U-72

Type

VIIC

 
Ordered25 Jan 1939
Laid down 28 Dec 1939 F. Krupp Germaniawerft AG, Kiel (werk 619)
Launched22 Nov 1940
Commissioned4 Jan 1941Korvkpt. Hans Werner Neumann
Commanders
4 Jan 1941 - Sep, 1941  KrvKpt. Hans-Werner Neumann
Sep, 1941 - 1 Dec 1941  Oblt. Helmut Köster
2 Dec 1941 - 6 May 1942  Kptlt. Waldemar Mehl (Knights Cross)
7 May 1942 - 19 Nov 1942   Hans-Martin Scheibe
20 Nov 1942 - 14 Dec 1943  Oblt. Helmut Lange
15 Dec 1943 - 19 May 1944  Oblt. Paul Sander
20 May 1944 - Mar, 1945  Oblt. Karl-Theodor Mayer
CareerNo patrols4 Jan 1941 - 8 Jun 1941  21. Flottille (training)
9 Jun 1941 - 1 Jul 1941  24. Flottille (school boat)
2 Jul 1941 - 30 Mar 1945  21. Flottille (school boat)
SuccessesNo ships sunk or damaged
Fate

Damaged on 30 Mar, 1945 in Bremen by bombs (American daylight bombing).

Scuttled on 2 May, 1945.

Men lost from U-boats

Unlike many other U-boats, which during their service lost men due to accidents and various other causes, U-72 did not suffer any casualties (we know of) until the time of her loss.



U-Boat Operations of the Second World War - Vol 2
Wynn, Kenneth


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Books dealing with this subject include:

German U-Boat Losses During World War II. Niestle, Axel, 1998.
Hitler's U-boat War. Blair, Clay, 1996.
Hitler's U-boat War, Vol II. Blair, Clay, 1998.
U-Boat Operations of the Second World War - Vol 1. Wynn, Kenneth, 1998.
U-Boat Operations of the Second World War - Vol 2. Wynn, Kenneth, 1998.


There was another U-72 in World War One
That boat was launched from its shipyard on 31 Oct 1915 and commissioned into the Imperial Navy on 26 Jan 1916. The Naval war in WWI was brought to an end with the Armistice signed on 11 Nov, 1918. Read about the U 72 during WWI.