Events on this day

16 October

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This is a run-down from several databases on our site. It's meant to give a clear picture of events on this date, all year round.

U-boat Shipyard report

Ordered (28)	Laid down (2)	Launched (3)	Commissioned (8)
1939: U-205, U-206, U-207, U-208, U-209, U-210, U-211, U-212, U-375, U-376, U-377, U-378, U-379, U-380, U-381, U-382, U-405, U-406, U-407, U-408, U-435, U-436, U-437, U-438, U-559, U-560, U-561, U-562	1940: U-458 1941: U-638	1941: U-600 1943: U-319 1944: U-2520	1940: U-145 1941: U-160 U-592 U-703 1942: U-340 1943: U-396 1944: U-2340 U-3506
These are commissioned boats. For more see our Shipyard pages.

Allied Ships hit on this date

	U-boat	Commander	Name of ship	Tons	Country	Convoy
1940
	U-124	Schulz	Trevisa	1,813	ca	SC-7
1941
	U-568	Preuss	Empire Heron	6,023	br	SC-48
1942
	U-129	Witt	Trafalgar	5,542	nw
	U-160	Lassen	Castle Harbour	730	br	TRIN-19
	U-160	Lassen	Winona (d)	6,197	am	TRIN-19
				20,305
* Unless otherwise noted the ships listed here were sunk. (d) = damaged See all Allied ships hit by U-boats during WWII.

Attacks on this day

1941

U-558. 18.25 hrs, mid Atlantic: the boat crash dived on being attacked by a British Catalina flying boat (240 Sqn RAF/U) in the vicinity of convoy SC 48. The single depth charge dropped caused damage to the gyro compass and the stern torpedo tube, but was quickly repaired. (KTB U-558/ADM 237-187)

1942

U-160. After sinking one small ship and damaging a larger one from a small convoy north of Trinidad, the boat escaped an attack by the escorts without significant damage. (Blair, vol 2, page 53.)

1943

U-844. The sinking of U-844
Aircraft attack, aircraft shot down:
British B-24 Liberator FL952 (RAF Sqdn 86/L, pilot F/L E.A. Bland)

The boat was shadowing convoy ONS 20 from a point about 15 miles (24 km) south when the aicraft attacked. Both port engines were hit by flak and the depth charges failed to release, but a second Liberator, FL984 (RAF Sqdn 59/S, pilot P/O W.J. Thomas) joined the attack, straddled U-844 with a stick of depth charges and dropped four more into the wash after the U-boat sank. This Liberator made it back to Iceland despite flak damage to the starboard inner engine.

After its depth charges again failed to release in a second attack, the first Liberator was so badly damaged by flak that it was forced to ditch near the convoy. Two aircrew were lost, and the remaining five were all injured, but were rescued by HMS Pink.

(Franks/Zimmerman)

U-boats lost

1942: U-353
1943: U-470 , U-533 , U-844 +, U-964
1944: U-1006

210 men died when those 6 U-boats were lost on this date. 89 men survived.

Survivors from U-boats almost always landed in allied captivity.
U-boats marked with + were lost with all hands.

- For more information on U-boat losses check out our Fates section.

U-boat Men Lost or Wounded

1943

U-220
Two men were lost overboard in the North Atlantic. [Bootsmaat Georg Koerner, Matrosenobergefreiter Gerhard Lange]. Thus only 54 men were on board when the boat was sunk 12 days later.

- For more information on Men lost from U-boats check out this page.

Personnel Information

The following men were born on this day:
Otto von Bülow (1911), Karl Steffen (1909), Karl-Heinz Wolff (1909).

The following men died on this day:
Günther-Paul Grave (1943), Helmut Hennig (1943), Emmo Hummerjohann (1943), Ernst Mangold (1966), Günther Möller (1943).

See the entire U-boat commander listing showing all U-boat commanders.
We might include more officers (Allied and Axis) at a later date.

U-boat departures and arrivals on 16 October

This section shows the U-boat departures and arrivals from bases on this day of the year. Current country names shown with harbour names. Boats entering port display days at sea during that patrol.

1939

U-boats entering base:
To Kiel, Germany: U-23 (16 days)

1941

Sailed:
From Brest, France: U-202
From Lorient, France: U-84, U-85

U-boats entering base:
To Lorient, France: U-67 (33 days)

1942

U-boats entering base:
To Brest, France: U-217 (95 days), U-558 (80 days)
To Lorient, France: U-118 (28 days)
To Pola U-371 (5 days)

1943

Sailed:
From Bergen, Norway: U-282 (lost 14 days later)
From Kiel, Germany: U-343
From La Pallice: U-466

U-boats entering base:
To St. Nazaire, France: U-666 (47 days)
To Toulon, France: U-223 (33 days)
To Trondheim, Norway: U-960 (3 days)

1944

Sailed:
From Bergen, Norway: U-953
From Marviken: U-722
From Singapur: U-183

U-boats entering base:
To Danzig, Germany: U-637 (4 days)

U-boats at sea on 16 October

Boats entering port on this day are not counted, but boats departing for patrol are. (+) indicates the boat was lost during this patrol.

1939

U-18, U-19, U-20, U-37, U-46, U-47, U-48.
7 boats at sea.

General Events on 16 October

1941

U-204 entered the port of Cadiz, Spain to take on supplies from the German tanker Thalia.

1942

U-353 was the second U-boat to be sunk in the vicinity of convoy SC 104. U-661 had gone down with all hands the day before.

1943

U-231 pulled five men from the water after U-964 was sunk by an aircraft. One, the commander Oblt. z.S. Hummerjohann, was already dead, and a second died some minutes later.

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uboat.net

Commander file

U-boat of the Day

U-boat Finder

Events on this day

16 October

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U-boat Shipyard report

Allied Ships hit on this date

Attacks on this day

1941

1942

1943

U-boats lost

U-boat Men Lost or Wounded

1943

Personnel Information

U-boat departures and arrivals on 16 October

1939

1941

1942

1943

1944

U-boats at sea on 16 October

1939

1940

1941

1942

1943

1944

General Events on 16 October

1941

1942

1943

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