Hi Captain Moraes,

Over the course of the war the number of crew on a given U-boat changed for a number of reasons. For example, as the war progressed more AA guns were fitted and more men were needed to operate them and to pass ammo up to them etc. When other new equipment was installed (like radar) a new operator might be added to the crew to operate or repair it etc. Some missions required additional crew and sometimes specialists were carried for a specific mission like weather monitoring/reporting etc. Additionally, officers in training were sometimes carried just to give them some experience. I recently read of a case where two young officers were carried aboard a U-boat "to determine their suitability for U-boat service" when that U-boat was sunk. They both survived the sinking. Doctors were added to some boats as the war progressed too. Then there were the combat photographers that were carried sometimes. Lastly, there were a few cases of spies to be landed.

I also think that there may have been a Luftwaffe officer carried on one or more U-boats that operated against the convoys to Russia as they worked directly with a "spotter" aircraft which helped them find their targets for a while.

Regards,

Ken Dunn