Events on this day
16 April
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 (5) | Commissioned (1) |
| No U-boat orders on this date | 1938: U-121 1940: U-437 1942: U-424, U-716 1943: U-1018, U-1102 1944: U-3502 | 1941: U-701 1942: U-223 1943: U-366, U-745, U-746 | 1942: U-618 |
| 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 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1942 | |||||||
| U-403 | Clausen | Empire Howard | 6,985 |  br | PQ-14 | ||
| U-572 | Hirsacker |  | Desert Light | 2,368 |  pa | ||
| U-575 | Heydemann | | Robin Hood | 6,887 |  am | ||
| U-66 | Zapp | | Amsterdam | 7,329 |  nl | ||
| U-81 | Guggenberger | Bab el Farag | 105 |  ag | |||
| U-81 | Guggenberger | | Caspia | 6,018 | br | ||
| U-81 | Guggenberger | Fatouh el Kher | 97 | ag | |||
| U-81 | Guggenberger | | FFL Vikings (P 41) | 1,150 |  fr | ||
| 1944 | |||||||
| U-407 | Korndörfer | | Meyer London | 7,210 | am | UGS-37 | |
| U-407 | Korndörfer | Thomas G. Masaryk total loss | 7,176 | am | UGS-37 | ||
| U-550 | Hänert | | Pan Pennsylvania | 11,017 | am | CU-21 | |
| 1945 | |||||||
| U-1274 | Fitting | | Athelduke | 8,966 | br | FS-1784 | |
| U-190 | Reith | | HMCS Esquimalt (J 272) | 590 |  ca | ||
| 65,898 | |||||||
| * 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
1940
U-3. The British submarine HMS Porpoise fired six torpedoes at U-3 about 10 miles southwest of Egersund, Norway and heard a detonation, which was in fact a G7a torpedo fired at HMS Porpoise by the U-boat which had missed and detonated at the end of its run.
It was believed for many years that Porpoise had sunk U-1. U-3 escaped unscathed.
1943
U-209. A British Fying Fortress aircraft (RAF Sqn 220/T) dropped six depth charges on the boat southeast of Iceland, damaging the periscope. (Rohwer/Ritschel)
1944
U-667. The boat fired a torpedo at a "destroyer escort" from a hunter-killer group which missed, and was then hunted by the same group for 12 hours before managing to slip away. (Blair, vol 2, page 510)
U-boats lost
1944: U-550
1945: U-78 , U-880 +, U-1274 +
137 men died when those 4 U-boats were lost on this date. 12 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
There were no men lost from U-boats on this date, 16 April.
- For more information on Men lost from U-boats check out this page.
Personnel Information
The following men were born on this day:
Wilhelm Dommes (1907), Hans-Hermann Pelkner (1909), Karl-Adolf Schlitt (1918), Gerhard Schötzau (1917), Reinhard Suhren (1916), Hans-Rutger Tillessen (1913).
The following men died on this day:
Hans-Hermann Fitting (1945), Heinrich Miede (1945), Friedrich-Hermann Praetorius (1956), Gerhard Schötzau (1945).
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 April
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 Kristiansand: U-21
1941
Sailed:
From Kiel, Germany: U-147
1942
Sailed:
From St. Nazaire, France: U-455
U-boats entering base:
To St. Nazaire, France: U-437 (13 days)
1943
U-boats entering base:
To Brest, France: U-86 (52 days)
To Hammerfest, Norway: U-625 (31 days)
To Lorient, France: U-510 (91 days), U-523 (67 days)
1944
Sailed:
From Bergen, Norway: U-955 (lost 53 days later)
From Bogenbucht: U-739
From Marviken: U-1222 (lost 87 days later)
From Narvik, Norway: U-307
U-boats entering base:
To St. Nazaire, France: U-766 (25 days)
1945
Sailed:
From Kiel, Germany: U-251 (lost 4 days later), U-320
From Kilbotn: U-312
From Kristiansand: U-234
From Narvik, Norway: U-307 (lost 14 days later)
U-boats entering base:
To Horten, Norway: U-1057 (5 days)
U-boats at sea on 16 April
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-3, U-5, U-6, U-7, U-9, U-10, U-13, U-14, U-17, U-19, U-23, U-24, U-25, U-26, U-30, U-34, U-37, U-38, U-43, U-46, U-47, U-48, U-51, U-52, U-56, U-57, U-58, U-59, U-60, U-61, U-62, U-65.
32 boats at sea.
1941
U-38, U-52, U-65 (+), U-73, U-75, U-94, U-95, U-96, U-101, U-103, U-105, U-106, U-107, U-108, U-110 (+), U-123, U-124, U-147, U-552, UA.
20 boats at sea.
1942
U-66, U-69, U-71, U-81, U-83, U-84, U-86, U-97, U-98, U-103, U-106, U-108, U-109, U-123, U-125, U-130, U-136, U-154, U-160, U-162, U-201, U-202, U-203, U-209, U-331, U-333, U-352 (+), U-373, U-376, U-377, U-378, U-402, U-403, U-406, U-435, U-436, U-453, U-454, U-455, U-456, U-459, U-505, U-506, U-507, U-552, U-558, U-561, U-562, U-564, U-565, U-566, U-571, U-572, U-575, U-576, U-582, U-589, U-590, U-592, U-594, U-654, U-751, U-752, U-754, UA.
65 boats at sea.
1943
U-19, U-68, U-71, U-84, U-92, U-97, U-105 (+), U-108, U-117, U-123, U-125 (+), U-126 (+), U-128 (+), U-129, U-134, U-154, U-155, U-159, U-160, U-161, U-168, U-172, U-174 (+), U-175 (+), U-176 (+), U-177, U-178, U-180, U-181, U-182 (+), U-183, U-185, U-188, U-189 (+), U-191 (+), U-192 (+), U-195, U-196, U-197 (+), U-198, U-203 (+), U-209 (+), U-223, U-226, U-229, U-231, U-251, U-255, U-257, U-258 (+), U-260, U-262, U-264, U-266 (+), U-267, U-269, U-270, U-302, U-306, U-355, U-358, U-371, U-375, U-377, U-378, U-381 (+), U-382, U-386, U-404, U-413, U-415, U-438 (+), U-453, U-455, U-462, U-463, U-467, U-487, U-506, U-509, U-514, U-515, U-516, U-518, U-525, U-528 (+), U-530, U-531 (+), U-532, U-533, U-552, U-563, U-565, U-571, U-572, U-584, U-586, U-592, U-593, U-598, U-601, U-602 (+), U-610, U-613, U-614, U-615, U-617, U-618, U-628, U-629, U-630 (+), U-631, U-634, U-639, U-646, U-648, U-662, U-706, U-707, U-709, U-710 (+), U-711, U-732, U-954 (+).
124 boats at sea.
1944
U-18, U-19, U-23, U-66 (+), U-92, U-123, U-129, U-154, U-155, U-170, U-178, U-181, U-188, U-190, U-196, U-214, U-218, U-230, U-262, U-267, U-277 (+), U-307, U-311 (+), U-333, U-342 (+), U-361, U-365, U-385, U-407, U-473, U-488 (+), U-505, U-518, U-532, U-537, U-541, U-543 (+), U-546, U-548, U-552, U-565, U-596, U-621, U-636, U-667, U-672, U-703, U-716, U-736, U-739, U-740, U-741, U-765 (+), U-802, U-843, U-852 (+), U-859 (+), U-860 (+), U-955 (+), U-967, U-969, U-970, U-993, U-1060, U-1062, U-1222 (+).
66 boats at sea.
1945
U-190, U-218, U-234, U-244, U-245, U-249, U-251 (+), U-278, U-293, U-294, U-295, U-307 (+), U-312, U-315, U-320, U-325 (+), U-326 (+), U-398 (+), U-427, U-481, U-485, U-510, U-516, U-518 (+), U-530, U-532, U-541, U-546 (+), U-548 (+), U-636 (+), U-668, U-711, U-739, U-776, U-805, U-825, U-826, U-853 (+), U-857 (+), U-858, U-861, U-873, U-879 (+), U-881 (+), U-889, U-901, U-956, U-978, U-979 (+), U-1009, U-1010, U-1017 (+), U-1023, U-1055 (+), U-1105, U-1107 (+), U-1163, U-1202, U-1228, U-1305, U-2322, U-2324, U-2329.
63 boats at sea.
General Events on 16 April
1945
Convoy JW 66 sailed from the Clyde, the last Murmansk convoy of the war.
---
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.
