U-653

Type

VIIC

Ordered

9 Oct, 1939

Laid down

9 Apr, 1940

Howaldtswerke, Hamburg (werk 802)

Launched

22 Mar, 1941

Commissioned

25 May, 1941

Kptlt. Gerhard Feiler

Commanders

25 May, 1941 - 30 Sep, 1943	Kptlt. Gerhard Feiler
1 Oct, 1943 - 15 Mar, 1944	Oblt. Hans-Albrecht Kandler

Career

8 patrols

25 May, 1941 - 1 Dec, 1941 1. Flottille (training)
1 Dec, 1941 - 15 Mar, 1944 1. Flottille (front boat)

Successes

3 ships sunk for a total of 14.983 GRT
1 warship sunk for a total of 840 tons
1 ship damaged for a total of 9.382 GRT

Fate

Sunk 15 March, 1944 in the North Atlantic, in position 53.46N, 24.35W, by depth charges from a Swordfish aircraft of the British escort carrier HMS Vindex, and by depth charges from the British sloops HMS Starling and HMS Wild Goose. 51 dead (all hands lost).

See the 5 ships hit by U-653 - View the 8 war patrols

Wolfpack operations

U-653 operated with the following Wolfpacks during its career:
   Pfadfinder (23 May, 1942 - 27 May, 1942)
   Blücher (12 Aug, 1942 - 20 Aug, 1942)
   Natter (1 Nov, 1942 - 8 Nov, 1942)
   Westwall (25 Nov, 1942 - 25 Dec, 1942)
   Hartherz (4 Feb, 1943 - 7 Feb, 1943)
   Ritter (14 Feb, 1943 - 26 Feb, 1943)
   Raubgraf (7 Mar, 1943 - 14 Mar, 1943)

Attacks on this boat

18 Aug, 1942
Near convoy SL.119 a British B-24 Liberator aircraft (Sqdn 120/F) attacked U-653. During the crash diving one man was lost. (There was a report that the man was saved by a British destroyer.) The boat was seriously damaged and had to limp back to base, reaching Brest, France on 30 August. [Matrosengefreiter Willi Pröhl]

2 Aug, 1943
East of Trinidad the boat was attacked by an American B-24 Liberator bomber but the boat managed to repel the attack. (Sources: Blair, vol 2, page 367)

2 recorded attacks on this boat.

Men lost from the boat

18 Aug, 1942
Near convoy SL.119 a Liberator aircraft (Sqdn 120/F) attacked U-653. During the crash diving one man was lost. (There was a report that the man was saved by a British destroyer.) The boat was seriously damaged and had to limp back to base, reaching Brest, France on 30 August. [Matrosengefreiter Willi Pröhl]

22 Dec, 1942
The boat lost a man washed overboard at 0810hrs. [Bootsmaat Heinz Wendler]

13 Feb, 1943
During heavy seas U-653 lost an officer overboard. [Oberleutnant zur See Werner Laudon]

9 Mar, 1943
Man was lost overboard. [Bootsmaat Walter Mayer]

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