Most successful U-boats in the Mediterranean
The following table shows the most successful U-boats in the Mediterranean. Warships are included in these figures. 40 of the 62 boats that operated in the theater sank one or more ships. The data only includes ships attacked on or after the day the boat entered the Mediterranean.
| U-boat | Successes | Arrival | Loss date | Days active | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | U-81 15 patrols | 25 ships sunk (64,163 tons) 1 ship damaged (6,671 tons) | 12 Nov 1941 | 9 Jan 1944 | 788 |
| 2. | U-410 4 patrols | 8 ships sunk (46,516 tons) | 6 May 1943 | 11 Mar 1944 | 310 |
| 3. | U-371 17 patrols | 9 ships sunk (42,451 tons) 6 ships damaged (30,572 tons) | 21 Sep 1941 | 4 May 1944 | 956 |
| 4. | U-331 9 patrols | 2 ships sunk (40,235 tons) 1 ship damaged (372 tons) | 29 Sep 1941 | 17 Nov 1942 | 414 |
| 5. | U-593 13 patrols | 12 ships sunk (39,201 tons) 1 ship damaged (1,625 tons) | 11 Oct 1942 | 13 Dec 1943 | 428 |
| 6. | U-407 12 patrols | 4 ships sunk (34,068 tons) 3 ships damaged (24,107 tons) | 10 Nov 1942 | 19 Sep 1944 | 679 |
| 7. | U-73 10 patrols | 4 ships sunk (31,629 tons) 3 ships damaged (22,928 tons) | 14 Jan 1942 | 16 Dec 1943 | 701 |
| 8. | U-596 11 patrols | 11 ships sunk (31,015 tons) 2 ships damaged (14,180 tons) | 9 Nov 1942 | 24 Sep 1944 | 685 |
| 9. | U-562 7 patrols | 4 ships sunk (28,234 tons) 1 ship damaged (3,359 tons) | 27 Nov 1941 | 19 Feb 1943 | 449 |
| 10. | U-453 17 patrols | 11 ships sunk (25,829 tons) 2 ships damaged (16,610 tons) | 9 Dec 1941 | 21 May 1944 | 894 |
| 11. | U-375 11 patrols | 10 ships sunk (23,140 tons) 1 ship damaged (2,650 tons) | 9 Dec 1941 | 30 Jul 1943 | 598 |
| 12. | U-77 10 patrols | 12 ships sunk (20,761 tons) 4 ships damaged (8,264 tons) | 16 Dec 1941 | 28 Mar 1943 | 467 |
| 13. | U-565 19 patrols | 5 ships sunk (18,337 tons) 2 ships damaged (17,565 tons) | 16 Nov 1941 | 24 Sep 1944 | 1043 |
| 14. | U-380 10 patrols | 2 ships sunk (18,247 tons) 1 ship damaged (7,191 tons) | 11 Nov 1942 | 11 Mar 1944 | 486 |
| 15. | U-559 8 patrols | 6 ships sunk (17,404 tons) | 26 Sep 1941 | 30 Oct 1942 | 399 |
| 16. | U-97 9 patrols | 7 ships sunk (16,114 tons) | 26 Sep 1941 | 16 Jun 1943 | 628 |
| 17. | U-617 7 patrols | 7 ships sunk (15,310 tons) | 8 Nov 1942 | 12 Sep 1943 | 308 |
| 18. | U-431 14 patrols | 9 ships sunk (14,757 tons) 2 ships damaged (4,010 tons) | 24 Nov 1941 | 21 Oct 1943 | 696 |
| 19. | U-372 4 patrols | 1 ship sunk (14,650 tons) | 9 Dec 1941 | 4 Aug 1942 | 238 |
| 20. | U-969 2 patrols | 2 ships sunk (14,352 tons) | 3 Feb 1944 | 6 Aug 1944 | 185 |
| 21. | U-561 12 patrols | 3 ships sunk (11,793 tons) 1 ship damaged (4,043 tons) | 15 Jan 1942 | 12 Jul 1943 | 543 |
| 22. | U-652 6 patrols | 4 ships sunk (10,892 tons) | 28 Nov 1941 | 2 Jun 1942 | 186 |
| 23. | U-557 2 patrols | 2 ships sunk (9,252 tons) | 26 Nov 1941 | 16 Dec 1941 | 20 |
| 24. | U-223 4 patrols | 3 ships sunk (8,205 tons) | 26 Sep 1943 | 30 Mar 1944 | 186 |
| 25. | U-205 10 patrols | 2 ships sunk (8,073 tons) | 11 Nov 1941 | 17 Feb 1943 | 463 |
| 26. | U-952 3 patrols | 1 ship sunk (7,176 tons) | 4 Jan 1944 | 6 Aug 1944 | 215 |
| 27. | U-83 10 patrols | 5 ships sunk (6,477 tons) 1 ship damaged (2,590 tons) | 18 Dec 1941 | 4 Mar 1943 | 441 |
| 28. | U-414 2 patrols | 1 ship sunk (5,979 tons) 1 ship damaged (7,134 tons) | 9 Apr 1943 | 25 May 1943 | 46 |
| 29. | U-573 3 patrols | 1 ship sunk (5,289 tons) | 20 Dec 1941 | 2 May 1942 | 133 |
| 30. | U-230 5 patrols | 3 ships sunk (3,585 tons) | 5 Dec 1943 | 21 Aug 1944 | 260 |
| 31. | U-443 2 patrols | 2 ships sunk (2,679 tons) | 5 Dec 1942 | 23 Feb 1943 | 80 |
| 32. | U-75 2 patrols | 3 ships sunk (2,331 tons) | 3 Oct 1941 | 28 Dec 1941 | 86 |
| 33. | U-616 8 patrols | 2 ships sunk (2,181 tons) 2 ships damaged (17,754 tons) | 5 May 1943 | 17 May 1944 | 378 |
| 34. | U-755 4 patrols | 2 ships sunk (2,075 tons) | 8 Nov 1942 | 28 May 1943 | 201 |
| 35. | U-133 4 patrols | 1 ship sunk (1,920 tons) | 23 Dec 1941 | 14 Mar 1942 | 81 |
| 36. | U-602 3 patrols | 1 ship sunk (1,540 tons) | 8 Dec 1942 | 19 Apr 1943 | 132 |
| 37. | U-967 2 patrols | 1 ship sunk (1,300 tons) | 14 Feb 1944 | 11 Aug 1944 | 179 |
| 38. | U-374 2 patrols | 2 ships sunk (992 tons) | 11 Dec 1941 | 12 Jan 1942 | 32 |
| 39. | U-568 3 patrols | 1 ship sunk (925 tons) | 10 Dec 1941 | 29 May 1942 | 170 |
| 40. | U-79 3 patrols | 1 ship sunk (625 tons) | 5 Oct 1941 | 23 Dec 1941 | 79 |