German U-Boat Losses During World War II: Details of Destruction

By Axel Niestlé

A deep dive into the fate of German submarines lost during the Second World War. “This has to be the best reference you can find on the subject.”—Military Modelling
 
No other publication on this subject comes even close to including the amount of detail provided in this book. An introduction both summarizes previous works on the subject and describes the difficulties of obtaining and verifying information from either the Germans or the Allies on U-boat losses.
 
The main part of the book lists by hull number each U-boat’s date of commissioning, its commanding officer, and the date and port of departure for its last patrol. It also gives the date, position, and cause of loss of each submarine, with complete details on Allied units involved in the sinking, the names and ranks of their commanding officers and pilots, and the number of crew killed or rescued. An appendix neatly summarizes data on the disposition of surviving U-boats at the end of the war and provides valuable statistical data on German U-boat losses.
 
“Highly recommended for every serious scholar of the Atlantic war, and every library in naval history and the history of the Second World War.”—The Mariner’s Mirror
 
“The level of detail is quite impressive and this edition is the result of 16 years of further research since the first edition . . . If you are seeking data on the fate of U-Boats then this book should be your ‘first place of call’—no other book has such detailed data.”—Military Archive Research

• Language: English
• Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media
• Release date: Jun 30, 2014
• ISBN: 9781473838291

Book preview

German U-Boat Losses During World War II: Details of Destruction

This edition published in 2014 by Frontline Books,

an imprint of Pen & Sword Books Ltd,

47 Church Street, Barnsley, S. Yorkshire, S70 2AS

www.frontline-books.com

Copyright © Axel Niestlé, 2014

The right of Axel Niestlé to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

ISBN: 978-1-84832-210-3

eISBN: 9781473838291

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CONTENTS

List of Illustrations

Preface

Preface to the Second Edition

Introduction

1. Principles of U-Boat Loss Assessment during World War II

2. German U-Boat Numbers and Types, 1935–1945

3. Loss Register

Type I A

U 25–U 26

Type II A

U 1–U 6

Type II B

U 7–U 24, U 120–U 121

Type II C

U 56–U 63

Type II D

U 137–U 152

Type VII

U 27–U 36

Type VII B

U 45–U 55, U 73–U 76, U 83–U 87, U 99–U 102

Type VII C

U 69–U 72, U 77–82, U 88–U 98, U 132–U 136, U 201–U 212, U 221–U 232, U 235–U 291, U 301–U 316, U 331–U 458, U 465–U 486, U 551–U 686, U 701–U 722, U 731–U 782, U 821–U 826, U 901–U 908, U 921–U 928, U 951–U 994, U 1051–U 1058, U 1101–U 1106, U 1131–U 1132, U 1161–U 1162, U 1191–U 1210

Type VII C/41

U 292–U 300, U 317–U 330, U 687–U 698, U 723–U 730, U 827–U 840, U 909–U 912, U 929–U 936, U 995–U 1050, U 1063–U 1068, U 1107–U 1114, U 1133–U 1146, U 1163–U 1190, U 1211–U 1214, U 1271–U 1285, U 1301–U 1312, U 1331–U 1338, U 1401–U 1404, U 1417–U 1422, U 1435–U 1439, U 1801–U 1804, U 1823–U 1828

Type VII C/42

U 699–U 700, U 783–U 790, U 913–U 918, U 937–U 942, U 1069–U 1080, U 1093–U 1110, U 1115–U 1120, U 1147–U 1152, U 1215–U 1220, U 1286–U 1297, U 1313–U 1318, U 1339–U 1350, U 1423–U 1434, U 1440–U 1463, U 1805–U 1822, U 1901–U 1904, U 2001–U 2004, U 2101–U 2104, U 2301–U 2318

Type VII D

U 213–U 218

Type VII F

U 1059–U 1062

Type IX

U 37–U 44

Type IX B

U 64–U 65, U 103–U 111, U 122–U 124

Type IX C

U 66–U 68, U 125–U 131, U 153–U 166, U 171–U 176, U 501–U 524

Type IX C/40

U 167–U 170, U 183–U 194, U 525–U 550, U 801–U 816, U 841–U 846, U 853–U 858, U 865–U 870, U 877–U 882, U 889–U 894, U 1221–U 1262, U 1501–U 1530,

Type IX D1

U 180, U 195

Type IX D2

U 177–U 179, U 181–U 182, U 196–U 200, U 847–U 852, U 859–U 864, U 871–U 876

Type IX D/42

U 883–U 888, U 895–U 900, U 1531–U 1542

Type X B

U 116–U 119, U 219–U 220, U 233–U 234

Type XI

U 112–U 115

Type XIV

U 459–U 464, U 487–U 500, U 2201–U 2204

Type V 80

V 80

Type V 300

U 791

Type Wa 201, Wk 202

U 792–U 795

Type XVII B

U 1405–U 1416

Type XVII G

U 1081–U 1092

Type XVII K

U 798

Type XVIII

U 796–U 797

Type XX

U 1601–U 1615, U 1701–U 1715

Type XXI

U 2501–U 2762, U 3001–U 3288, U 3501–U 3684

Type XXII

U 1153–U 1154

Type XXIII

U 2321–U 2460, U 4001–U 4120, U 4701–U 4891

Type XXVI W

U 4501–U 4600

Foreign submarines captured by German forces and designated for service in the Kriegsmarine

Appendices

1. Chronological List of German U-Boat Losses during World War II

2. Tabular Monthly Overview on the Causes of U-Boat Losses

3. Distribution of German Front-line U-Boats on 8 May 1945

4. German U-Boats Surrendering or Captured by Allied Forces at the End of World War II

Charts

1. Arctic Ocean and Baltic Sea

2. North Sea and British Coastal Waters

3. Bay of Biscay

4. North Atlantic Ocean

5. West Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea

6. Mid Atlantic Ocean

7. South Atlantic Ocean

8. Indian Ocean

9. Mediterranean Sea and Black Sea

Notes

Selected Bibliography

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

1 Type VII B boat U 53 on slip #2 at the Germaniawerft AG Kiel, 20 September 1938

2 U 53 ready for launching, 6 May 1939

3 Type VII C/41 boats lying alongside the fitting-out quay at Flenderwerke Lübeck AG on 25 March 1944

4 Two ex-Italian R-class transport U-boats UIT 5 (left) and UIT 4 at Monfalcone, spring 1944

5 Type VII D boat U 216 after commissioning at Kiel, 15 December 1941

6 Type VII C boats at Hela, August 1942

7 Type IX D2-boat U 864 lying alongside Yorck jetty at Kiel, December 1944

8 Farewell celebrations for U 862, U 243, U 1000 and U 971 at Kiel, 21 May 1944

9 U 289 during farewell ceremony at Kiel, 1 April 1944

10 U 10, U 62, U 20, U 63, U 50, U 53 and U 31 lying at Heligoland harbour, 4 February 1940

11 Two U-boat ‘aces’ ready to depart, 9 March 1941

12 U 354 and U 992 inside the Skjömenfjord near Narvik, Norway, 21 August 1944

13 Type IX-boat U 41 and Type VII B-boat U 48 at Heligoland, 27 January 1940

14 Type VII F torpedo transporter U 1061 aground near Alvoey, south of Bergen, 7 February 1945 15 Type XIV supply U-boat U 460 following refuelling, 4 October 1943

16 Hulk of U 993 inside Söndrevaag basin near Bergen, May 1945

17 Hull of Type II B boat U 9, sunk on 20 August 1944

18 Ex-Norwegian submarine UC 2 at Bergen, April 1944

19 Abandoned hulks of UD 3, U 1028, U 1029 and UD 4, 4 December 1945

20 U 92 partly capsized inside the Hoplafjord, northeast of Trondheim

21 U 474 in dry-dock at Deutsche Werke Kiel AG after salvage

22 U 906 at Hamburg after being sunk on 31 December 1944

23 Type IX C/40 boats U 1237 and U 1238 derelict at Hamburg, May 1945

24 Conning tower tops of Type XXI boats U 3036 and U 3045

25 U 52 half-submerged at Neustadt Bay

26 U 2359 moments before it sank following repeated attacks, west of Göteborg on 2 May 1945 27 Prefabricated sections of Type XXIII boats in a devastated Deutsche Werft AG building in Hamburg

28 Hulks of U 902 and U 108 lying stranded on the banks of the river Oder just north of Stettin, summer 1945

29 U 291, U 1198, U 779 with U 883: surrendered U-boats arriving at Wilhelmshaven on transfer from Cuxhaven, 13 May 1945

30 Type XXI boats U 2506 and U 2513, with Type IX C/40 U 802: surrendered in May 1945, moored alongside Lisahally, Northern Ireland

31 Partly submerged wrecks of Type VII C boats U 382 and U 339 at Wilhelmshaven

32 The end of U 96: the boat being salvaged in 1947 from the Hipper basin at Wilhelmshaven (U 96 became famous from the novel and the movie Das Boot)

PREFACE

Why do we need another book on the whereabouts of the German U-boat fleet during World War II? As early as 1946, the basic data had been presented to the public in the official loss lists of the British Admiralty and the Office of the U.S. chief of naval operations, Navy Department. During the following five decades, several authors have also published in varying detail on this particular subject in the history of naval warfare.

The idea for it originated when I became aware that many of the wartime or postwar assessments on the loss of German U-boats were sometimes startlingly wrong. Wondering if other printed and published information was incorrect, I started a systematic check of all U-boat losses by using the existing German and Allied wartime records. This effort was greatly supported by the Naval Historical Branch of the British Ministry of Defence. In the end, the joint effort resulted in the reassessment of almost one-fifth of all front-line U-boat losses during the war with several others still under consideration.

With respect to the total number of U-boats, the tabular presentation of the data in abbreviated form offers the only way to limit the overall size of a book on the subject. My previous experience from having worked through the great amount of literature focusing on German U-boat operations and losses during World War II greatly helped to define the standard for its content and outline. The addition of background information on the individual U-boat provides a more complete set of facts on its last patrol and final fate. Extensive indexes were prepared to allow cross referencing and a quick search for specific data.

It is my hope that this volume will provide a handy compilation of updated information on the particulars of destruction of the German U-boats for future researchers and naval enthusiasts. It is certain that despite all my efforts to find the truth, there will remain a number of mistakes in the book for which the editors and the

Reviews for German U-Boat Losses During World War II

[atticusfinch1048 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

German U-Boat Losses During World War IIOk I admit I am somewhat of an anorak with a passionate interest in naval history, well we are an island after all, and during war if you want to beat the British you have to cut them off at sea first. The U-Boat was the principle weapon for the German’s in their hope of defeating Britain whether through starvation or breaking their morale. I also admit that I am a collector of postal history and primarily feldpost and the sister branch in the Kriegsmarine so I love to drink all the information up. German U-Boat Losses During World War II has all the information I could ever require from all the U-Boats ordered and those that were completed between 1935 and 1945 and then there is the Loss Register.The U-Boat building list gives the dates ordered and where they were built along with their corresponding U-Boat number and what design type they were. The Loss Register is comprehensive, with who was the commanding officer, when it was destroyed. It also has the coordinates of where the U-Boat was what destroyed it and the name of the ship or place that destroyed the U-Boat.This is an excellent book for those that are interested in naval military history in World War II and this is an excellent tool for all researchers.