U-625

Type

VIIC

Ordered

15 Aug 1940

Laid down

28 Jul 1941

Blohm & Voss, Hamburg (werk 601)

Launched

15 Apr 1942

Commissioned

4 Jun 1942

Oblt. Hans Benker

Commanders

4 Jun 1942	-	2 Jan 1944	Kptlt. Hans Benker
2 Jan 1944	-	25 Jan 1944	Oblt. Kurt Sureth
26 Jan 1944	-	10 Mar 1944	Oblt. Siegfried Straub

Career
10 patrols

4 Jun 1942	-	30 Sep 1942	8. Flottille (training)
1 Oct 1942	-	31 Oct 1942	3. Flottille (front boat)
1 Nov 1942	-	31 May 1943	11. Flottille (front boat)
1 Jun 1943	-	31 Oct 1943	13. Flottille (front boat)
1 Nov 1943	-	10 Mar 1944	1. Flottille (front boat)

Successes

3 ships sunk, total tonnage 18,751 GRT
2 auxiliary warships sunk, total tonnage 1,129 GRT

Fate

Sunk 10 March, 1944 west of Ireland, in position 52.35N, 20.19W, by depth charges from a Canadian Sunderland aircraft (RCAF Sqdn. 422/U). 53 dead (all hands lost).

See the 5 ships hit by U-625 - View the 10 war patrols

Wolfpack operations

U-625 operated with the following Wolfpacks during its career:
   Boreas (19 Nov 1942 - 28 Nov 1942)
   Nordwind (24 Jan 1943 - 4 Feb 1943)
   Eisbär (27 Mar 1943 - 15 Apr 1943)
   Coronel (4 Dec 1943 - 8 Dec 1943)
   Coronel 1 (8 Dec 1943 - 14 Dec 1943)
   Coronel 2 (14 Dec 1943 - 17 Dec 1943)
   Föhr (18 Dec 1943 - 23 Dec 1943)
   Rügen 6 (23 Dec 1943 - 28 Dec 1943)
   Preussen (7 Mar 1944 - 10 Mar 1944)

Attacks on this boat

2 Jan 1944
At 21.38 hours, the inbound boat was attacked by a Leigh Light equipped British Liberator aircraft (224 Sqdn RAF/G, pilot P/O J.E. Edwards) in the Bay of Biscay. U-625 initially opened fire with the AA guns and one hit was scored on the port side of the aircraft, wounding the radio operator with splinters, but then began to crash-dive. The commander Kptlt. Hans Benker cancelled the dive so that he and one crewman could recover the Naxos wire, but the order was not recognised and the boat continued the dive causing Benker and the other man to drown. (Sources: Blair, Clay)

1 recorded attack on this boat.

General notes on this boat

The loss of U-625. The entire crew seemed to get safely into life boats but all were lost the next night in a storm.

Men lost from the boat

2 Jan 1944
During an attack by 2 Liberators (RAF Sqdn 224/C/G) the Commander, Kptlt. Hans Benker, and 1 man were lost overboard. The boat, on its return leg of the patrol, was damaged and returned to Brest on 6 Jan.

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

Hitler's U-boat War
Blair, Clay