Type | VIIC | |||||||||||||
| Ordered | 15 Aug 1940 | |||||||||||||
| Laid down | 23 Aug 1941 | Blohm & Voss, Hamburg (werk 605) | ||||||||||||
| Launched | 12 May 1942 | |||||||||||||
| Commissioned | 2 Jul 1942 | Oblt. Hans-Helmuth Bugs | ||||||||||||
| Commanders |
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| Career 11 patrols |
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| Successes | No ships sunk or damaged | |||||||||||||
| Fate | Sunk 7 June, 1944 in the English Channel west of Brest, in position 48.34N, 05.23W, by depth charges from a British Liberator aircraft (Sqdn. 53/L). 51 dead (all hands lost). (FDS/NHB, March 1997). | |||||||||||||
Previously recorded fate
- Sunk 8 June, 1944 in the English Channel west of Brest,
in position 48.27N, 05.47W, by depth charges from a British B-24 Liberator aircraft (Sqdn. 224/G). (Postwar assessment)
Notes. This attack actually sank the U-441.
Wolfpack operations
U-629 operated with the following Wolfpacks during its career:
Nordwind (24 Jan 1943 - 28 Jan 1943)
Nordwind (31 Jan 1943 - 2 Feb 1943)
Taifun (2 Apr 1943 - 4 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)
Amrum (18 Dec 1943 - 23 Dec 1943)
Attacks on this boat
4 Jan 1944
U-629 rendezvoused with U-284 southeast of Greenland to embark her crew on Dec 21 when 284 scuttled due to sea damage. U-629 was thus returning to base with approx 100 men on board when she was attacked in the Bay of Biscay by the Polish Wellington HF185 (304 Sqdn RAF/2B, pilot F/O Hieronim Czyzun). Six depth charges were dropped and the boat was strafed, but despite suffering severe damage the overloaded boat managed to reach Brest the next day after summoning assistance.
12 Mar 1944
06.05 hours, Bay of Biscay: the outbound boat was illuminated by Leigh Light and attacked with 4 depth charges from a British Wellington aircraft (612 Sqdn RAF/C, pilot F/S D. Bretherton). AA fire damaged the aeroplane tail, but the rear gunner had a lucky escape because he was not at his station during the attack, and later discovered that a round had passed through the empty turret from bottom to top. U-629 was severely damaged and had to abort her patrol. (Sources: Franks/Zimmerman)
7 Jun 1944
Aircraft attack southwest of Ushant, aircraft shot down:A British B-24 Liberator (Sqdn 53/M). May also have been U-441 or U-740.
3 recorded attacks on this boat.
General notes on this boat
21 Dec 1943. On 21 December, 1943 the crew of U-629 saved the crew of U-284 and brought them to Brest on 5 January, 1944.
Men lost from U-boats
Unlike many other U-boats, which during their service lost men due to accidents and various other causes, U-629 did not suffer any casualties (we know of) until the time of her loss.
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