxburgh, DFC) in the Bay of Biscay. U-403 immediately began crash-diving covered by U-43, which fought off a first attack and then dived too. AA fire slightly damaged the Liberator and wounded a crewman, but the pilot nevertheless dropped two Fido homing torpedoes into the swirl and observed a possible hit. Both boats were not hit and apparently misinterpreted the sounds heard as a crashing aircraft. The Germans claimed the Liberator as shot down, but it safely returned to base. (Sources: Franks/Zimmerman)
7 recorded attacks on this boat.
General notes on this boat
4 Feb 1941. The accidentally sank at the docks at Lorient due to an open valve. The boat was out of action for 3 months as a result of this.
Men lost from the boat
31 Mar 1940
U-43 lost a man overboard in the Atlantic. [I WO Oberleutnant zur See Hans-Wilhelm Behrens]
Related: For more info on such losses see - Men lost from U-boats -
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There was another U-43 in World War One
That boat was launched from its shipyard on 26 Sep 1914 and commissioned into the Imperial Navy on 30 Apr 1915. The Naval war in WWI was brought to an end with the Armistice signed on 11 Nov, 1918. Read about the U 43 during WWI.