Events on this day

26 April

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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 (0)	Laid down (4)	Launched (1)	Commissioned (2)
No U-boat orders on this date	1941: U-381, U-513 1942: U-740 1943: U-326	1941: U-753	1941: U-81 U-432
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
1940
	U-13	Schulte	Lily	1,281	da
1942
	U-66	Zapp	Alcoa Partner	5,513	am
1944
	U-859	Jebsen	Colin	6,255	pa	SC-157
				13,049
* 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-566. 22.44 hrs, Bay of Biscay: after locating the outbound boat on radar, a Wellington Mk.XII (RAF Sqn 172/R, pilot Sgt Alex Coumbis) launched a Leigh Light attack from off the port bow. U-566 dived immediately, but an accurate salvo of six depth charges which straddled the bows caused severe damage, including a leak in the forends and a damaged diving tank. At 23.55 hrs, the damage forced the U-boat to surface, unable to dive. Approaches by another Wellington (RAF Sqn172/M) were held off with flak. After exchanging fire with U-566, the aircraft left to return to base at 00.27 hrs, having used up its depth charges on an unsuccessful attack on U-103 earlier. U-566 had to break off the patrol and later returned to port escorted by four Ju88 aircraft and a naval escort. (Franks, KTBs, ADM199/1784)

1945

U-637. Norwegian MTBs (motor torpedo boats) 711 and 723 claimed a German U-boat sunk near Utsira, Norway. Their target was U-637, which was not sunk. The commander of U-637 shot himself after being seriously wounded in the face. The Engineering Officer brought the boat to port. Several of the crew died in action. [Kapitänleutnant Wolfgang Riekeberg] (Klart til kamp, Helge Storm Bjercke (1954). Axel Niestlé.)

U-boats lost

1944: U-488 +

64 men died when this U-boat was lost. There were no survivors.
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, 26 April.

- For more information on Men lost from U-boats check out this page.

Personnel Information

The following men were born on this day:
Paul-Karl Loeser (1915), Günther Schauenburg (1920).

The following men died on this day:
Robert Gysae (1989), Werner Hartmann (1963), Wolfgang Riekeberg (1945), Bruno Studt (1944).

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 26 April

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 Kiel, Germany: U-47 (24 days), U-56 (23 days)

1941

U-boats entering base:
To Lorient, France: UA (13 days)

1942

Sailed:
From Bergen, Norway: U-703
From Brest, France: U-135
From Trondheim, Norway: U-405

U-boats entering base:
To Brest, France: U-202 (57 days)
To Kiel, Germany: U-435 (20 days)

1943

Sailed:
From Hammerfest, Norway: U-625
From La Pallice: U-332 (lost 4 days later)
From La Spezia, Italy: U-596
From Lorient, France: U-410
From St. Nazaire, France: U-437

U-boats entering base:
To Bergen, Norway: U-952 (5 days)
To Brest, France: U-604 (5 days)

1944

Sailed:
From Brest, France: U-764
From Konstanza, Rumania: U-9

U-boats entering base:
To Bergen, Norway: U-853 (2 days)
To Brest, France: U-275 (4 days), U-953 (4 days)

1945

Sailed:
From Bergen, Norway: U-764
From Horten, Norway: U-287, U-539, U-1272

U-boats entering base:
To Bergen, Norway: U-1202 (54 days)
To Skjomenfjord U-294 (2 days)
To Stavanger, Norway: U-2329 (16 days)

U-boats at sea on 26 April

Boats entering port on this day are not counted, but boats departing for patrol are. (+) indicates the boat was lost during this patrol.

General Events on 26 April

1940

U-17 rescued all four crewmen of the drifting Dornier Do18G WNr V856 (2./KüFlGr 406, K6+DK) in the North Sea about 100 miles south-east of Shetland Islands at 0533hrs. The flying boat had made an emergency landing at sea the day before, possibly after aerial combat with a British Blenheim aircraft (110 Sqn RAF). Unable to take it in tow the U-boat scuttled the aircraft with gunfire at 0615hrs.

1943

U-129 fired three torpedoes at an enemy submarine in the west Atlantic, all of which missed.

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uboat.net

Commander file

U-boat of the Day

U-boat Finder

Events on this day

26 April

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U-boat Shipyard report

Allied Ships hit on this date

Attacks on this day

1943

1945

U-boats lost

U-boat Men Lost or Wounded

Personnel Information

U-boat departures and arrivals on 26 April

1940

1941

1942

1943

1944

1945

U-boats at sea on 26 April

1940

1941

1942

1943

1944

1945

General Events on 26 April

1940

1943

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