Events on this day
17 January
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 (2) | Launched (1) | Commissioned (2) |
| No U-boat orders on this date | 1942: U-194, U-232 | 1942: U-442 | 1945: U-1308U-2534 |
| 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-25 | Schütze |  | Enid | 1,140 |  nw | ||
| U-25 | Schütze | | Polzella | 4,751 |  br | ||
| U-30 [Mine] | Lemp | Cairnross | 5,494 | br | OB-74 | ||
| 1941 | |||||||
| U-106 | Oesten | | Zealandic | 10,578 | br | ||
| U-96 | Lehmann-Willenbrock | | Almeda Star | 14,936 | br | ||
| 1942 | |||||||
| U-133 | Hesse | HMS Gurkha (G 63) | 1,920 | br | MW-8B | ||
| U-203 | Mützelburg | | Octavian | 1,345 | nw | ||
| U-454 | Hackländer | | Harmatris (d) | 5,395 | br | PQ-8 | |
| U-454 | Hackländer | | HMS Matabele (G 26) | 1,870 | br | PQ-8 | |
| U-454 | Hackländer | RT-68 Enisej | 557 |  sj | |||
| U-87 | Berger | | Nyholt | 8,087 | nw | ON-52 | |
| 1943 | |||||||
| U-268 | Heydemann | HMS LCT-2239 | 291 | br | HX-222 | ||
| U-268 | Heydemann | HMS LCT-2267 | 291 | br | HX-222 | ||
| U-268 | Heydemann | HMS LCT-2344 | 291 | br | HX-222 | ||
| U-268 | Heydemann | | Vestfold | 14,547 |  pa | HX-222 | |
| 71,493 | |||||||
| * 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
1942
U-133. Depth charging by the British destroyer HMS Maori (Cdr R.E. Courage, DSO, DSC and Bar, RN) caused minor damage.
U-133 had just torpedoed and sunk the British destroyer HMS Gurkha (Cdr. C.N. Lentaigne, DSO, RN) escorting convoy MW 8B.
U-552. U-552 was attacked by a "destroyer" after firing torpedoes at a freighter escorted by 2 "destroyers". The boat escaped undamaged. (Blair, vol 1, page 471)
U-boats lost
1944: U-377 +
1945: U-2530 , U-2515 , U-2523
52 men died when those 4 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, 17 January.
- For more information on Men lost from U-boats check out this page.
Personnel Information
The following men were born on this day:
Karl-Heinz Nagel (1917), Hans-Erwin Reith (1920).
The following men died on this day:
Eberhard Findeisen (2007), Gerhard Kluth (1944), Günther Lorentz (1989), Hans Wengel (1987).
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 17 January
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
Sailed:
From Kiel, Germany: U-14, U-51
U-boats entering base:
To Wilhelmshaven, Germany: U-30 (26 days)
1942
Sailed:
From Kiel, Germany: U-404, U-753
From La Spezia, Italy: U-372, U-375, U-453
U-boats entering base:
To La Spezia, Italy: U-568 (45 days)
1943
Sailed:
From Pola: U-407
U-boats entering base:
To Salamis, Greece: U-617 (28 days)
1944
Sailed:
From Brest, France: U-764
U-boats entering base:
To Bergen, Norway: U-312 (5 days)
To Kiel, Germany: U-703 (5 days)
To St. Nazaire, France: U-267 (3 days), U-270 (41 days)
1945
U-boats entering base:
To Bergen, Norway: U-1276 (2 days)
To Kalundborg U-1022 (2 days), U-1064 (2 days)
U-boats at sea on 17 January
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-9, U-14, U-15, U-22, U-25, U-31, U-32, U-34, U-44, U-51, U-55 (+), U-57, U-59, U-60, U-61.
15 boats at sea.
1941
U-38, U-93, U-94, U-96, U-105, U-106, U-123, U-124.
8 boats at sea.
1942
U-43, U-66, U-71, U-73, U-82 (+), U-84, U-85, U-86, U-87, U-94, U-97, U-103, U-106, U-107, U-108, U-109, U-123, U-125, U-128, U-130, U-132, U-133, U-134, U-135, U-203, U-205, U-331, U-333, U-352, U-372, U-375, U-402, U-404, U-453, U-454, U-455, U-504, U-552, U-553, U-561, U-566, U-571, U-572, U-575, U-578, U-581 (+), U-582, U-585, U-586, U-587, U-588, U-591, U-654, U-656, U-701, U-751, U-753, U-754.
58 boats at sea.
1943
U-43, U-66, U-69 (+), U-71, U-83, U-87 (+), U-96, U-105, U-109, U-117, U-123, U-124, U-125, U-134, U-156 (+), U-160, U-175, U-176, U-177, U-181, U-182 (+), U-186, U-187 (+), U-201 (+), U-202, U-205, U-214, U-217, U-218, U-223, U-226, U-257, U-258, U-260, U-262, U-264, U-266, U-267, U-268 (+), U-302, U-303, U-333, U-358, U-381, U-383, U-384, U-402, U-403, U-404, U-407, U-413, U-414, U-431, U-436, U-438, U-440, U-441, U-442 (+), U-444, U-453, U-455, U-456, U-459, U-463, U-465, U-466, U-506, U-509, U-510, U-511, U-514, U-516, U-518, U-521, U-522 (+), U-525, U-553 (+), U-558, U-571, U-572, U-575, U-584, U-594, U-598, U-606 (+), U-607, U-609 (+), U-613, U-614, U-618, U-620 (+), U-622, U-624 (+), U-625, U-629, U-631, U-632, U-662, U-704, U-706, U-707, U-752.
102 boats at sea.
1944
U-19, U-20, U-24, U-66 (+), U-92, U-123, U-129, U-177 (+), U-178, U-188, U-193, U-212, U-257 (+), U-260, U-271 (+), U-278, U-281, U-283 (+), U-302, U-309, U-311, U-343, U-360, U-364 (+), U-380, U-382, U-386 (+), U-390, U-392, U-406 (+), U-425, U-453, U-455, U-471, U-510, U-516, U-530, U-532, U-539, U-543, U-545 (+), U-547, U-549, U-571 (+), U-592 (+), U-601, U-621, U-641 (+), U-642, U-650, U-666 (+), U-731, U-737, U-739, U-741, U-758, U-762 (+), U-763, U-764, U-845 (+), U-846, U-953, U-956, U-960, U-965, U-976, U-981, U-984, U-989, U-1062.
70 boats at sea.
1945
U-242, U-244, U-245, U-275, U-278, U-285, U-286, U-290, U-293, U-295, U-313, U-325, U-348, U-370, U-427, U-480 (+), U-485, U-510, U-532, U-636, U-680, U-739, U-745 (+), U-764, U-806, U-825, U-843, U-861, U-862, U-869 (+), U-870, U-905, U-907, U-956, U-963, U-992, U-1001, U-1009, U-1017, U-1051 (+), U-1053, U-1055, U-1058, U-1172 (+), U-1199 (+), U-1203, U-1208 (+), U-1230, U-1231, U-1232, U-1233, UIT-24.
52 boats at sea.
General Events on 17 January
---
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.