Events on this day

24 April

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 (1)	Launched (3)	Commissioned (7)
No U-boat orders on this date	1942: U-717	1941: U-207, U-504 1942: U-196	1941: U-127 U-567 1943: U-391 1944: U-793 U-1018 1945: U-2371 U-2551
These are commissioned boats. For more see our Shipyard pages.

Allied Ships hit on this date

	U-boat	Commander	Name of ship	Tons	Country
1942
	U-136	Zimmermann	Empire Drum	7,244	br
1943
	U-129	Witt	Santa Catalina	6,507	am
1945
	U-1305	Christiansen	Monmouth Coast	878	br
	U-546	Just	USS Frederick C. Davis (DE 136)	1,200	am
				15,829
* 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

1943

U-952. 16.50 hrs, off the Norwegian coast: the boat was damaged in a strafing attack by six Beaufighters of RAF Sqdn 235. Two men were wounded.

U-453.

Aircraft attack, aircraft shot down:
British Hudson bomber AM781 (RAF Sqdn 500/N, pilot W/O R. Obee)

00.12 hrs: the Hudson illuminated the boat with flares after obtaining a radar contact off Oran and then attacked. The aircraft was hit by flak during the initial strafing run, killing the pilot. No depth charges were released as the nose gunner struggled to save the aircraft (misidentified as a Hampden) from crashing. The navigator then flew the aircraft to base at Tafaraoui, where the surviving four aircrew bailed out and allowed it to crash because they were unable to land safely.
This aircraft was formerly credited with sinking U-602 in this action, but the actual target, U-453, far from being sunk, escaped unscathed.

(Franks/Zimmerman)

1944

U-672. The target of the depth charge attack at 1339hrs on 24 April 1944, SW of Ireland in position 50.36N 18.36W, by a Canadian Sunderland flying boat (423 Sqn RCAF/A, pilot F/Lt G. Fellows), formerly credited with sinking U-311, was in fact U-672, which was severely damaged. The aircraft suffered near-fatal damage when a depth charge detonated prematurely but the pilot managed to bring it back to base. (1986-04-01, FDS/NHB)

U-672. 0100hrs: a British Liberator aircraft (120 Sqn RAF/M, pilot F/Lt L.T. Taylor) dropped six depth charges in a Leigh Light attack. No damage. (Franks, N. 1995.)

1945

U-363. Depth charges from a hunter-killer group damaged the periscope so badly that the boat had to return to base.

U-boats lost

1943: U-710 +
1944: U-193 +
1945: U-546

134 men died when those 3 U-boats were lost on this date. 33 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, 24 April.

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

Personnel Information

The following men were born on this day:
Herbert Brammer (1914), Siegfried Breinlinger (1920), Servais Cabolet (1908), Hubert Jeschke (1921), Karl Jobst (1913), Fritz-Otto Korfmann (1923), Herbert Kühn (1919), Johannes Rudolph (1916).

The following men died on this day:
Dr. Ulrich Abel (1944), Dietrich von Carlewitz (1943), Heinz Hirsacker (1943), Erwin Sachs (1962).

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 24 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

U-boats entering base:
To Kiel, Germany: U-9 (21 days)

1941

U-boats entering base:
To Bergen, Norway: U-138 (5 days)
To St. Nazaire, France: U-73 (31 days)

1942

Sailed:
From Lorient, France: U-155

U-boats entering base:
To Kiel, Germany: UA (42 days)
To Kirkenes U-88 (7 days)
To Lorient, France: U-213 (2 days)

1943

Sailed:
From Bergen, Norway: U-636, U-657
From Bordeaux, France: U-460
From Brest, France: U-230, U-456 (lost 19 days later), U-566
From Kiel, Germany: U-227 (lost days later), U-418 (lost 37 days later), U-645
From Lorient, France: U-103, U-107
From Narvik, Norway: U-269
From Salamis, Greece: U-593
From St. Nazaire, France: U-607

U-boats entering base:
To Bordeaux, France: U-462 (24 days)
To St. Nazaire, France: U-382 (17 days)
To Toulon, France: U-303 (2 days)

1944

Sailed:
From Hammerfest, Norway: U-278
From Lorient, France: U-473 (lost 13 days later)
From Narvik, Norway: U-711

U-boats entering base:
To Bergen, Norway: U-365 (17 days)
To Konstanza, Rumania: U-23 (26 days)
To Kristiansand U-241 (2 days)
To Lorient, France: U-123 (107 days)
To Narvik, Norway: U-361 (25 days)

1945

Sailed:
From Bergen, Norway: U-1061

U-boats entering base:
To Harstad U-294 (17 days)
To Kristiansand U-1231 (3 days)
To La Pallice U-255 (3 days), U-485 (31 days)
To Trondheim, Norway: U-315 (69 days)

U-boats at sea on 24 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 24 April

1943

Kptlt. Heinz Hirsacker of U-572 committed suicide after being condemned to death by court martial for "cowardice in the face of the enemy" - the only U-boat commander to be tried on that charge.

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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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Commander file

U-boat of the day

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Events on this day

24 April

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U-boat Shipyard report

Allied Ships hit on this date

Attacks on this day

1943

1944

1945

U-boats lost

U-boat Men Lost or Wounded

Personnel Information

U-boat departures and arrivals on 24 April

1940

1941

1942

1943

1944

1945

U-boats at sea on 24 April

1940

1941

1942

1943

1944

1945

General Events on 24 April

1943

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