U-621

Type

VIIC

Ordered

15 Aug, 1940

Laid down

1 Jul, 1941

Blohm & Voss, Hamburg (werk 597)

Launched

19 Mar, 1942

Commissioned

7 May, 1942

Kptlt. Horst Schünemann

Commanders

7 May, 1942 - 4 Dec, 1942	Kptlt. Horst Schünemann
4 Dec, 1942 - 7 May, 1944	Max Kruschka
15 May, 1944 - 18 Aug, 1944	Oblt. Hermann Stuckmann (Knights Cross)

Career

10 patrols

7 May, 1942 - 30 Sep, 1942  8. Flottille (training)
1 Oct, 1942 - 18 Aug, 1944  9. Flottille (front boat)
19 Aug, 1943 - 1 Oct, 1943  9. Flottille (front boat)

Successes

4 ships sunk for a total of 20.159 GRT
1 auxiliary warship sunk for a total of 2.938 GRT
1 ship damaged for a total of 10.048 GRT
1 warship damaged for a total of 1.625 tons

Fate

Sunk 18 Aug, 1944 in the Bay of Biscay near La Rochelle, in position 45.52N, 02.36W, by depth charges from the Canadian destroyers HMCS Ottawa, HMCS Kootenay and HMCS Chaudiere. 56 dead (all hands lost).

See the 7 ships hit by U-621 - View the 10 war patrols

Refitted as U-Flak 3 on 7 July 1943. Converted back to conventional U-boat.

Wolfpack operations

U-621 operated with the following Wolfpacks during its career:
   Panther (10 Oct, 1942 - 14 Oct, 1942)
   Puma (16 Oct, 1942 - 30 Oct, 1942)
   Raufbold (15 Dec, 1942 - 22 Dec, 1942)
   Hartherz (4 Feb, 1943 - 7 Feb, 1943)
   Raubgraf (7 Mar, 1943 - 14 Mar, 1943)
   Amsel I (4 May, 1943 - 6 May, 1943)
   Elbe 2 (11 May, 1943 - 13 May, 1943)

Attacks on this boat

31 May, 1943
While searching for survivors from U-563 sunk nearby, the inbound U-621 was herself attacked by a British Liberator aircraft (RAF Sqdn 224 / Q, pilot Robert V. Sweeny) at 18.42 hours. The aircraft dropped 12 depth charges on two runs causing severe damages to the boat. (Sources: Norman Franks)

13 Jan, 1944
While serving as a Flak boat on 13 Jan U-621 was attacked by a British B-24 Liberator (Sqdn 59/A) and suffered 1 man killed and 6 wounded. Matrosengefreiter Heinz Thomas was mortally wounded and later buried at sea. The commander decided to abort the patrol. U-621 took ten days to limp back to Brest.

11 Apr, 1944
Inbound to her French base she ran into an Allied hunter-killer group and fired a torpedo at "destroyer" but missed. The boat then evaded the hunters and returned to France. (Sources: Blair, vol 2, page 496)

9 Jun, 1944
The boat returned to base with bomb damages from an unknown aircraft. Date of attack may be the day before. (Sources: Blair, vol 2, page 585)

4 recorded attacks on this boat.

Schnorchel-fitted U-boat
This boat was fitted with a Schnorchel underwater-breathing apparatus in April 1944. Read more about the Schnorchel and see list of fitted boats.

Men lost from the boat

13 Jan, 1944
While serving as a Flak boat on 13 Jan U-621 was attacked by a Liberator (RAF Sqdn 59/A) and suffered 1 man killed and 6 wounded. Matrosengefreiter Heinz Thomas was mortally wounded and later buried at sea. The commander decided to abort the patrol. U-621 took ten days to limp back to Brest.

Related: For more info on such losses see - Men lost from U-boats -