Type | IX | |||||||||
| Ordered | 21 Nov 1936 | |||||||||
| Laid down | 15 Sep 1938 | AG Weser, Bremen (werk 949) | ||||||||
| Launched | 5 Aug 1939 | |||||||||
| Commissioned | 4 Nov 1939 | Kptlt. Ludwig Mathes | ||||||||
| Commanders |
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| Career 2 patrols |
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| Successes | 8 ships sunk, total tonnage 30,885 GRT | |||||||||
| Fate | The boat hit a mine, in minefield Field No 7. laid by the destroyers HMS Express, HMS Esk, HMS Icarus and HMS Impulsive, on or around 13 March 1940. 47 dead (all hands lost). (FDS/NHB, January 1981). | |||||||||
| Loss position | ||||||||||
Previously recorded fate
- Sunk by the British destroyer HMS Fortune on 20 Mar 1940. (Postwar assessment)
Notes. This attack was probably against a nonsub target.
Attacks on this boat
13 Mar 1940
An attack by the British destroyer HMS Fortune was mistakenly credited with sinking U-44 but was probably not even against a submarine. (Sources: 1981-01-01 , FDS/NHB)
1 recorded attack on this boat.
Men lost from U-boats
Unlike many other U-boats, which during their service lost men due to accidents and various other causes, U-44 did not suffer any casualties (we know of) until the time of her loss.
U-boat Emblems
We have 1 emblem entry for this boat! See the emblem page for this boat or view each one below.
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Media links
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There was another U-44 in World War One
That boat was launched from its shipyard on 15 Oct 1914 and commissioned into the Imperial Navy on 7 May 1915. The Naval war in WWI was brought to an end with the Armistice signed on 11 Nov, 1918. Read about the U 44 during WWI.