Events on this day
20 May
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 (0) | Laid down (7) | Launched (3) | Commissioned (5) |
| No U-boat orders on this date | 1935: U-12 1940: U-403 1941: U-615, U-616 1943: U-1023, U-1024 1944: U-2504 | 1942: U-525 1943: U-985, U-986 | 1942: U-465 1943: U-313U-979 1944: U-1057U-1131 |
| 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 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1941 | |||||||
| U-109 | Fischer | Harpagus | 5,173 |  br | HX-126 | ||
| U-111 | Kleinschmidt |  | San Felix (d) | 13,037 | br | OB-322 | |
| U-138 | Gramitzky | | Javanese Prince | 8,593 | br | ||
| U-556 | Wohlfarth | British Security | 8,470 | br | HX-126 | ||
| U-556 | Wohlfarth | Cockaponset | 5,995 | br | HX-126 | ||
| U-556 | Wohlfarth | | Darlington Court | 4,974 | br | HX-126 | |
| U-94 | Kuppisch | | John P. Pedersen | 6,128 |  nw | HX-126 | |
| U-94 | Kuppisch | Norman Monarch | 4,718 | br | HX-126 | ||
| U-98 | Gysae | | Rothermere | 5,356 | br | HX-126 | |
| 1942 | |||||||
| U-108 | Scholtz | Norland | 8,134 | nw | ON-93 | ||
| U-155 | Piening | | Sylvan Arrow | 7,797 |  pa | OT-1 | |
| U-158 | Rostin | | Darina | 8,113 | br | ON-93 | |
| U-431 | Dommes | Eocene | 4,216 | br | AT-46 | ||
| U-506 | Würdemann | | Halo | 6,986 |  am | ||
| U-753 | Manhardt von Mannstein | George Calvert | 7,191 | am | |||
| 1943 | |||||||
| U-197 | Bartels | | Benakat | 4,763 |  nl | ||
| 109,644 | |||||||
| * 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
1943
U-197. The boat was strafed and bombed by an American B-25 Mitchell bomber northeast of Ascension Island. The periscope was damaged and one man wounded by gunfire, who died the next day. [Bootsmaat Viktor Rainer] (Ritschel)
U-boats lost
1943: U-258 +
49 men died when this U-boat was lost. There were no survivors.
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
There were no men lost from U-boats on this date, 20 May.
- For more information on Men lost from U-boats check out this page.
Personnel Information
The following men were born on this day:
Hans-Jürgen Lauterbach-Emden (1919), Siegfried Lüdden (1916), Hans-Harald Speidel (1917).
The following men died on this day:
Wilhelm von Mässenhausen (1943), Hans-Bernhard Michalowski (1941).
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 20 May
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.
1940
Sailed:
From Wilhelmshaven, Germany: U-28
1941
Sailed:
From St. Nazaire, France: U-73
1942
Sailed:
From Bergen, Norway: U-405, U-592
From Lorient, France: U-67, U-129, U-701 (lost 49 days later)
U-boats entering base:
To Kristiansand U-134 (2 days), U-153 (3 days), U-214 (3 days)
To Lorient, France: U-701 (2 days)
To St. Nazaire, France: U-136 (58 days), U-402 (56 days)
1943
Sailed:
From Bergen, Norway: U-467 (lost 6 days later)
From Brest, France: U-435 (lost 51 days later)
From Kiel, Germany: U-667
From Konstanza, Rumania: U-9
From Toulon, France: U-431
U-boats entering base:
To St. Nazaire, France: U-359 (32 days)
1944
Sailed:
From Bergen, Norway: U-344, U-348, U-476 (lost 6 days later)
From Brest, France: U-275, U-441
From Kiel, Germany: U-862
From Kristiansand: U-980
From Narvik, Norway: U-387
From Skjomenfjord: U-742
U-boats entering base:
To Arendal U-247 (3 days)
To Bergen, Norway: U-293 (2 days)
To Egersund U-290 (3 days), U-1000 (3 days)
To Gotenhafen U-1061 (3 days)
To Ramsund, Norway: U-1060 (8 days)
To St. Nazaire, France: U-267 (85 days)
U-boats at sea on 20 May
Boats entering port on this day are not counted, but boats departing for patrol are. (+) indicates the boat was lost during this patrol.
1940
U-8, U-9, U-28, U-37, U-43, U-60, U-62.
7 boats at sea.
1941
U-38, U-43, U-46, U-66, U-69, U-73, U-74, U-93, U-94, U-96, U-97, U-98, U-103, U-105, U-106, U-107, U-109, U-111, U-138, U-556, U-557, UA.
22 boats at sea.
1942
U-66, U-67, U-68, U-69, U-81, U-83, U-86, U-87, U-89, U-94, U-96, U-98, U-103, U-106, U-107, U-108, U-109, U-116, U-124, U-125, U-126, U-128, U-129, U-130, U-135, U-155, U-156, U-157 (+), U-158 (+), U-159, U-161, U-162, U-172, U-201, U-205, U-209, U-213, U-331, U-333, U-373, U-404, U-406, U-431, U-432, U-436, U-455, U-502 (+), U-504, U-506, U-507, U-553, U-558, U-559, U-564, U-565, U-566, U-569, U-578, U-582, U-586, U-588, U-590, U-591, U-593, U-594, U-653, U-701 (+), U-703, U-751, U-752, U-753.
71 boats at sea.
1943
U-9, U-66, U-67 (+), U-91, U-92, U-103, U-105 (+), U-107, U-119 (+), U-123, U-126 (+), U-129, U-154, U-161, U-177, U-178, U-180, U-181, U-190, U-195, U-196, U-197 (+), U-198, U-199 (+), U-202 (+), U-211, U-214, U-217 (+), U-218, U-221, U-223, U-228, U-229, U-230, U-231, U-232 (+), U-251, U-260, U-262, U-264, U-267, U-304 (+), U-305, U-336, U-340, U-354, U-377, U-378, U-383, U-402, U-403, U-405, U-407, U-409, U-413, U-414 (+), U-418 (+), U-431, U-435 (+), U-436 (+), U-448, U-454, U-459, U-460, U-461, U-466, U-467 (+), U-468, U-488, U-504, U-511, U-513 (+), U-514, U-515, U-521 (+), U-525, U-527 (+), U-533, U-552, U-558 (+), U-561, U-569 (+), U-575, U-584, U-603, U-607, U-608, U-614, U-621, U-625, U-634, U-636, U-639, U-641, U-642, U-645, U-650, U-664, U-666, U-667, U-707, U-709, U-731, U-752 (+), U-755 (+), U-760, U-951 (+), U-952, U-953.
109 boats at sea.
1944
U-9, U-23, U-24, U-107, U-129, U-155, U-170, U-178, U-181, U-183, U-188, U-190, U-196, U-198 (+), U-230, U-275, U-289 (+), U-344, U-347, U-348, U-362, U-365, U-385, U-387, U-425, U-441, U-453 (+), U-471, U-476 (+), U-477 (+), U-490 (+), U-505, U-516, U-534, U-537, U-539, U-541, U-543 (+), U-547, U-548, U-549 (+), U-586, U-675 (+), U-719 (+), U-736, U-737, U-742, U-764, U-843, U-853, U-857, U-859 (+), U-860 (+), U-861, U-952, U-955 (+), U-957, U-995, U-1222 (+).
59 boats at sea.
1945
U-530, U-977, U-979 (+), U-1277 (+), U-3008.
5 boats at sea.
General Events on 20 May
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Add more events! - If you know of an interesting event that happened on this day that's missing, or an upcoming event that you'd like to share, please contact us. We already have 782 entries that will appear in due course, so your suggestion may not appear immediately, but we are continuously updating the database.