Overview

1

U-boats built in Germany and commissioned between 1935 and 1945, of which some 863 were brought into combat action

2

U-boats taken over from foreign Navies and commissioned by the Kriegsmarine
(1x TUR/ 1x GBR/ 2x NOR/ 5x NDL/ 1x FRA/ 5x ITA):

total 1+2

Losses in combat missions caused by…

3

Enemy surface combattants

245

4

Enemy aircraft

264

5

Enemy surface combattants and aircraft jointly

45

6

Enemy submarines

23

7

Mines

20

8

Missing, sinking still open

26

9

Collisions at sea while engaged in missions

8

10

Scuttling following non-repairable combat damage

12

11

Own blasting in foreign territorial waters

2

12

captured while in combat missions

5

13

Apart from 3-13: Losses suffered by U-boats taken over from other Navies (UIT 22 und UIT 23)

2

total 3-13

652

Losses through other causes and fates of U-boats at the end of war…

14

Through enemy action at bases outside Germany

21

15

Through enemy action at bases in Germany

45

16

Through accidents or diving failures

9

17

Through collision during training in homewaters

15

18

Through mines in homewaters

9

19

Through sinking (U 235) by own vessel (T-17) by unintentional dropping of depth charges

1

20

Decommissioned prior the end of war

29

21

Special cases (U 382/ U 416/ U 560/ U 612/ U 1007)

5

22

Internment during the war (U 573 und U 760 in SPA)

2

23

U-boats handed over to Japan as a present by an ally (U-511 on 16.09.1943) and at the time of the German surrender in Europe in May 1945 (U 181/ U 195/ U 219/ U 862/ UIT 24/ UIT 25)

24

Scuttled at the end of war

208

25

Surrender at the end of war
a. At sea = 49 (5 to USA/ 2 to CAN/ 2 to ARG/ 23 to GBR, includ. Gibraltar/ 9 to NOR/ 7 to GER, 1 to DEN)
b. In port = 107 (87 in NOR/ 16 in GER/ 3 in DAN/ 1 in FRA)

26

Apart from 14-25: Losses at the U-boats taken over from foreign Navies (exempt UIT-24 and UIT-25 taken over by Japan) though 8 de-commissionings (U A/ U B/ UC 1/ UC 2/ UD 1/ UD 2/ UD 3/ UD 4), 1 accident (UF 2), 1 scuttling (UIT 21) and 1 surrender (UD 5)

total 14-26

518

total 3-13

equals total 1-2

27

Scuttled by Royal Navy through “Operation Deadlight” (27 Nov 1945 to 11 Feb 1946)

28

Scuttled by US Navy until 1946 off the US coast (U 805 / U 1228) and in the Northsea (U 1197 / U 1232)

29

Within the framework of the agreement of the Alliied Tripartite Naval Commission (TNC) divided until February 1946, with 10 U-boats each to GBR, USA and UdSSR (“Operation Cabal”). GBR gave away from her share 1 U-boat (U 190) to Kanada and 2 U-boats (U 2326 and U 2518) to FRA (“Operation Thankful”). Most of these U-boats were operated further for a while, whether it be for test- and trial purposes or for normal operational allocations

30

Seaworthy U-boats, which did surrender and were not subject to “Operation Deadlight” or the distribution by the TNC (FRA = U 510 and NOR = U 310/ U 315/U 324/U 926/U 995/U 120/U 4706). 5 of those (FRA = U 510 as Bouan, later Q-176 and NOR = U 926 as Kya/U 995 as Kaura/U 1202 as Kinn und U 4706 as Knerter) were restored to full readiness and most of them re-commissioned (exempt U 4706, damaged by fire blast and used as floating store at Oslo Royal Yachtclub)

31

Post-war re-commissionings or other use (both not later than 1970) of U-boats
by GER and other states, which were either interned during the war or de-commissioned by the Kriegsmarine following non-repairable damage, or were even scuttled:
a. By GER = 3 (U 2365 as Hai/ U 2367 as Hecht/ U 2540 as Wilhelm Bauer)
b. By FRA = 3 (U 123 as Blaison later Q-165)/ U 471 as Mille, later Q-339/ U 766 as Laubie, later Q 335)
c. By SPA = 1 (U 573 as G-7)
d. By SWE = 1 (U 3503 in status sunk off Gothenburg used for salvage training)

32

Whereabouts of the 7 U-boats handed over to Japan after the Japanese surrender:
a. 4 U-boats scuttled by GBR (U 181/ U 195/ U 219/ U 862) in 1946
b. 3 U-boaty scuttled by the US (U 511/ UIT 24/ UIT 25) in 1946

33

Whereabouts of the 15 U-boats taken over from foreign Navies and re-commissioned by the Kriegsmarine:
a. De-commissionings during the war = 10 (UA/ UB/ UC 1/UC 2/ UD 1/ UD 2/ UD 3/ UD 4/ UF 1/ UIT 21)
b. Sunk during combat missions = 2 (UIT 22/ UIT 23)
c. Handover to Japan after the German surrender = 2 (UIT 24/ UIT 25)
d. Return to the original Navy = 1 (UD 5, re-commissioned by Netherlands as O-27)

34

Kriegsmarine U-boats still to be viewed today as museum exhibits
a. In USA = U 505 since 1954 in Chicago
b. In GER = U 995 since 1972 at Laboe (Kiel) and U 2540 Wilhelm Bauer since 1984 at Bremerhaven
c. In GBR = U 534 since 1993 at Birkenhead (Liverpool)