Events on this day
14 May
This is a run-down from several databases on our site. It's meant to give a clear picture of events on this date, all year round.
U-boat Shipyard report
| Ordered (4) | Laid down (3) | Launched (1) | Commissioned (3) |
| 1940: U-459, U-460, U-461, U-462 | 1942: U-239, U-240, U-968 | 1938: U-37 | 1941: U-82 1942: U-622U-663 |
| These are commissioned boats. For more see our Shipyard pages. | |||
Allied Ships hit on this date
| U-boat | Commander | Name of ship | Tons | Country | Convoy | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1942 | |||||||
| U-125 | Folkers | Comayagua | 2,493 |  ho | |||
| U-155 | Piening |  | Brabant | 2,483 |  be | ||
| U-162 | Wattenberg | | British Colony | 6,917 |  br | ||
| U-506 | Würdemann | | David McKelvy total loss | 6,821 |  am | ||
| U-561 [Mine] | Bartels | | Fred (d) | 4,043 |  gr | ||
| U-561 [Mine] | Bartels | | Hav total loss | 5,062 |  nw | ||
| U-561 [Mine] | Bartels | Mount Olympus | 6,692 | gr | |||
| U-564 | Suhren | Potrero del Llano | 4,000 |  me | |||
| U-593 | Kelbling | | Stavros (d) | 4,853 | gr | ||
| 1944 | |||||||
| U-616 | Koitschka | Fort Fidler (d) | 7,127 | br | GUS-39 | ||
| U-616 | Koitschka | G.S. Walden (d) | 10,627 | br | GUS-39 | ||
| 61,118 | |||||||
| * Unless otherwise noted the ships listed here were sunk. (d) = damaged See all Allied ships hit by U-boats during WWII. | |||||||
Attacks on this day
1943
U-657. The boat was attacked by an American Catalina flying boat (USN VP-84) east of Cape Farewell. No damage. (Kenneth Wynn)
U-boats lost
1943: U-640 +, U-236
49 men died when those 2 U-boats were lost on this date.
U-boats marked with + were lost with all hands.
- For more information on U-boat losses check out our Fates section.
U-boat Men Lost or Wounded
There were no men lost from U-boats on this date, 14 May.
- For more information on Men lost from U-boats check out this page.
Personnel Information
The following men were born on this day:
Hans Karpf (1916), Wilhelm Neitzsch (1920), Werner Winkler (1917).
The following men died on this day:
Karl-Heinz Nagel (1943).
See the entire U-boat commander listing showing all U-boat commanders.
We might include more officers (Allied and Axis) at a later date.
U-boat departures and arrivals on 14 May
This section shows the U-boat departures and arrivals from bases on this day of the year. Current country names shown with harbour names. Boats entering port display days at sea during that patrol.
1940
U-boats entering base:
To Wilhelmshaven, Germany: U-32 (7 days), U-65 (36 days)
1942
Sailed:
From Kiel, Germany: U-89
From La Spezia, Italy: U-431
From Lorient, France: U-68, U-159
U-boats entering base:
To La Pallice U-572 (62 days)
To St. Nazaire, France: U-575 (52 days)
1943
U-boats entering base:
To Bergen, Norway: U-601 (30 days)
To Hammerfest, Norway: U-711 (3 days)
1944
Sailed:
From Bergen, Norway: U-668, U-742, U-965
From Flekkefjord: U-344
From Lorient, France: U-549 (lost 16 days later)
From Narvik, Norway: U-312
From Trondheim, Norway: U-362
U-boats entering base:
To Bergen, Norway: U-668 (2 days), U-742 (2 days), U-992 (2 days)
To Bogenbucht U-315 (26 days)
To Vallöy U-1192 (2 days)
1945
U-boats entering base:
To Bay of Bulls, Canada U-190 (85 days)
To Bergen, Norway U-1005 (12 days)
To Dundee, Scotland U-2326 (11 days)
To Gibraltar, UK: U-485 (16 days)
To Kiel, Germany U-2336 (14 days)
To Lewes, Delaware, USA U-858 (65 days)
To Loch Eriboll, UK U-244 (30 days), U-516 (40 days), U-764 (19 days), U-1010 (30 days), U-1231 (18 days)
U-boats at sea on 14 May
Boats entering port on this day are not counted, but boats departing for patrol are. (+) indicates the boat was lost during this patrol.
1940
U-7, U-9, U-43.
3 boats at sea.
1941
U-38, U-43, U-66, U-69, U-74, U-93, U-94, U-96, U-97, U-98, U-103, U-105, U-106, U-107, U-109, U-111, U-138, U-201, U-556, U-557, UA.
21 boats at sea.
1942
U-66, U-68, U-69, U-81, U-83, U-84, U-86, U-89, U-94, U-96, U-98, U-103, U-106, U-107, U-108, U-109, U-124, U-125, U-126, U-128, U-130, U-135, U-136, U-155, U-156, U-158 (+), U-159, U-161, U-162, U-172, U-201, U-205, U-213, U-331, U-333, U-402, U-404, U-406, U-431, U-432, U-436, U-437, U-455, U-459, U-502 (+), U-504, U-506, U-507, U-553, U-558, U-564, U-565, U-566, U-569, U-576, U-578, U-582, U-584, U-586, U-588, U-590, U-591, U-593, U-594, U-653, U-654, U-751, U-752, U-753.
69 boats at sea.
1943
U-66, U-67 (+), U-91, U-92, U-103, U-105 (+), U-107, U-108, U-119 (+), U-123, U-126 (+), U-128 (+), U-129, U-154, U-161, U-168, U-176 (+), U-177, U-178, U-180, U-181, U-182 (+), U-190, U-195, U-196, U-197 (+), U-198, U-199 (+), U-202 (+), U-211, U-212, U-217 (+), U-218, U-221, U-223, U-226, U-228, U-229, U-230, U-231, U-232 (+), U-251, U-258 (+), U-260, U-262, U-264, U-266 (+), U-267, U-270, U-273 (+), U-304 (+), U-305, U-336, U-340, U-354, U-358, U-359, U-377, U-378, U-380, U-383, U-402, U-403, U-405, U-407, U-413, U-414 (+), U-418 (+), U-436 (+), U-448, U-454, U-459, U-460, U-461, U-463 (+), U-466, U-468, U-504, U-511, U-514, U-515, U-521 (+), U-525, U-527 (+), U-532, U-533, U-552, U-558 (+), U-561, U-569 (+), U-575, U-584, U-591, U-603, U-607, U-608, U-614, U-616, U-621, U-625, U-628, U-634, U-636, U-639, U-641, U-642, U-645, U-646 (+), U-648, U-650, U-657 (+), U-662, U-664, U-666, U-703, U-707, U-709, U-731, U-732, U-752 (+), U-760, U-951 (+), U-952, U-953, U-954 (+).
125 boats at sea.
1944
U-9, U-24, U-107, U-129, U-155, U-170, U-178, U-181, U-188, U-190, U-196, U-198 (+), U-230, U-240 (+), U-241 (+), U-267, U-289 (+), U-348, U-362, U-365, U-385, U-425, U-453 (+), U-490 (+), U-505, U-516, U-534, U-537, U-539, U-541, U-543 (+), U-547, U-548, U-549 (+), U-586, U-616 (+), U-667, U-731 (+), U-736, U-737, U-843, U-853, U-857, U-859 (+), U-860 (+), U-861, U-952, U-955 (+), U-957, U-960 (+), U-967, U-1060, U-1222 (+).
53 boats at sea.
1945
U-234, U-255, U-287 (+), U-530, U-776, U-805, U-873, U-901, U-963, U-977, U-979 (+), U-1228, U-1277 (+), U-3008.
14 boats at sea.
General Events on 14 May
1942
Abwehr agent Alfred Langbein was landed on the coast near St. Martins, New Brunswick (Operation Grete) by U-213 (von Varendorff). His mission was to provide information about the sailing of convoys, which he did not accomplish. He surrendered when he ran out of money in September 1944. The Canadians released him after the war.
1944
On 14 May 1944 U-616 attacked convoy GUS 39, damaging two Allied merchants (G.S. Walden and Fort Fidler), and the Allies began to swamp the area immediately (see page on U-371 for details). Eight American destroyers and aircraft from five squadrons hunted the boat until it was sunk on 17 May. Five hours later U-960 attacked the US destroyer USS Ellyson off Oran, which had survivors from U-616 on board. Luckily for them, U-960's attack was unsuccessful, and another Swamp operation began, which eventually located and sank U-960 on 19 May.
1945
14 May 1945, off Delaware, USA: U-858 became the first German warship to surrender to U.S. forces.
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Add more events! - If you know of an interesting event that happened on this day that's missing, or an upcoming event that you'd like to share, please contact us. We already have 782 entries that will appear in due course, so your suggestion may not appear immediately, but we are continuously updating the database.