Events on this day

20 October

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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 (6)	Laid down (2)	Launched (2)	Commissioned (4)
1939: U-507, U-508, U-509, U-510, U-511, U-512	1941: U-734 1943: U-1109	1943: U-872 1944: U-3011	1941: U-508 1942: U-191 1943: U-295 U-1224
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
1939
	U-34	Rollmann	Gustaf Adolf	926	sw
	U-34	Rollmann	Sea Venture	2,327	br
1940
	U-100	Schepke	Caprella	8,230	br	HX-79
	U-100	Schepke	Loch Lomond	5,452	br	HX-79
	U-100	Schepke	Sitala	6,218	br	HX-79
	U-124	Schulz	Cubano	5,810	nw	OB-229
	U-124	Schulz	Sulaco	5,389	br	OB-229
	U-46	Endrass	Janus	9,965	sw	HX-79
	U-47	Prien	Athelmonarch (d)	8,995	br	HX-79
	U-47	Prien	La Estancia	5,185	br	HX-79
	U-47	Prien	Whitford Point	5,026	br	HX-79
	U-48	Bleichrodt	Shirak	6,023	br	HX-79
1941
	U-126	Bauer	British Mariner total loss	6,996	br
1942
	U-77	Hartmann	Mahrous	18	sy
1943
	U-532	Junker	British Purpose (d)	5,845	br	BM-71
				82,405
* 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

1940

U-31. A British submarine fired torpedoes at U-31 off Lorient, but without success.

U-boats lost

1942: U-216 +
1943: U-378 +, U-420 +

142 men died when those 3 U-boats were lost on this date. 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, 20 October.

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

Personnel Information

The following men were born on this day:
Ludo Kregelin (1919), Hermann Lessing (1900), Hans-Jürgen Schley (1920), Klaus Weber (1922).

The following men died on this day:
Uwe Christiansen (2007), Erich Mäder (1943), Hans-Jürgen Reese (1943), Karl-Otto Schultz (1942), Herbert Uhlig (1997).

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 20 October

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.

1939

Sailed:
From Wilhelmshaven, Germany: U-47

U-boats entering base:
To Kiel, Germany: U-19 (2 days)

1940

U-boats entering base:
To Kiel, Germany: U-59 (4 days)

1941

Sailed:
From Kiel, Germany: U-577

U-boats entering base:
To Salamis, Greece: U-559 (31 days)

1942

Sailed:
From Kiel, Germany: U-664
From La Spezia, Italy: U-73
From Pola: U-205
From St. Nazaire, France: U-608

U-boats entering base:
To Skjomenfjord U-354 (4 days)

1943

Sailed:
From Sevastopol: U-24

1944

Sailed:
From Kiel, Germany: U-806

U-boats entering base:
To Danzig, Germany: U-745 (40 days)
To Farsund U-714 (55 days)

U-boats at sea on 20 October

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

1939

U-16 (+), U-25, U-34, U-37, U-46, U-48.
6 boats at sea.

General Events on 20 October

1939

After sinking the steamer Gustav Adolf, U-34 towed the ship's lifeboats for three hours until a Norwegian ship came in sight and could rescue the survivors.

1942

U-662 rendezvoused with the milch cow U-463 to get treatment for one of the crew suffering severe bleeding of the stomach. Stormy weather made a transfer between boats impossible, and two days passed before the doctor could see his patient.

1943

U-415 returned to base due to serious engine trouble.

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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.

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uboat.net

Commander file

U-boat of the Day

U-boat Finder

Events on this day

20 October

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U-boat Shipyard report

Allied Ships hit on this date

Attacks on this day

1940

U-boats lost

U-boat Men Lost or Wounded

Personnel Information

U-boat departures and arrivals on 20 October

1939

1940

1941

1942

1943

1944

U-boats at sea on 20 October

1939

1940

1941

1942

1943

1944

General Events on 20 October

1939

1942

1943

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