uboat.net

U-boat fates

U-boats at sea on May 4, 1945

During the morning hours (German time) of May 4th 1945 the following signal was sent to all U-boat commanders:

The following U-boats were at sea when the order above came from Dönitz. Here below are they all listed, when they left port and to which port they came to surrender.

[DL] means that this U-boat ended her career during Operation Deadlight.

BoatSailedPatrol end
U-19019 Feb, 194514 May, 1945St.Johns, Canada
U-21822 Mar, 19458 May, 1945Bergen, Norway[DL]
U-23416 Apr, 194519 May, 1945Portsmouth, USA
U-24415 Apr, 194514 May, 1945Loch Foyle, UK[DL]
U-2459 Apr, 19459 May, 1945Bergen, Norway[DL]
U-2493 Apr, 19459 May, 1945Portland, UK[DL]
U-2555 May, 19457 May, 1945St.Nazaire, France[DL]
U-2558 May, 194519 May, 1945Loch Alsh, UK[DL]
U-27810 Apr, 19459 May, 1945Narvik, Norway[DL]
U-28729 Apr, 194516 May, 1945Sunk
U-2931 Apr, 194511 May, 1945Loch Eriboll, UK[DL]
U-29515 Apr, 19457 May, 1945Narvik, Norway[DL]
U-31216 Apr, 19458 May, 1945Narvik, Norway[DL]
U-31317 Apr, 19458 May, 1945Narvik, Norway[DL]
U-3181 Apr, 194510 May, 1945Narvik, Norway[DL]
U-32027 Apr, 19458 May, 1945Sunk
U-36318 Apr, 19458 May, 1945Narvik, Norway[DL]
U-4817 Apr, 19454 May, 1945Narvik, Norway[DL]
U-48529 Apr, 194514 May, 1945Gibraltar[DL]
U-5165 Apr, 194514 May, 1945Loch Eriboll, UK[DL]
U-5303 Mar, 194510 Jul, 1945Mar del Plata, Argentina
U-53213 Jan, 194510 May, 1945Liverpool, UK[DL]
U-5345 May, 19455 May, 1945Sunk
U-5417 Apr, 194512 May, 1945Gibraltar[DL]
U-7391 Apr, 194513 May, 1945Emden, Germany[DL]
U-76426 Apr, 194514 May, 1945Loch Eriboll, UK[DL]
U-77622 Mar, 194516 May, 1945Portland, UK[DL]
U-80228 Apr, 194511 May, 1945Loch Eriboll, UK[DL]
U-80517 Mar, 194516 May, 1945Boston, USA
U-8251 Apr, 194510 May, 1945Portland, UK[DL]
U-8269 Mar, 194511 May, 1945Loch Eriboll, UK[DL]
U-85323 Feb, 19456 May, 1945Sunk
U-85811 Mar, 194514 May, 1945Cape May, New Jersey, USA
U-87330 Mar, 194517 May, 1945Portsmouth, USA
U-8817 Apr, 19456 May, 1945Sunk
U-8895 Apr, 194513 May, 1945Halifax, Canada
U-90114 Apr, 194515 May, 1945Stavanger, Norway[DL]
U-90729 Apr, 19455 May, 1945Bergen, Norway[DL]
U-9562 Apr, 194513 May, 1945Loch Eriboll, UK[DL]
U-96323 Apr, 194520 May, 1945Scuttled
U-96821 Apr, 19456 May, 1945Harstad, Norway[DL]
U-9772 May, 194517 Aug, 1945Mar del Plata, Argentina
U-97929 Mar, 194524 May, 1945Scuttled
U-9921 May, 19459 May, 1945Narvik, Norway[DL]
U-10053 May, 194514 May, 1945Bergen, Norway[DL]
U-100929 Mar, 194510 May, 1945Loch Eriboll, UK[DL]
U-101015 Apr, 194514 May, 1945Loch Eriboll, UK[DL]
U-102325 Mar, 194510 May, 1945Weymouth, UK[DL]
U-105828 Apr, 194510 May, 1945Loch Eriboll, UK
U-110512 Apr, 194510 May, 1945Loch Eriboll, UK
U-110917 Apr, 194512 May, 1945Loch Eriboll, UK[DL]
U-116315 Apr, 19459 May, 1945Marviken, Norway[DL]
U-116521 Apr, 19455 May, 1945Narvik, Norway[DL]
U-122814 Apr, 194513 May, 1945Portsmouth, USA
U-123127 Apr, 194514 May, 1945Loch Foyle, UK
U-127229 Apr, 194510 May, 1945Bergen, Norway[DL]
U-127721 Apr, 19453 Jun, 1945Scuttled
U-13054 Apr, 194510 May, 1945Loch Eriboll, UK
U-23242 Apr, 19458 May, 1945Stavanger, Norway[DL]
U-23264 May, 194514 May, 1945Dundee, Scotland
U-23361 May, 194514 May, 1945Kiel, Germany[DL]
U-25113 May, 19456 May, 1945Bergen, Norway[DL]

62 U-boats were at sea on May 4, 1945 when the End-Hostilities order was given.
54 surrendered in Allied or neutral ports (40 of them were scuttled in Operation Deadlight).

U-boats lost at sea after May 4, 1945


Boat             Date        Crew    Dead   Survivors
U-711          4. May         47      32      15
U-2338         4. May         17      12       5
U-2503         4. May         57      13      44
U-2521         4. May         57      44      13
U-2367         5. May         17       0      17
U-534          5. May         52       3      49
U-579          5. May         48*     24      24*
U-3523         5. May         58      58       0
U-1008         6. May         44       0      44
U-881          6. May         53      53       0
U-853          6. May         55      55       0
U-320          8. May         47       0      47

The Numbers

The allied captured 154 boats at the end of the war, 39 out of them were returned from sea and 115 were in their bases. The Germans scuttled 219 U-boats near the end of the war to prevent them from falling into allied hands.

The Third Reich thus had 376 U-boats available at the end of the war.