U-441

Type

VIIC

Ordered

5 Jan 1940

Laid down

15 Oct 1940

F Schichau GmbH, Danzig (werk 1492)

Launched

13 Dec 1941

Commissioned

21 Feb 1942

Kptlt. Klaus Hartmann

Commanders

21 Feb 1942	-	15 May 1943	Kptlt. Klaus Hartmann
16 May 1943	-	5 Aug 1943	Kptlt. Götz von Hartmann
6 Aug 1943	-	8 Jun 1944	Kptlt. Klaus Hartmann

Career
9 patrols

21 Feb 1942	-	30 Sep 1942	5. Flottille (training)
1 Oct 1942	-	1 May 1943	1. Flottille (front boat)
1 May 1943	-	1 Nov 1943	1. Flottille (front boat)
1 Nov 1943	-	8 Jun 1944	1. Flottille (front boat)

Successes

1 ship sunk for a total of 7,051 GRT

Fate

Sunk on 8 June, 1944 in the English Channel in approximate position 48.27N, 05.47W by depth charges from a British Liberator aircraft (Sqdn 224/G). 51 dead (all hands lost).

See the 1 ships hit by U-441 - View the 9 war patrols

Previously recorded fate
(Last revised by FDS/NHB during August 1996. More on revised fates.)

The attack by a Polish Wellington aircraft (RAF 304/A) on 18 June, 1944 in position 49.03N, 04.48W was very probably against a nonsub target.

Wolfpack operations

U-441 operated with the following Wolfpacks during its career:
   Panther (10 Oct 1942 - 16 Oct 1942)
   Puma (16 Oct 1942 - 29 Oct 1942)
   Spitz (22 Dec 1942 - 28 Dec 1942)
   Falke (28 Dec 1942 - 14 Jan 1943)
   Neuland (6 Mar 1943 - 13 Mar 1943)
   Dränger (14 Mar 1943 - 20 Mar 1943)
   Seewolf (21 Mar 1943 - 28 Mar 1943)
   Schill (25 Oct 1943 - 31 Oct 1943)
   Hinein (26 Jan 1944 - 3 Feb 1944)
   Igel 1 (3 Feb 1944 - 17 Feb 1944)
   Hai 1 (17 Feb 1944 - 22 Feb 1944)
   Preussen (22 Feb 1944 - 1 Mar 1944)
   Dragoner (21 May 1944 - 28 May 1944)

Attacks on this boat

20 Mar 1943
The boat was attacked by a Sunderland aircraft west of Ireland and slightly damaged.

24 May 1943
Aircraft attack, aircraft shot down: British Sunderland EJ139 (228 Sqdn RAF/L, pilot F/O H.J. Debnam)

At 20.50 hours, the Flak boat was attacked by the Sunderland in the Bay of Biscay. The aircraft was hit heavily during the attack run, but managed to drop 5 depth charges before it crashed, killing all 11 crewmen. The explosions extensively damaged U-441 and a crewman had been wounded by strafing, so the boat had to return to base. This was the first success of the Flak boats. (Sources: Franks/Zimmerman)

12 Jul 1943
The Flak boat was strafed by three British Beaufighter aircraft (248 Squadron RAF) in the Bay of Biscay. 10 men were killed and 13 more wounded, including all of the naval officers. Hartmann was wounded, so the doctor Paul Pfaffinger took over the command, recovered the wounded and brought the boat safely back to Brest. He recieved the Deutsche Kreuz in Gold for this feat. This action let to the abandonment of the Flak boats and all were reverted to their orginal configuration. (Sources: Franks/Zimmerman)

2 Mar 1944
An unknown Allied aircraft attacked the boat and severely damaged her. The boat had to abort to France - reaching port on March 14. (Sources: Blair, vol 2, page 502)

7 Jun 1944
Aircraft attack, aircraft shot down:Canadian Wellington (Sqdn 407/C)

Could also have been U-413, U-629 or U-740.

5 recorded attacks on this boat.

General notes on this boat

Left: The U-flak 1 emblem.

During the period February 1942 to September 1942, U-441 was in the 5th U-Flotilla (located in Kiel). The 5th U-Flotilla was a training unit, under the command of KrvKpt. Karl-Heinz Moehle).

From September 1942 U-441 belonged to the 1st U-Flotilla, then located in Brest, France under the command of KrvKpt. Winter.

On 4 November, 1943 U-441 returned to Brest from her third patrol.

U-Flak 1

U-441 after her conversion and renaming as U-flak 1

In April-May 1943, U-441 was rebuilt as U-flak 1, the first of three U-flak boats. Perhaps the most noticeable change in appearance was a greatly expanded Wintergarten (bridge) which had an additional gun platform erected in front of the conning tower. As the boat was to act as an aircraft trap she received greatly increased fire-power in the form of:

U-Flak 1
The feared quadruple 2.2cm fast-firing anti-aircraft gun.

This increase in anti-aircraft-weapons required a lot of additional men, so instead of the normal 44-48 man crew there were now 67 men on board. Also on board was the Marine-Stabsarzt Dr. Pfaffinger, an experienced U-boat doctor.

Admiral Dönitz himself inspected the boat and gave it the new name U-Flak 1.

A few days before the first patrol in her new role the commander, Kptlt Klaus Hartmann, became seriously ill and the former commander of U-563, Kptlt. Götz von Hartmann, had to replace him.

First patrol - Kptlt. Götz von Hartmann

On 22 May, 1943 U-Flak 1 began her first patrol from Brest.
There were always 14 men on the bridge instead of the regular 4-7!

On 24 May, 1943 U-Flak 1 encountered British aircraft in map-square BF 4971.
A few hours later there was a fight with a British Sunderland which U-Flak 1 shot down. The British pilot dropped his bombs just before his aircraft crashed into the sea, some of which fell near U-Flak 1.

U-Flak 1 returned to Brest due to damages.

2nd patrol - Kptlt. Götz von Hartmann

On 8 July, 1943 U-Flak 1 , after repairs, set off from Brest on her second patrol.

On 11 July, 1943 U-Flak 1 was patrolling in the same map-square BF 4971 as on her first patrol. But this time the enemy was a flight of three British Beaufighters from the 248th squadron. They attacked U-Flak 1 from three sides and after a few minutes many U-boat men were wounded or dead. The badly wounded commander ordered his damaged boat into the depths. They lost 23 men and not one surviving nautical officer was qualified for submerged action.

A British Beaufighter aircraft.

The doctor, Marine-Stabsarzt Dr. Pfaffinger, took over the boat and tried to reach base. On the bridge besides the doctor were two radio personnel, the chief electrical engineer and one torpedo mechanic.

But the miracle happened and U-Flak 1 reached the coast near Brest. When they met the first German outpost ship, the ship tried to communicate with the boat using signal flags, but there was not a single man on the U-boat bridge who was able to read the signals.

On 13 July, 1943 U-Flak 1 returned to base at Brest.

It was the last patrol as U-Flak 1, because Dönitz realized that the U-Flak boats weren't the solution to the great problem of the constant Allied aircraft-attacks in the Bay of Biscay.

U-Flak 1 became U-441 again. The boat went out on 10 more patrols under Kptlt. Klaus Hartmann before it was located and sunk with all hands (51 men) by a British Liberator aircraft.