Events on this day

17 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 (5)	Launched (5)	Commissioned (3)
No U-boat orders on this date	1940: U-79, U-80 1942: U-739 1943: U-1200, U-1271	1941: U-573 1943: U-314, U-473, U-855 1944: U-2321	1941: U-566 1943: U-850 1944: U-682
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	Swainby	4,935	br
1941
	U-123	Moehle	Venezuela	6,991	sw
1942
	U-123	Hardegen	Alcoa Guide	4,834	am
	U-66	Zapp	Heinrich von Riedemann	11,020	pa
1943
	U-628	Hasenschar	Fort Rampart (d)	7,134	br	HX-233
				34,914
* 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-47. The boat fired a torpedo at the British battleship HMS Warspite, which missed (or more likely failed to detonate), and the boat was depth charged by destroyers. Date may be approximate (but before 19 April). (Blair, vol 1, page 154)

1943

U-514. 03.49 hrs, Bay of Biscay, outbound: a British Wellington bomber (172 Sqn RAF/S) strafed the boat and dropped two bombs. Shortly afterwards at 14.28, a British Whitley bomber (10 OTU RAF/H) located the boat and dropped four bombs. No damage from either attack. (Rohwer)

U-382. Escorts of convoy HX 233 depth charged the boat for 16 hours, causing such heavy damage that the boat had to return to France. (Blair, vol 2, page 282)

U-226. Escorts from convoy HX 233 depth charged the boat causing heavy damage. The crew managed to repair the boat and continue the patrol. (Blair, vol 2, page 282)

U-264. Depth charging by escorts from convoy HX 233 caused heavy damage. The crew managed to make repairs and continue the patrol. (Blair, vol 2, page 282)

1944

U-993. Aircraft attack, aircraft shot down:
British B-24 Liberator BZ945 (53 Sqdn RAF/O, pilot F/L L.M. Burton)

03.51 hrs, NW of Cape Finisterre, inbound: the B-24 strafed the boat in a Leigh Light attack and was hit by flak during the approach. It was observed to crash into the sea with one of the port engines on fire approx. 600m (656 yds) from the boat, exploding on impact and killing all 11 aircrew. Two depth charges and a small bomb dropped by the passing plane fell wide, causing no damage.

(Franks/Zimmerman)

U-546. Aircraft attack, aircraft shot down:
British B-24 Liberator bomber BZ800 (RAF Sqdn 53/H, pilot F/L C. Roberts)

04.53 hrs, North of Finisterre, off the Bay of Biscay, inbound: after approaching using the Leigh Light, the Liberator dropped six depth charges, two to starboard and four to port of U-546 (which caused only minor damage) before the boat dived. The aircraft crashed into the sea 500m (547 yds) from U-546. All nine aircrew died.

(Franks/Zimmerman)

U-boats lost

1943: U-175
1944: U-342 +
1945: U-398 +

107 men died when those 3 U-boats were lost on this date. 41 men survived.

Survivors from U-boats almost always landed in allied captivity.
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 April.

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

Personnel Information

The following men were born on this day:
Bernhard Luttmann (1921), Hans-Martin Scheibe (1918), Werner von Schmidt (1906), Henning Schümann (1919).

The following men died on this day:
Heinrich Bruns (1943), Wilhelm Cranz (1945), Albert Hossenfelder (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 17 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

Sailed:
From Wilhelmshaven, Germany: U-29

1941

U-boats entering base:
To Bergen, Norway: U-141 (5 days), U-553 (5 days)

1942

U-boats entering base:
To La Pallice U-373 (48 days)
To St. Nazaire, France: U-590 (14 days)

1943

Sailed:
From Brest, France: U-383
From Hammerfest, Norway: U-703
From Kiel, Germany: U-636
From Konstanza, Rumania: U-9
From La Pallice: U-466
From Lorient, France: U-186 (lost 26 days later)
From St. Nazaire, France: U-448, U-454

U-boats entering base:
To Bordeaux, France: U-463 (45 days)
To Hammerfest, Norway: U-355 (32 days)
To Lorient, France: U-172 (56 days)
To Narvik, Norway: U-302 (32 days)
To St. Nazaire, France: U-229 (57 days)
To Toulon, France: U-617 (24 days)

1944

Sailed:
From Narvik, Norway: U-674 (lost 16 days later)

U-boats entering base:
To Bergen, Norway: U-716 (19 days)

1945

Sailed:
From Bergen, Norway: U-1109, U-2511
From Harstad: U-313
From Narvik, Norway: U-997

U-boats entering base:
To Bergen, Norway: U-868 (4 days)
To Narvik, Norway: U-668 (48 days)

U-boats at sea on 17 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 17 April

1941

U-141 was damaged in a collision with the German ship Ameland at Bergen, Norway.

1942

U-81 fired at onshore targets near Haifa in the Mediterranean using the 88mm gun.

1943

U-631 collided with U-71 in mid Atlantic south of Greenland. Both boats were damaged, and U-71 had to return to base.

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uboat.net

Commander file

U-boat of the day

U-boat Finder

Events on this day

17 April

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U-boat Shipyard report

Allied Ships hit on this date

Attacks on this day

1940

1943

1944

U-boats lost

U-boat Men Lost or Wounded

Personnel Information

U-boat departures and arrivals on 17 April

1940

1941

1942

1943

1944

1945

U-boats at sea on 17 April

1940

1941

1942

1943

1944

1945

General Events on 17 April

1941

1942

1943

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