U-74
Type | VIIB | |||||
| Ordered | 2 Jun, 1938 | |||||
| Laid down | 5 Nov, 1939 | Bremer Vulkan, Bremen-Vegesack (werk 2) | ||||
| Launched | 31 Aug, 1940 | |||||
| Commissioned | 31 Oct, 1940 | Kptlt. Eitel-Friedrich Kentrat (Knights Cross) | ||||
| Commanders |
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| Career | 8 patrols | 31 Oct, 1940 - 31 Jan, 1941 7. Flottille (training) 1 Feb, 1941 - 30 Nov, 1941 7. Flottille (front boat) 1 Dec, 1941 - 2 May, 1942 29. Flottille (front boat) | ||||
| Successes | 4 ships sunk for a total of 24.694 GRT 1 warship sunk for a total of 925 tons 1 ship damaged for a total of 123 GRT 1 auxiliary warship damaged for a total of 11.402 GRT | |||||
| Fate | Sunk 2 May, 1942 east of Cartagena, Spain, in position 37.32N, 00.10E, by depth charges from the British destroyers HMS Wishart, HMS Wrestler and depth charges from a British Catalina aircraft (Sqdn. 202/C). 47 dead (all hands lost). | |||||
See the 7 ships hit by U-74 - View the 8 war patrols
Attacks on this boat
21 May, 1941
The boat was forced to dive by gunfire from HMS Verbena (K 85) behind convoy HX-126 and in the next 4 hours heavily attacked with about 125 depth charges by her and HMS Burnham (H 82) until the corvette ran out of depth charges and the sonar contact was lost. The boat had been badly damaged in the attack and was forced to return to base.
30 May, 1941
The inbound boat, already heavily damaged after a previous depth charge attack and carrying 3 survivors from the Bismarck, was attacked by the British submarine HMS Sealion in the Bay of Biscay. The alert deck watch (boat was unable to dive due to chlor gasses) managed to avoid the 5 torpedoes and the boat safely arrived at port. (Sources: Blair, vol 1, page 292)
2 recorded attacks on this boat.
General notes on this boat
Read about U-74's involvement in the last desperate hours of the battleship Bismarck here.
Men lost from U-boats
Unlike many other U-boats, which during their service lost men due to accidents and various other causes, U-74 did not suffer any casualties (we know of) until the time of her loss.
 German U-Boat Losses During World War II Niestle, Axel Buy this title at amazon.co.uk See more sellers |
Books dealing with this subject include: German U-Boat Losses During World War II, Niestle, Axel, 1998 U-Boat Operations of the Second World War - Vol 1, Wynn, Kenneth, 1998 U-Boat Operations of the Second World War - Vol 2, Wynn, Kenneth, 1998 |
There was another U-74 in World War One
That boat was launched from its shipyard on 10 Aug, 1915 and commissioned into the Imperial Navy on 24 Nov, 1915. The Naval war in WWI was brought to an end with the Armistice signed on 11 Nov, 1918. Read about the U 74 during WWI.