Events on this day

3 May

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 (3)	Launched (5)	Commissioned (4)
No U-boat orders on this date	1940: U-378, U-701 1943: U-485	1941: U-116, U-654 1944: U-927, U-1023, U-1024	1941: U-205 U-451 1943: U-364 1944: U-1277
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
1941
	U-103	Schütze	Wray Castle	4,253	br
	U-95	Schreiber	Taranger	4,873	nw
1942
	U-109	Bleichrodt	Laertes	5,825	nl
	U-125	Folkers	San Rafael	1,973	do
	U-251	Timm	Jutland	6,153	br	PQ-15
	U-455	Giessler	British Workman	6,994	br	ON-89
	U-506	Würdemann	Sama	567	ni
	U-564	Suhren	Ocean Venus	7,174	br
	U-66	Zapp	Geo. W. McKnight (d)	12,502	br	ON-87
1944
	U-371	Fenski	USS Menges (DE 320) (d)	1,200	am	GUS-38
	U-473	Sternberg	USS Donnell (DE 56) total loss	1,400	am	CU-22
				52,914
* 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

1944

U-278. 03.32 hrs, Norwegian Sea: U-278 was surprised by three carrier aircraft (one Swordfish of 842 Sqn FAA from HMS Fencer and one Swordfish and one Martlet of 833 Sqn FAA from HMS Activity) in the vicinity of convoy RA 59. It happened so quickly that the AA gunners only returned fire after the initial attack, but they then managed to keep the aircraft at a distance with the quadruple flak gun for 20 minutes until the boat dived. The four or five depth charges dropped fell wide and the boat suffered only superficial damage from 33 hits to the conning tower and the upper deck from the strafing runs. The Germans observed AA hits on the right wing of the Martlet and claimed it shot down after observing it trailing smoke until lost from sight. However, all three aircraft returned to their carriers.

U-548. A strange incident in which a B-24 Liberator illuminated HMS Hargood (K 582) while hunting a German U-boat at night east of Conception Bay, Newfoundland. U-548, presuming they were the intended target fired at the aircraft, which wrongly assumed the destroyer escort had done so and broke off the attack. The U-boat went unnoticed by the Allies. (Blair, vol 2, page 562)

U-473. While attacking convoy CU 22, the boat torpedoed the escorting USS Donnell and dived to 180m (590 ft) to escape the counter-attack from the other escorts. Despite 34 depth charges being dropped, U-473 suffered only minor damage.

1945

U-2524. British Beaufighters from Sqdns 236 and 254 attacked U-2524, killing one man and leaving the boat severely damaged. She was scuttled later that day. The LI refused to leave and went down with the boat. [Oberleutnant (Ing) Werner Braun]

U-2503. A rocket from a Beaufighter aircraft penetrated the control room, killing the commander and twelve of the crew. U-2503 was scuttled the following day.

U-boats lost

1945: U-1210 , U-2521 , U-3032

81 men died when those 3 U-boats were lost on this date. 24 men survived.

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

- 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, 3 May.

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

Personnel Information

The following men were born on this day:
Peter-Ottmar Grau (1915), Erwin Sell (1915), Günter Unverzagt (1921).

The following men died on this day:
Joachim Methner (1945), Heinz-Eberhard Müller (1988), Werner Zapf (1945).

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 3 May

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-23 (21 days), U-58 (34 days)
To Trondheim, Norway: U-101 (5 days)

1941

Sailed:
From Lorient, France: U-93, UA

1942

Sailed:
From St. Nazaire, France: U-590

U-boats entering base:
To Kiel, Germany: U-454 (4 days)
To Kirkenes U-88 (5 days)
To Lorient, France: U-159 (12 days), U-172 (12 days)

1943

Sailed:
From St. Nazaire, France: U-221

U-boats entering base:
To Bordeaux, France: U-185 (85 days)
To Pola U-97 (24 days)
To St. Nazaire, France: U-404 (44 days)

1944

Sailed:
From La Spezia, Italy: U-952
From Penang, Malaysia: U-183

U-boats entering base:
To Brest, France: U-441 (3 days), U-741 (65 days)
To Narvik, Norway: U-354 (16 days), U-636 (26 days)

1945

Sailed:
From Bergen, Norway: U-1005, U-2511
From Kiel, Germany: U-999
From Wilhelmshaven, Germany: U-3008

U-boats entering base:
To La Pallice U-255 (2 days)

U-boats at sea on 3 May

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 3 May

1944

The Allies captured an intact Fa330 "Bachstelze" autogyro carried by U-852, the first inkling of its existence. Impressed by its simplicity and ease of assembly, they began evaluation.

1945

U-802 sailed from Bergen on her final patrol.

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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

U-boat Finder

Events on this day

3 May

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U-boat Shipyard report

Allied Ships hit on this date

Attacks on this day

1944

1945

U-boats lost

U-boat Men Lost or Wounded

Personnel Information

U-boat departures and arrivals on 3 May

1940

1941

1942

1943

1944

1945

U-boats at sea on 3 May

1940

1941

1942

1943

1944

1945

General Events on 3 May

1944

1945

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