This aircraft failed to return from U-boat sweep in the eastern Mediterranean.

This aircraft failed to return from anti-submarine patrol

At 08.17 hours, the boat was attacked by the Hudson. AA fire hit the aircraft during the initial strafing run and its four depth charges fell in 80 to 250 metres distance, causing only light damages. Hit in the cockpit area and in the starboard engine, the Hudson headed for the coast about 50 miles away, but had to ditch only 3 minutes after the attack. The crew of 4 made it into a dinghy and were rescued in the afternoon by a Walrus flying boat (700 Sqdn FAA, pilot SubLt Neil Fuller) after being spotted and escorted by Hudsons (500 and 608 Sqdn RAF).

The sinking of U-131
At 09.25 hours, the boat was spotted and forced to dive by a Martlet aircraft of HMS Audacity while shadowing the convoy HG-76. Walker on HMS Stork immediately raced to the contact together with four other escorts. After about one hour, HMS Stanley made contact and HMS Pentstemon carried out several depth charges attack on the boat, which was badly damaged and forced to surface due to chlorine gas from the batteries at 12.47 hours. Unable to dive again, Baumann then tried to escape at full speed on the surface. After 20 minutes, a Martlet aircraft strafed the boat, but was hit by AA fire during the attack run and crashed into the sea, killing the pilot. In the meantime the escorts began shelling U-131 from a distance of about 7 nautical miles and scored several hits when closing in. The boat fired at HMS Blankney without scoring a hit and was eventually scuttled by the crew at 13.30 hours.

This was the first aircraft shot down by a U-boat in the war.

This was the only airship (i.e. like Zeppelin) shot down during WWII. For more information you could check out this page.

At 09.29 hours, four Mosquito aircraft (3 from 307 Polish Sqdn RAF and 1 from 410 Sqdn RCAF) attacked a group of 5 outbound boats (U-68, U-155, U-159, U-415 and U-634) in the Bay of Biscay. The leading Mosquito first strafed U-68 and then U-155, but its port engine stopped after being hit by AA fire and the aircraft was forced to make a belly landing back at the base in Predannack. A second Mosquito, piloted by F/O J. Pelka, attacked too but its guns did not fire and the remaining aircraft did not attack due to the intense AA fire.
5 crew members aboard U-155 were wounded, two of them badly. The boat returned to base together with U-68 and recieved the doctor from her for medical treatment of the wounded men.

U-564 was sunk in this attack. The damaged aircraft had to ditch at sea.

The boat was attacked five times by three aircraft from USS Tripoli operating on ULTRA information west-southwest of the Cape Verde Islands and even escaped a Fido homing torpedo. At 19.40 hours, an Avenger was shot down by AA fire, killing the crew of three men. This was the last aircraft lost to U-boats from escort carriers in the Atlantic.

At 17.13 hours, the boat was attacked at low level by the Halifax southwest of Ireland, straddled with 8 depth charges and was seen to sink by the stern. The aircraft had been hit by AA fire and a fire in the starboard wing forced the pilot to ditch the Halifax about 3 miles from the attack position. Two gunners were lost, but the remaining six crewmen survived and were rescued after 11 days by HMS Mahratta.

At 10.50 hours, the outbound boat was attacked by the Halifax in the Bay of Biscay. The initial attack was broken off due to heavy AA fire, but the aircraft then made a strafing attack from the bow and released six depth charges, which overshot the boat and detonated about 25 metres astern. The attack gave U-228 a severe shaking and wounded the II WO and a seaman. The Germans observed several AA hits on the aircraft (misidentified as Lancaster) and saw smoke before crash-diving. The Halifax and its crew of seven men did not return from patrol and apparently crashed shortly after this attack.

Around convoy HX-237.

At 22.21 hours, the outbound boat was attacked by the Catalina about 125 miles west of Alesund, Norway. AA fire hit the aircraft during the attack run and apparently caused the depth charges to miss, but U-241 was sunk by another Catalina the next day. The gunner of the starboard blister gun was killed (Pty/O Kyrre D. Berg) and large hole in the hull forced the pilot to beach the Catalina after landing in the River Tay, damaging it beyond repair.

At 23.12 hours, the inbound boat was illuminated by Leigh Light and strafed by the Liberator in the Bay of Biscay. The Germans observed hits in the right wing from the 20mm AA guns and the fuselage from the 37mm AA gun. Flames were seen coming from the bomb bay and one of the engines when the aircraft passed at the height of 50 meters behind U-256, dropped six depth charges and crashed into the sea 500 meters away, killing all 10 crewmen. The boat was not damaged in the attack.

At 08.30 hours, the inbound boat was attacked by the Whitley (misidentified as Wellington) in the Bay of Biscay. The aircraft strafed the boat and dropped 2 or 3 bombs that fell about 15 metres astern. The Germans observed AA hits in the cockpit area and saw the Whitley flying away very low with a smoke trail. Its crew sent a SOS and probably ditched, but the 5 men crew was lost. U-256 was badly damaged in the attack and limped into Lorient the next day, some damages found on deck were apparently caused by the propeller of the aircraft.

At 21.48 hours, the boat witnessed an aircraft crashing into the sea close to her. The Germans had not fired at the aircraft, which apparently crashed on its own during preparations for the low attack run. All six crewmen were lost.

One of the depth charges dropped by the Hudson exploded on contact with the boat, crippling the aircraft and forcing the crew to bail out. Only the pilot and one crewman were rescued by the British sloops HMS Erne and HMS Leith. U-259 was lost in this attack.

In the morning U-262 was awaiting refuelling from U-664 while U-760 was being supplied in bad weather. At 10.11 hours, an Avenger/Wildcat team from USS Card located the boats and attacked U-262. The Wildcat strafed her while the Avenger tried to attack with depth charges, but an AA hit in the bomb bay caused the ordnance to hung up and put the radio out of commission. Making a second run, the Avenger was hit again by AA fire and a fuel tank in the starboard wing caught fire. The two manually dropped depth charges severely damaged U-262, but the pilot had to jettison the Fido homing torpedo and ditched the burning aircraft. The radioman went down with the Avenger, while the pilot and the gunner were picked up in the afternoon by USS Barry after being spotted by other aircraft from the escort carrier. The Wildcat was also shot down by the boat during another strafing run and crashed into the sea, killing its pilot. U-262 had to abort her patrol due to the damages. 

At 19.11 hours, the boat was attacked by the Fortress north-northeast of the Azores which made two strafing runs without dropping bombs. During the third run AA fire hit the starboard inner engine and the aircraft crashed into the sea after dropping four depth charges ahead of the boat, killing all eight crewmen aboard. U-270 ran into the explosions and had to abort the patrol due to the damage of all bow torpedo tubes, the sonar and the battieres.

No damages to the U-boat in this attack, but the boat was already heading to base after being damaged by a British Wellington (Sqdn. 172/Y). The boat was paid off on July 1, 1944 due to the damages.

This aircraft was apparently US Navy VPB-103 Squadron. All aircrew perished.

At 21.10 hours, U-283 fought off an aircraft attack by AA fire but was herself lost the next day. They reported the attack but did not claim the aircraft shot down. However, the attacker was apparently the Wellington which reported engine trouble at that time from this area and went missing thereafter with six crewmen aboard.

The boat was lost in this attack.

At 01.20 hours, the outbound boat shot down the Halifax (misidentified as Fortress) in the Bay of Biscay after being strafed and attacked with depth charges. All eight crewmen were lost.

U-boat damaged by attack. U-333 had already been damaged in an attack made by Australian Sunderland Y/10 the day before. THe boat was severely damaged and had to abort to La Pallice, France.

At 21.31 hours, the outbound boat was surprised by the Wellington aircraft in the Bay of Biscay. But when the aircraft switched on the Leigh Light, it was hit by AA fire and crashed burning into the sea after passing over the boat, killing the crew of six. Two of the four depth charges dropped actually hit U-333, but one broke up without detonating and the other bounced of and caused only light damages.
The same aircraft and crew had sunk U-268 on 19 Feb, 1943.

This is a possible match. Either this plane or the 228/U one were shot down by this boat.

At 09.58 hours, the inbound boat was surprised by the Halifax in the outer Bay of Biscay. AA fire hit the aircraft during the attack run, so the stick of bombs fell wide and only one detonating near the bow caused some light damages. Hit in the outer starboard engine and the fuselage, the Halifax was seen to crash into the sea in some distance. The Australian Sgt H.C. Taylor was the sole survivor of the eight-men crew, picked up by U-338 and taken prisoner.

After the boat had fought off two aircraft attacks the day before, the Allies started a swamp operation and at 21.40 hours a Wellington (36 Sqdn RAF/B) located U-343 southwest of Cartagena which was then attacked by a Wellington (179 Sqdn RAF, pilot W/C J.H. Greswell, DFC) followed by another Wellington of the same squadron. The aircraft dropped six depth charges but several AA hits set the port wing on fire and the aircraft crashed into the sea, killing five crewmen. Only the pilot was thrown clear and rescued himself into a dinghy that was passed closely by the U-boat twice but the Germans did not take him prisoner because they had "more important things to do". He was picked up by HMS Active the next morning and later recieved the DFC.

The boat had already sustained damages in the attacks but there was still more to come because a Catalina (202 Sqdn RAF, pilot F/L J. Finch) joined the attack that lasted until 23.00 hours. AA fire damaged the port wing, fuselage and both fuel tanks of the Catalina and wounded the flight engineer, so the aircraft was forced to head for home. U-343, badly damaged and unable to dive, managed to escape in the darkness with only one crewman wounded by strafing and after repairs the boat safely reached her new base.

At 20.30 hours, the boat was attacked by the Wellington in the Mediterranean after it has passed the Strait of Gibraltar two days earlier. The aircraft made a low attack and dropped five depth charges that missed U-343 astern, but was in turn hit by AA fire in the port wing and caught fire. The Wellington was forced to ditch shortly thereafter, and the pilot and navigator were killed. The remaining four crewmen were picked up from their dinghy by ORP Slazak the next morning.

The sighting report of this aircraft led another Wellington HF221 (36 Sqdn RAF/M, pilot F/O J.T. Hutton) to the scene, which immediately attacked U-343 but its depth charges fell wide because the port engine had been hit by AA fire and the aircraft became difficult to handle, but managed to reach Bone and landed safely.

Around 18.15 hours, U-359 and U-466 were attacked by the Liberator west of Oporto, Portugal. The aircraft strafed them and dropped 3 bombs that fell between the boats, which both fired at the aircraft and crash-dived undamaged at 18.26 hours. The Germans had observed AA hits on the bomber and it apparently crashed shortly after the attack, killing its entire crew of 10.

At 23.03 hours, the outbound boat was located by radar by the Wellington aircraft MP791 (172 Sqdn RAF/Q, pilot F/O T. Armstrong) in the Bay of Biscay. The aircraft dropped six depth charges in a Leigh Light attack and then circled the boat after making a strafing run. At 23.13 hours, they observed another Wellington (172 Sqdn RAF/D) making a Leigh Light attack but it was hit by AA fire, caught fire and crashed into the sea. Their Wellington was damaged when the port tyre burst on landing at Chivenor, unknown to the crew the undercarriage had been hit twice by AA fire. U-402 had hit both attackers and escaped undamaged.

At 05.42 hours the outbound boat was attacked by the Leigh Light equipped Wellingon in the Bay of Biscay north of Cape Ortegal. The aircraft made a strafing attack and dropped four depth charges, but had been hit by AA fire and crashed into the sea about 50 metres behind U-415, killing all six crewmen. The boat had to abort its patrol due to damages sustained.

The sinking of U-417
At 11.10 hours, the boat was attacked by the Fortress southeast of Iceland. Despite of AA hits in the nose, cockpit, mainplanes, bomb bays and the rear turret of the aircraft, the pilot dropped his depth charges on target. Several survivors from U-417 were seen in the water after she sank, but none were rescued.

Thomson (CO of 206 Squadron) had to ditch the Fortress shortly afterwards and all 8 crewmen managed to get into a dinghy although without supplies. On 14 June, an American Catalina aircraft (USN VP-84/P-3, pilot Lt Douglas S. Vieira, USNR) attempted to land nearby, but crashed and the 9 crew members had to rescue themselves in two rafts. While the crew of the Fortress was located and picked up the same day by a British Catalina aicraft (190 Sqdn RAF, pilot S/L J.A. Holmes, DFC), the Catalina crew was located only five days later, but just one survivor was still alive, the others had died of exposure.

At 09.55 hours, an U-boat was attacked by the Catalina in the outer Bay of Biscay. The boat was most probably the inbound U-418, which was lost shortly afterwards without reporting the attack. AA fire hit the bow of the aircraft during the attack run and killed the front gunner and wounded two other crew members, but the pilot carried on and dropped the depth charges. The aircraft made it home but was so "holed" that it sank on landing at Pembroke Dock. Later salvaged.

At 20.50 hours, the Flak boat was attacked by the Sunderland in the Bay of Biscay. The aircraft was hit heavily during the attack run, but managed to drop 5 depth charges before it crashed, killing all 11 crewmen. The explosions extensively damaged U-441 and a crewman had been wounded by strafing, so the boat had to return to base. This was the first success of the Flak boats. 

Could also have been U-413, U-629 or U-740.

Aircraft shot down on the Brest - La Pallice route.

At 12.48 hours, the Sunderland attacked U-448 after obtaining a radar contact near convoy ONS-20. U-281 was nearby and assisted by firing at the aircraft with its AA guns during the first attack run. The four depth charges fell short, so the aircraft turned around for a second attack, exchanging gunfire with both boats. The Sunderland dropped two depth charges on U-448 but was itself badly hit by AA fire from the boat, killing the gunner in the front turret and mortally wounding the navigator. The pilot had to ditch the flying boat in heavy seas near the convoy, but he and two men of his crew were killed in the crash. Seven survivors were picked up by HMS Drury. U-448 was heavily damaged by the last two depth charges and was forced to abort her patrol. Strafing killed one crewman and wounded two. [Oberbootsmaat Fritz Döhler] 

At 00.12 hours, the boat was illuminated by the Hudson with flares after obtaining a radar contact off Oran and subsequently attacked. AA fire hit the aircraft (misidentified as Hampden) during its inital strafing run and killed the pilot. No depth charges were dropped as the front gunner struggled to save the Hudson from crashing. The navigator then flew the aircraft to their base at Tafaraoui, but the four remaining crewmen bailed out and let it crash because they could not land the Hudson safely.
This aircraft was formerly credited with sinking U-602, but was in fact against U-453 inflicting no damage.

At 19.44 hours, the boat was attacked by the Venutra (misidentified as Mosquito) south of Cyprus. The aircraft made a first attack assisted by Leigh Light and dropped four bombs in a second attack, but the port engine caught fire after being hit by AA fire and it was seen by the Germans to crash into the sea about 1000 meters away, killing all four crewmen. The bombs missed on the port side and did not damage the U-boat. 

At 14.40 hours, the outbound boat was attacked by the Sunderland in the Bay of Biscay. AA fire hit the aircraft repeatedly, but the depth charges were right on target and broke U-454 in two. The flying boat tried to ditch due to the damages sustained and crashed, killing the pilot and five crewmen. Six survivors were picked up by HMS Wren of the 2nd Escort Group, while HMS Kite picked up the commander and 13 survivors from the boat.

At 12.00 hours, the inbound boat was attacked by the Whitley northwest of Cape Finisterre. The aircraft (misidentified as Lancaster) made two attack runs dropping four bombs on each run, but without results. The Whitley was hit by AA fire in the second attack and had later to ditch with engine problems. The six crewmen were rescued by a Spanish trawler.

The sinking of U-459
At about 17.15 hours, the Wellington of 172 Squadron surprised and attacked the boat, was hit by heavy AA fire during the approach and crashed into her starboard side! Only the rear gunner Sgt A.A. Turner miraculously survived the crash when his turret broke off on impact and he found himself in the water close to an inflated dinghy. The remaining five crew members were killed. U-459 lost several gunners and most of the AA guns in the crash and to make things worse the crew found three unexploded depth charges on deck when clearing it from wreckage. They decided to roll them into the sea at high speed, but at least one of them exploded and was close enough to disable the steering gear and to cause severe damages to the stern compartments.
At about 17.30 hours, the boat was strafed and attacked with seven depth charges by another British Wellington (547 Sqdn RAF/V, pilot F/O J. Whyte), causing further damages. The commander then ordered the crew to abandon U-459 and then scuttled the boat - apparently choosing to go down with his ship. 41 German survivors and the British survivor were picked up by ORP Orkan after about 8 hours.

At 09.45 hours, the boat was attacked by the Liberator southwest of Dakar. AA fire hit the aircraft several times and set it on fire, but the Liberator continued the attack and dropped six depth charges from the port quarter and then crashed into the sea, killing all 8 crewmen. Two depth charges fell very close and had a devastating effect on the stern of the U-boat, that sank rapidly shortly afterwards. Less than half of the crew managed to abandon ship but many were injuried or poisoned by chlorine gas and drowned or died of exhaustion or shark attacks. Only the commander and six crewmen rescued themselves on a rubber dinghy that floated free from the aircraft wreck and were later picked up by HMS Clarkia on 13 August.

On this day U-481 was attacked by two Il-2 (35. ShAP) in the Narwa Bay in the Baltic. One of the Il-2 was damaged and was later ditched.

The sinking of U-487
At 19.21 hours, the milk cow was attacked by carrier aircraft (VC-13 USN) from USS Core southwest of the Azores after a planned refuelling was reported by ULTRA. An Avenger/Wildcat team, piloted by Lt R.P. Williams and Lt(jg) E.H. Steiger, completely surprised U-487 as some crewmen were seen sun-bathing on deck and no AA fire was experienced during the first attack run. Four depth charges straddled the boat, which stopped in a large oil patch. The Wildcat attempted a second strafing run, but was hit by AA fire and crashed off the port bow, killing the pilot. Two other Wildcats, piloted by LtCdr C.W. Brewer and Lt J.R. Brownstein, arrived at the scene and their strafing attacks made it possible for a second Avenger (Lt(jg) J.F. Schoby) to place four depth charges direct on target. Its explosions lifted U-487 out of the water, broke her back and caused it to sink within a few seconds. 33 survivors were later rescued by USS Barker.

The boat had been damaged the day before and was attacked by the Sunderland soon after 09.00 hours. The aircraft was hit by AA fire during the attack run, dropped its depth charges and crashed into the sea, killing 5 of the 11 crewmen. But also U-489 had been hit mortally and sank slowly shortly thereafter. HMS Castleton and HMS Orwell had observed the attack and picked up the survivors from the aircraft and the U-boat.

The II WO and one lookout from the U-505 were seriously wounded in a surprising air attack out of low clouds by a Hudson aircraft southeast of Trinidad. The aircraft dropped four depth charges and scored a direct hit, but was lost with its five-man crew in the explosion. The boat was damaged heavily and broke off its patrol. 12 days later the wounded II WO was transferred to the Milk Cow U-462.

At 01.16 hours the last message was recieved from the Liberator which reported that they were attacking a U-boat 95 miles north of Cape Penas. A search later showed two oil slicks in the area, one larger than the other, about five miles apart. The aircraft apparently attacked the outbound U-508 and both perished, leaving no survivors. 57 men died from the boat and 10 from the plane. 

Around 11.38 hours, the boat was attacked by the Liberator which escorted the convoy ONS-19. AA fire hit the aircraft during the attack run, set both starboard engines on fire and caused it to crash, killing all 8 crewmen including the CO of the 120 Squadron RAF. The depth charges overshot and caused only minor damages to U-539 and a crewman was slightly wounded by strafing.

U-545 was scuttled after this attack

At 04.53 hours, the inbound boat was attacked by the Leigh Light equipped Liberator in the Bay of Biscay. The aircraft dropped six depth charges, two falling to the starboard and four to the port side of U-546 which was only slightly damaged and escaped further attacks by crash diving. AA fire had hit the Liberator during the attack run and it crashed into the sea 500 meters from the boat, killing all 9 crewmen.

The aircraft was apparently lost with its crew of 10 men after attacking the inbound U-558 with depth charges in the Bay of Biscay. The boat was sunk shortly afterwards in further air attacks. She had been attacked by 5 aircraft within one week, shooting down one and damaging three others. 

At 22.07 hours, the boat fired with its 20mm AA guns at the approaching Liberator (misidentified as Sunderland) east-northeast of Port Said. The Germans observed hits on the aircraft, which passed over the boat without dropping bombs. U-561 then crash-dived, but was again attacked when surfacing at 23.15 hours. Again scoring hits with the AA guns, the Germans observed how the aircraft caught fire, jettisoned the bombs and crashed into the sea. All 7 crewmen were lost. 

At 18.59 hours, a group of five outbound boats (U-185, U-358, U-564, U-634 and U-653) were attacked by the Sunderland northwest of Cape Finisterre. The aircraft singled out U-564, dropped its bombs and crashed in flames after being hit by the intense AA fire, all 11 crew members were killed. The badly damaged boat turned back under escort by U-185, but was sunk by aircraft the next day.

The sinking of U-564
At 14.39 hours, two inbound boats were spotted by the Whitley in the Bay of Biscay and shadowed. U-564 was unable to dive after an air attack the day before and was escorted back to France by U-185. At 16.45 hours, the fuel of the aircraft was running low and the pilot decided to attack U-564. Both boats opened fire and hit the bomber, but its depth charges caused more damages on the boat and she sank at 17.30 hours. The hydraulics and the starboard engine of the Whitley were damaged, so the crew was forced to ditch and ended up as German prisoners after being picked up by a French trawler.

The commander and 17 crewmen were picked up by U-185, which transferred them to the German destroyer Z-24 two hours later and then continued her patrol. The Canadian Hampden aircraft X2961 (415 Sqdn RCAF/S, pilot S/L J.G. Stronach) arrived in the area around the time of the air attack, but was shot down by a German Ju88C fighter (15./KG 40, Hptm Hans Morr) with the loss of all four crewmen. 

At 12.50 hours, the boat crash-dived when attacked by the British Hudson Mk.III V9169 (233 Sqdn RAF, pilot F/S S. Woodward) south of the Balearic Islands. Four depth charges detonated near the bows and forced U-565 with severe damages back to the surface. The gunners immediately scored hits in the tail of the aircraft, so the A/S bomb dropped fell wide. The heavily damaged Hudson then left the area after recieving more hits during its third attack run.
Shortly thereafter another Hudson from the same Squadron arrived at the scene and attacked U-565. Hit by AA fire during its first attack run, the aircraft dropped three depth charges, caught fire and crashed into the sea 500 metres from the boat, which sustained no futher damages in this attack.

Aircraft PV-1. The second shot down during this hunt.

Aircraft PV-1

The aircraft and the boat must have killed each other. No survivors from either side.

The entire aircrew was lost

At 11.14 hours, the boat was attacked by the Catalina astern of convoy QP-14 northeast of Jan Mayen Island. The aircraft was hit by AA fire during the attack run and its four depth charges fell wide, causing only minor damages to the boat. Two crewmen of the Catalina had been wounded and one engine and the petrol tanks were hit, so they had to make a forced landing near the convoy. The crew was rescued by HMS Marne.

An attack in the night on 30/31 Jan, 1944 in the Bay of Biscay west of Bordeaux, France, in position 45.25N, 05.15W, by depth charges from a British Wellington aircraft (Sqdn. 172/K) was formerly credited with sinking U-364.

This attack was in fact against the outbound U-608 inflicting no damages. The boat hit the aircraft with AA fire when it switched on the Leigh Light and escaped by crash-diving. The Wellington did not drop depth charges in the attack and apparently crashed shortly afterwards as witnessed by a Polish Wellington (304 Sqdn RAF/2B, F/S S. Czekaski), but the crash was misinterpreted as exploding depth charges. All six crewmen were lost.

The boat was lost in this massive hunt in the Caribbean. It fought bravely for days against overwhelming odd before finally being sunk.

At 01.25 hours, the boat was attacked in the Bay of Biscay at night by a Wellington aircraft (RAF Sqdn 172/J, pilot F/L L.H. Such), which was hit by AA fire and crashed into the sea, killing the crew of six men.

At 19.25 hours the boat was attacked by the Leigh Light equipped Liberator near the combined convoy SL-139/MKS-30. The aircraft was already hit during the first strafing run and no bombs were dropped, coming around for a second attack it was shot down about 1000 metres behind U-618 by the quadruple 20mm AA gun. All nine crewmen were lost. 

At 13.40 hours, the boat was attacked by the Catalina about 250 miles west of Lisbon. AA fire hit the port side of the aircraft during the attack run, damaging the wing, the engine and a fuel tank and wounding the nose gunner. Due to the damages, only the three depth charges on the starboard side were dropped but did not damage U-642, which crash-dived after the attack and did not observe how the burning Catalina ditched shortly afterwards. Two crewmen were lost in the crash and another died the next day from a heart attack. 7 survivors were picked up after 4 days by HMS Swale and taken to Casablanca.

At 17.45 hours, the boat was attacked by the Sunderland near the combined convoy SL-139/MKS-30. U-648 had been warned by the Naxos reciever and fought off an attack with accurate AA fire. About one hour later the aircraft sent a distress call that they were about to ditch in 42°40N/19°30W. However, the 11 crewmen were never found.

At 14.24 hours, the inbound boat was attacked by the Whitley in the Bay of Biscay. The aircraft dropped four depth charges before it was shot down by AA fire, but did no damage. The entire crew of six men was lost.

At 04.12 hours, the boat was attacked by the Leigh Light equipped Liberator near convoy SL-139. The aircraft was apparently hit by AA fire during the strafing attack and its depth charges fell wide. During the return flight three engines failed and the Liberator had to ditch but only the pilot survived and was picked up by HMS Lincolnshire on 22 November.

At 10.28 hours, the outbound boat was attacked by the Halifax (misidentified as Sunderland) in the Bay of Biscay. The aircraft only strafed the boat in the first attack and recieved several AA hits in a port engine during a second attack attempt. The pilot then apparently lost control when turning for another attack and the Halifax crashed into the sea about 500 metres from the boat, killing the crew of eight.

At 22.18 hours, the boat was attacked by a Leigh Light equipped Wellington which was hit by AA fire during the attack run with depth charges. It was seen flying away with the light still switched on and later a SOS message was heard. The aircraft did not return from patrol and was reported missing with its crew of six.

The boat claimed shot down near Ösel in the Baltic two Soviet planes (one Il-2 and one Pe-2). The U-boat was used as convoy Flak escort at this time.

A Canadian Catalina aircraft (Sqdn 162/T) was shot down. The boat was lost in this attack.

The inbound boat shot down the Wellington (killing all six crewmen) shortly after being severely damaged and left unable to dive by a British Liberator aircraft (224 Sqdn RAF/C, pilot F/L E.W. Lindsay) in the Bay of Biscay. The badly damaged U-736 was later escorted into Lorient by five minesweepers.

The aircraft had located U-737 with radar west of the Lofoten Islands but was hit by AA fire during the initial approach, setting the right outer engine on fire. Nevertheless six depth charges were dropped on the crash-diving U-boat that detonated as close as 10 meters, forcing it to resurface immediately. The Liberator attacked again, but sustained several hits in the intense AA fire - one round hit the nose wounding both navigators and disabling the bomb sight and release gear, so no more depth charges could be dropped. The aircrew managed to put out the fire and jettisoned the remaining weapons. One of the wounded navigators led the aircraft to Skitten, Scotland where the Liberator made a belly landing on two engines and was written off. The pilot was later awarded the DSO and the navigator the DFC for their actions. The damages forced the U-boat to abort the patrol.

At 08.21 hours, the inbound boat was attacked by the Liberator north-northwest of Cape Finisterre. The aircraft was hit by AA fire during the attack run and crashed into the sea, killing the 7 crew members aboard. Depth charges were dropped, but did no damage.

At 22.05 hours, the inbound boat was attacked by the Halifax west of Bordeaux. The aircraft was hit repeatedly by AA fire during the attack run and crashed, killing all 8 crew members.

At 21.22 hours the boat was attacked by the Leigh Light equipped Wellington based on the Azores, escorting the combined convoy SL-140/MKS-31. The aircraft made a strafing run and was hit by AA fire in a second attack. Its subsequent crash was witnessed by U-262 and U-238 which picked up the two survivors F/S Nicolas J. Martin and Sgt Thomas B. Semple as prisoners, the other five crewmen were lost. Semple was the radio operator and later convinced the Germans during his interrogation that the Allied aircraft were able to passively locate the U-boats by homing in on the radar detection devices. This deception led to the order to turn off the Naxos devices.

A Canadian Wellington aircraft (Sqdn 407/E) was shot down on the Brest - La Pallice route.

A British B-24 Liberator aircraft (Sqdn 86/N) was shot down. The attack took place north of the British Isles.

8 men from U-804 were wounded in the action. The air crew was saved by U-1000 on 18 June and taken to Norway for questioning.

The boat was shadowing the convoy ONS-20 about 15 miles south of the ships when they were attacked by the Liberator. AA fire hit both port engines and the depth charges failed to release, but a second Liberator aircraft FL984 (59 Sqdn RAF/S, pilot P/O W.J. Thomas) joined the attack, straddled U-844 with a stick of depth charges and dropped four more on the swirl after the U-boat sank. This Liberator made it back to Iceland despite of being hit by AA fire in the starboard inner engine.

The first Liberator could not release its depth charges in a second attack and the damages soon forced the aircraft to ditch near the convoy. Two crewmen were lost and the remaining five crewmen were all injured but rescued by HMS Pink.

At 04.07 hours, the outbound boat was attacked by the Halifax in the Bay of Biscay. The aircraft was hit by AA fire after illuminating U-846 with three flares and crashed into the sea, killing all 8 crewmen. The attack and subsequent crash was witnessed by the British Liberator BZ873 (53 Sqdn RAF/S, pilot F/L E.B. LeMaistre). 

At 12.21 hours, the boat was attacked by the Avenger from USS Solomons about 575 miles south of St. Helena. The aircraft made four attack runs on the boat, but was shot down by AA fire during its last and crashed into the sea, killing the crew of three men. Its contact report resulted in more air attacks from the carrier, which finally sank U-860.

The sinking of U-860
At 19.22 hours, the boat was located by an Avenger from USS Solomons, which immedately sent reinforcements. Three attacks commenced at 19.46 hours and sank U-860 after 7 minutes. The first was a co-ordinated strafing and rocket attack by two Avengers (LtCdr H.M. Avery and Ens M.J. Spear) and two Wildcats (Ens T.J. Wadsworth and Ens R.E. McMahon). Wadsworth had to return to the carrier due to an AA hit in a drop tank. A similar attack then followed by one Avenger (Lt(jg) D.E. Weigle) and McMahon. Rockets hits were scored in both attacks and another Avenger (Lt(jg) W.F. Chamberlain) now attacked with two depth charges, covered by a strafing run of Avery. AA fire and the explosions of the depth charges directly in front of the conning tower hit the Avenger, which started to burn and ditched into the sea ahead of the boat. U-860 sank after this attack, leaving 30-40 survivors in the water. USS Straub and USS Herzog arrived at the sinking position during the night and managed to pick up 20 German survivors, including the commander, but the crew of three men from the Avenger could not be found.

A British Catalina (Sqdn 265/H) attacked the boat. The boat shot down the aircraft and escaped despite a massive search for it.

At 14.20 hours, the boat was attacked by the Sunderland off Norway while searching for U-476 which had been badly damaged by an aircraft earlier that day. The aircraft was hit by AA fire during the attack run and and crashed into the sea after dropping three depth charges that caused no damage. All 12 crewmen were lost.

A British B-24 Liberator (Sqdn 53/T) was shot down.

At 03.51 hours, the inbound boat was strafed by the Leigh Light equipped Liberator northwest of Cape Finisterre. The aircraft was hit by AA fire during the approach and was observed to crash into the sea with one of the port engines on fire about 600 meters from the boat, exploding on impact and killing all 11 crewmen. Two depth charges and a small bomb dropped by the passing plane fell wide and did no damage to U-993.

The sinking of U-1059
At 07.26 hours, the boat was attacked by an Avenger/Wildcat team from USS Block Island operating on ULTRA reports southwest of the Cape Verde Islands. The aircraft completely suprised U-1059, as she laid stopped and men were seen swimming in the water. While the Wildcat (Lt(jg) W.H. Cole) made a strafing run, the Avenger dropped three depth charges that perfectly straddled the boat. U-1059 began to sink, but the AA gunners scored hits on the Avenger during its second attack run and it crashed into the sea, killing the pilot and one crewman. The mortally wounded pilot had nevertheless dropped two depth charges that sent the boat to the bottom. Ens M.E. Fitzgerald survived the aircraft crash and found himself on a dinghy amidst of German survivors. He helped a wounded survivor but kept the others on distance with his pistol until USS Corry arrived and rescued him and eight German survivors, including the badly wounded commander.

A British Fairey Firefly aircraft (Sqdn 1771) was shot down. The boat was sunk in a follow-up attack.

A British Fairey Firefly aircraft (Sqdn 1771) was shot down. The boat was lost in this mass attack of Fireflies and Barracuda aircraft.

At 11.30 hours, the boat was attacked by Beaufighters south of Egersund, while en route to Bergen escorted by the German minesweeper M-403. 4 Beaufighters of 144 Sqdn RAF carried torpedoes and 4 Beaufighters of 404 Sqdn RCAF acted as flak suppressors. U-1062 was slightly damaged by strafing but the torpedoes missed. The AA fire from both vessels brought down two Beaufighters, killing all four crewmen.

U-1163 and U-771 were being transferred from Stavanger to Kristiansand South, and were proceeding on the surface, accompanied by surface escorts. Mosquitoes E/333 and S/333 (HR126) made the attack. Mosquito S crashed into the sea during the attack, with the loss of Fnr. Axel Reidar Eikemo and Kvm. Claus Harr. The attack took place off Egero, Norway. The boats suffered no damages.

U-boat sunk. 5 of 8 air crew rescued. The captain of the Canso, Flight Lieutenant D.E. Hornell, was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross for his conduct during the attack and afterwards while awaiting rescue in the dinghy.