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 endNotes (surrender location, etc.)
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[DL]
U-28729 Apr 194516 May 1945Sunk
U-2931 Apr 194511 May 1945Loch Eriboll, UK[DL]
U-29515 Apr 19457 May 1945Narvik[DL]
U-31216 Apr 19458 May 1945Kilbotn[DL]
U-31317 Apr 19458 May 1945Narvik[DL]
U-3181 May 194510 May 1945Narvik[DL]
U-32027 Apr 19458 May 1945Sunk
U-36318 Apr 19458 May 1945Narvik[DL]
U-4817 Apr 19454 May 1945Narvik[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[DL]
U-9687 May 19457 May 1945Skjomenfjord[DL]
U-9772 May 194517 Aug 1945Mar del Plata, Argentina
U-97929 Mar 194524 May 1945Scuttled
U-9921 May 19459 May 1945Narvik[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[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]

63 U-boats were at sea on May 4, 1945 when the End-Hostilities order was given.
55 surrendered in Allied or neutral ports (41 of them were scuttled in Operation Deadlight).

U-boats lost at sea after May 4, 1945

The cease-fire order sent to U-boats on May 4 did not automatically mean that all hostilities were over. In fact at least 294 German sailors were lost with their U-boats on or after that date. Not all U-boats did receive the order properly and they did continue to sink ships until 7 May.

U-boat Date Crew Dead Survivors
U-7114 May4732 15
U-23384 May17125
U-25034 May571344
U-25214 May574413
U-23675 May17017
U-5345 May52349
U-5795 May48*2424*
U-35235 May58580
U-10086 May44044
U-8816 May53530
U-8536 May55550
U-3208 May47047

* At least 24 dead, unknown number of survivors.

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.