List of all U-boats

U-601

Type

VIIC

 
Ordered22 May 1940
Laid down10 Feb 1941 Blohm & Voss, Hamburg (werk 577)
Launched29 Oct 1941
Commissioned18 Dec 1941Oblt. Peter-Ottmar Grau
Commanders
18 Dec 1941 - 28 Nov 1943  Kptlt. Peter-Ottmar Grau (German Cross in Gold)
29 Nov 1943 - 25 Feb 1944  Oblt. Otto Hansen
Career
10 patrols
18 Dec 1941-30 Jun 1942  5. Flottille (training)
1 Jul 1942-31 May 1943  11. Flottille (active service)
1 Jun 1943-25 Feb 1944  13. Flottille (active service)
Successes4 ships sunk, total tonnage 8,869 GRT
Fate

Sunk on 25 February 1944 in the Norwegian Sea north-west of Narvik, Norway, in position 70.26N, 12.40E, by depth charges from a British Catalina aircraft (210 Sqn RAF/M). 51 dead (all hands lost).

Loss position

See the 4 ships hit by U-601 - View the 10 war patrols

Wolfpack operations

U-601 operated with the following Wolfpacks during its career:
   Boreas (19 Nov 1942 - 6 Dec 1942)
   Wiking (20 Sep 1943 - 3 Oct 1943)
   Eisenbart (19 Dec 1943 - 5 Jan 1944)
   Isegrim (16 Jan 1944 - 27 Jan 1944)
   Werwolf (27 Jan 1944 - 1 Feb 1944)

General notes on this boat

26 Jul 1942. At night U-601 entered Moller Bay in order to attack a radio station discovered two days earlier at Malye Karmakuly, Novaya Zemlya. It fired 44 shells from the 88mm deck gun and 280 rounds with the 20mm AA guns between 23.21 and 23.40 hours, destroying the radio station, three shelters, two storage sheds and two GST flying boats lying at anchor. Soviet soldiers initially returned fire and hit the U-boat once in the conning tower fairing, but were soon silenced. An aircraft mechanic was killed and four other men wounded during the shelling. U-601 ceased the attack after running slightly aground in an attempt to fire at a small sailing vessel sheltered behind rocks.

Men lost from the boat

4 May 1943
The II WO on U-601 was killed in a machine gun misfire.

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

U-boat Emblems

We have 2 emblem entries for this boat. See the emblem page for this boat or view emblems individually below.


Shield

Coat of Arms of Hamburg

Media links


German U-Boat Losses During World War II

Niestle, Axel


Hitler's U-boat War, Vol II

Blair, Clay


U-Boat Operations of the Second World War - Vol 2

Wynn, Kenneth


Hitler's U-boat War

Blair, Clay




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