1944
January
U-625,
2 Jan, 1944
During an attack by 2 British B-24 Liberators (Sqdn 224/C/G) the Commander, Kptlt. Hans Benker, and 1 man were lost overboard. The boat, on its return leg of the patrol, was damaged and returned to Brest on 6 Jan.
U-407,
9 Jan, 1944
In an air raid on Pola the U-boat pens there were hit and 4 men from U-407 were killed and 1 more wounded. The boat sailed for the next time on 29 Jan. [Oberleutnant (Ing) Heinz Weser, Leutnant zur See Eberhard Baumgart, Maschinenobergfreiter Rudolf Güttge, Maschinenobergefreiter Heinz Bönisch]
U-621,
13 Jan, 1944
While serving as a Flak boat on 13 Jan U-621 was attacked by a British B-24 Liberator (Sqdn 59/A) and suffered 1 man killed and 6 wounded. Matrosengefreiter Heinz Thomas was mortally wounded and later buried at sea. The commander decided to abort the patrol. U-621 took ten days to limp back to Brest.
U-984,
22 Jan, 1944
One crewmember was washed overboard in the North Atlantic. [Maschinenobergefreiter Hermann Keller]
U-545,
26 Jan, 1944
The I WO was washed overboard in the North Atlantic. [Oberleutnant zur See Hans Wilkening]
February
U-450,
5 Feb, 1944
One man was washed overboard in the Mediterranean. [Matrosengefreiter Thomas Heneka]
U-965,
6 Feb, 1944
The IWO fell overboard and drowned. [Leutnant zur See Gustav-Günther Schoop]
U-1003,
7 Feb, 1944
During the boat's trials in the Baltic near Hela one man died when he fell overboard while transferring to an outpost boat (V-Boot). [Funkgefreiter Werner Guhl]
U-845,
14 Feb, 1944
A British B-24 Liberator aircraft (Sqdn 10, pilot A. P. V. Cheater) attacked the boat with 8 depth charges. One man died and another was wounded.
U-546,
16 Feb, 1944
A Sunderland aircraft attacked the boat in the North Atlantic and one man died. The suffered some disel engine damages but reported it was able to continue its patrol. [Matrosengefreiter Wilhelm van de Kamp]
U-550,
22 Feb, 1944
A Catalina aircraft (RCAF Sqdn 162/S, pilot Flying Officer C. C. Cunningham) attacked her with machine guns and 4 depth charges in the North Atlantic. Two crew members were killed. The boat was lost on the same patrol on 16 April.
U-453,
24 Feb, 1944
During test firing with the machine gun at the base in Salamis, Greece were two men killed (not crew members).
March
U-703,
1 Mar, 1944
During an air attack the boat suffered 3 dead and 3 wounded. The damaged boat reached Narvik, Norway two days later. [Funkobermaat Paul Kretschmar (died on 7 March), Bootsmaat Erich Junker Maschinengefreiter Heinz Schade].
U-255,
11 Mar, 1944
The boat was attacked by aircraft and 2 men were wounded. The boat continued its patrol after treating its wounded (a meeting with U-608 with a doctor on board did not succeed).
U-380,
11 Mar, 1944
The boat was destroyed during an air raid on Toulon, France on 11 March and one man from its crew was killed. [Maschinenmaat Jonny Christoph]
U-801,
16 Mar, 1944
The boat was attacked by an Avenger aircraft from the escort carrier USS Block Island in the Mid Atlantic. One man died and 9 men were wounded. The U-boat was sunk the next day.
U-963,
26 Mar, 1944
While out off Brest, France the boat was attacked by an unknown allied aircraft and 9 of its crew were wounded - two of them badly. The boat returned to port the next day.
U-960,
27 Mar, 1944
14 men from the boat were wounded during a battle with 2 Mosquito aircraft (RAF Sqdn 618/L/I). The boat entered port at La Pallice, France the same day.
April
U-803,
11 Apr, 1944
During an air raid on Stettin 5 men from the boat were killed.
U-1061,
11 Apr, 1944
On the U-1061 a lookout broke his leg during heavy weather.
U-802,
11 Apr, 1944
On U-802 an accident required the amputation of a crew member\'s finger.
U-860,
21 Apr, 1944
2 men died when they were stranded topside during an emergency dive to avoid an incoming aircraft. [Matrosengefreiter Alfons Robalewsky, Bootsmaat Rudolf Versic]
U-1169,
23 Apr, 1944
During the Baltic exercises the boat lost one man off Pillau.
[Matrosengefreiter Alfred Friedl]
May
U-276,
2 May, 1944
On U-276 two crew members were wounded in an accident with the anti-aircraft gun.
U-348,
6 May, 1944
Two men stepped on a land mine near Stavanger, Norway. One was killed, the other wounded. The boat departed for its second patrol from Bergen on the 20th. [Bootsmaat Günter Labahn]
U-154,
12 May, 1944
The Commander of the boat, Oblt. Oskar Kusch, was executed on 12 May ´for his anti-Hitler views´ after his IWO* turned him in. He was convicted in late January, his photo is on the right.
* The former I WO and then the commander of U-193, the lawyer Oblt. Ulrich Abel, died when his boat was sunk on 24 April, 1944.
U-183,
13 May, 1944
One man was killed in an accident working in a diving cell while preparing for its next patrol in the Far East. The boat left for the patrol from Penang on 17 May. [Obermaschinenmaat Erich Adelsheimer]
U-1192,
17 May, 1944
A crew member on U-1192 was wounded when the 3,7 cm anti-aircraft gun exploded.
U-995,
21 May, 1944
A Canadian Sunderland aircraft (Sqdn OTU 4/S) attacked the boat wounding 5 men.
U-764,
23 May, 1944
The boat was attacked by an enemy aircraft and damaged slightly. One crew member was wounded.
U-921,
24 May, 1944
A Canadian Sunderland aircraft (Sqdn 422/R) attacked the boat. The aircraft was shot down but not before wounding 3 men, including the Commander, Oblt. Wolfgang Leu. As the boat crash dived Leu got both his wounded men down but did not manage to get down into the tower himself. He slammed the hatch down as the boat dove and was drowned. The boat reached Trondheim, Norway under the command of the I WO on the 26th. (An American submarine commander received the Medal of Honor for the very same act in the Pacific).
U-476,
24 May, 1944
The boat was scuttled on 24 May after a crippling damage from a British Catalina aircraft (Sqdn 210/V). U-990 saved 21 of the crew, 34 died went down with the boat. But the U-990 was sunk by a B-24 Liberator aircraft the very next day and then even more men from the U-476 died.
U-276,
25 May, 1944
An unknown aircraft attacked the boat causing 3 casualties and severely damaging the boat forcing her to return to base.
U-958,
26 May, 1944
2 Mosquito aircraft (RAF 333/N/E) attacked the boat killing 1 and wounding 2 men. [Maschinenobergefreiter Herbert Frank]
U-24,
27 May, 1944
The boat fought a surface battle with 2 Soviet patrol boats. The U-boat lost 1 man dead and 2 wounded. [Matrosenobergefreiter Johann Wölbitsch]
U-1203,
29 May, 1944
During the Baltic exercises the boat lost one man after crash diving north of Danzig. [Maschinengefreiter Johann Igel]
June
U-993,
1 Jun, 1944
During an air attack one man was killed and another wounded, who died a day later (Aulich). [Maschinenobergefreiter Matthias Giefing, Mechanikergefreiter Horst Aulich]
U-989,
7 Jun, 1944
A British Leigh-light equipped Wellington aircraft (Sqdn 179, pilot W. J. Hill) attacked the boat causing damages. A B-24 Liberator and flight of Mosquito aircraft also took place in the attacks which wounded the U-boat commander and forced the boat to return to base.
U-290,
14 Jun, 1944
A Norwegian Mosquito aircraft (Sqdn 333/H, pilots Erling U. Johansen and Lauritz Humlen) damaged the boat and wounded 8 of its crew. Two days later the boat arrived at its Bergen, Norway base.
U-515,
15 Jun, 1944
The former commander of the boat, Kptlt. Werner Henke, one of the top aces, sunk on 9 April, committed suicide by pretending to be escaping the POW camp on 15 June after falling victim for US mind games while in captivity.
U-804,
16 Jun, 1944
The boat was attacked by a Norwegian Mosquito aircraft (Sqdn 333/R). 8 men were wounded but the boat was not seriously damaged.
U-804,
16 Jun, 1944
Aircraft attack, aircraft shot down:
The boat was attacked by a Norwegian Mosquito aircraft (Sqdn 333/R, crew Jacob M. Jacobsen and Per C. Hansen).
8 men from U-804 were wounded in the action. The air crew was saved by U-1000 on 18 June and taken to Norway for questioning.
U-853,
17 Jun, 1944
Two Wildcat aircraft from the US escort carrier USS Croatan made repeated strafing attacks on U-853, about 30 miles south of the carrier. The boat dived and escaped before the Avengers arrived, but had to abort the patrol due to the many casualties: 2 men were killed and 12 wounded [Bootsmann Kurt Schweichler, Maschinengefreiter Karl-Heinz Löffler]
U-743,
20 Jun, 1944
During an aircraft attack by a British B-24 Liberator (RAF 86 Sqd/K) on the boat 1 man was killed and 2 more wounded. The boat aborted to Bergen, Norway after this attack.
U-155,
23 Jun, 1944
Mosquito aircraft (Sqdn 248/P) attacked the boat. 2 men were killed and 7 more wounded. The boat was almost in port when attacked and reached Lorient the same day.
[Matrosenobergefreiter Karl Lohmeier, Mechanikerobergefreiter Friedrich Feller]
U-1018,
27 Jun, 1944
An accident took place during U-1018´s work-up period in the Baltic on 17 June which killed 1 man and wounded 2 from its crew. [Obersteuermann Walter Nellsen]
July
U-859,
5 Jul, 1944
One man was killed and three wounded, when the boat was attacked by a Catalina (RAF 262 Sqd/L) in the Indian Ocean. [Matrosenobergefreiter Hans Boldt]
U-299,
16 Jul, 1944
The commander was wounded in an aircraft attack. The boat, part of a defence line off Norway, reached Bergen 4 days later.
U-994,
17 Jul, 1944
The boat was attacked by a Norwegian Mosquito aircraft (Sqdn 333/L), the boat was damaged and 5 men were wounded. The boat reached Bergen the same day.
U-286,
18 Jul, 1944
On 18 July a Norwegian Mosquito aircraft (Sqdn 333/K) attacked the boat, causing damages and killing 1 man and wounding 7 more. The boat reached Kristiansand, Norway on the same day.
U-198,
19 Jul, 1944
After the boat unsuccessfully fired torpedoes at a freighter, a corvette attacked U-198 with depth charges. No damages.
U-968,
19 Jul, 1944
At 11.40 hours, the boat was attacked twice with depth charges by a British Liberator aircraft (RAF Sqdn 86/R, pilot F/L W.F.J. Harwood) and only slightly damaged, but strafing killed one AA gunner and wounded six more [Bootsmaat Werner Hahne]. The boat returned to base for repairs and re-manning.
U-965,
20 Jul, 1944
The boat was attacked by an aircraft, 1 man was killed and 1 wounded. [Matrosenhauptgefreiter Willibald Niederle]
U-244,
25 Jul, 1944
Two Norwegian Mosquito aircraft (Sqdn 333, E/F) attacked the boat killing 1 and wounding 7 men. The boat aborted to base.
U-873,
29 Jul, 1944
During an air raid on Bremen, Germany on 29 July the boat was damaged and 4 men were wounded. One of them died in December 1944. [Matrosenhauptgefreiter Fritz Grusa]
August
U-963,
12 Aug, 1944
One man was killed during an air attack on the base at Brest, France and another man was so severely wounded that he died a day later. [Bootsmaat Albrecht Sekula, Maschinenobergefreiter Helmut Laskosky]
U-963,
21 Aug, 1944
During a crash dive at night (0017hrs) in the Bay of Biscay a man was lost overboard. [Bootsmaat Hans Reiter]
U-965,
22 Aug, 1944
The boat was attacked by two Martlet aircraft (Wilcats), 3 men were killed and 8 wounded. [Bootsmaat Kurt Pesch, Matrosengefreiter Heinz Schade, Maschinengefreiter Thiel]
U-262,
28 Aug, 1944
3 men from the boat were killed and 1 more wounded during an air raid on La Pallice. The boat left for its next patrol on 23 August for its traverse to Germany, reaching Flensburg on 5 November.
U-548,
30 Aug, 1944
One man was missing after crash diving. [Mechanikergefreiter (A) Walter Heise]
September
U-993,
12 Sep, 1944
One man from the boat died of jaundice in the North Atlantic. [Matrosenobergfreiter Wilhelm Lucksnat]
U-1014,
16 Sep, 1944
The boat suffered two crewmen lost and three wounded in a Soviet air attack on the harbour of Libau in the Baltic Sea.
U-1302,
17 Sep, 1944
One crewmember took his own life with a pistol in the port of Gotenhafen.
U-1228,
18 Sep, 1944
After being damaged by a British B-24 Liberator (Sqdn 224/R, pilot P. M. Hill) the boat suffered Schnorchel damage which resulted in a CO2 poisoning of its crew. One man died. [Matrosenobergefreiter Matthias Mittler]
U-370,
23 Sep, 1944
In the Baltic Sea a man was washed overboard. [Matrosengefreiter Erwin Stiegeler]
U-1221,
25 Sep, 1944
One man was lost overboard from the boat. It seems that he jumped overboard in the North Atlantic after a punishment for sleeping on the watch. [Matrosengefreiter Emil-Heinz Motyl]
October
U-1169,
11 Oct, 1944
During a torpedo explosion on board the boat 2 men were killed and 1 more wounded.
U-483,
12 Oct, 1944
During a Schnorchel failure the crew suffered a CO2 poisoning where 1 man died. [Funkmaat Gustav Hoffmann]
U-717,
14 Oct, 1944
During an air raid on Libau 2 men from the boat were killed and 3 more wounded. [Matrosenobergefreiter Walter Steube, Maschinenobergefreiter August Großdonk]
U-281,
17 Oct, 1944
An unknown Allied aircraft hit the boat wounding 3 men. The boat entered Norwegian port on Oct 28.
U-737,
22 Oct, 1944
The boat was attacked in the Arctic Sea by a Soviet aircraft. Three crew members were injured and the boat suffered slight damage.
November
U-541,
12 Nov, 1944
One man from U-541 died on 22 Nov after an accident in Flensburg. [Maschinengefreiter Valentin Seile]
December
U-636,
13 Dec, 1944
During an air attack on U-636, the machine gun exploded, wounding four crew members.
Total numer of losses:
251 men in 73 incidents (75 dead and 176 wounded)
Return to Men Lost from U-boats