1943

U-731. The target of the depth chage attack on 19 May 1943 SE of Cape Farewell, Greenland in position 55.09N, 35.18W by a British B-24 Liberator bomber (Sqdn. 120/T), formerly credited with sinking U-954, was in fact U-731, which escaped unscathed. (1991-10-01, FDS/NHB)

U-952. The frigate HMS Tay (Cmdr. R. E. Sherwood) depth charged the boat near convoy SC 130. Severe damage forced U-952 to return to port, arriving 31 May. (Blair, vol 2, page 334)

U-198. 20.58 hrs: a British Catalina flying boat (RAF Sqn 262/J) dropped five bombs on the boat. No damage. The aircraft was damaged by flak and had to return to base on one engine. (Rohwer/Ritschel)

160 men died when those 4 U-boats were lost on this date. 34 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.

1945

U-873
Former commander Kptlt. Friedrich Steinhoff committed suicide while being kept in jail in Boston, USA instead of a POW camp.

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

The following men were born on this day:
Horst Creutz (1915), Hans Oestermann (1913), Rudolf Schultze (1922), Heinz Walkerling (1915), Günther Zedelius (1915), Herbert Zoller (1919).

The following men died on this day:
Carl Borm (1995), Uwe Kock (1965), Odo Loewe (1943), Hermann Rossmann (1943), Friedrich Steinhoff (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.

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 Kiel, Germany: U-8

U-boats entering base:
To Trondheim, Norway: U-122 (4 days)

1942

Sailed:
From Brest, France: U-701
From Kiel, Germany: U-134
From St. Nazaire, France: U-87

U-boats entering base:
To Brest, France: U-654 (60 days)

1943

Sailed:
From Narvik, Norway: U-703
From Toulon, France: U-458

U-boats entering base:
To Brest, France: U-628 (42 days), U-648 (47 days)
To Narvik, Norway: U-703 (2 days)
To St. Nazaire, France: U-662 (58 days)

1944

Sailed:
From Arendal: U-293, U-719 (lost 39 days later)
From Trondheim, Norway: U-673

U-boats entering base:
To Arendal U-480 (2 days)
To Kristiansand U-980 (2 days)
To Larvik U-1165 (2 days)
To St. Nazaire, France: U-667 (73 days)

1945

U-boats entering base:
To Loch Eriboll, UK U-278 (5 days), U-294 (5 days), U-295 (5 days), U-312 (5 days), U-313 (5 days), U-318 (5 days), U-363 (2 days), U-427 (5 days), U-481 (5 days), U-668 (5 days), U-716 (5 days), U-968 (5 days), U-992 (5 days), U-997 (5 days), U-1165 (5 days)
To Portsmouth, USA U-234 (34 days)

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-37, U-43, U-60, U-62.
6 boats at sea.

1941

U-38, U-43, U-46, U-66, U-69, 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.
21 boats at sea.

1942

U-66, 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-130, U-134, U-135, U-136, U-153, 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-214, U-331, U-333, U-373, U-402, 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-703, U-751, U-752, U-753.
73 boats at sea.

1943

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-258 (+), U-260, U-262, U-264, U-267, U-304 (+), U-305, U-336, U-340, U-354, U-359, U-377, U-378, U-383, U-402, U-403, U-405, U-407, U-409, U-413, U-414 (+), U-418 (+), U-436 (+), U-448, U-454, U-459, U-460, U-461, U-466, 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-707, U-709, U-731, U-752 (+), U-755 (+), U-760, U-951 (+), U-952, U-953.
106 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-267, U-289 (+), U-347, U-362, U-365, U-385, U-425, U-453 (+), U-471, 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-764, U-843, U-853, U-857, U-859 (+), U-860 (+), U-861, U-952, U-955 (+), U-957, U-995, U-1060, U-1222 (+).
54 boats at sea.

1945

U-530, U-963, U-977, U-979 (+), U-1277 (+), U-3008.
6 boats at sea.

1940

On her first patrol in May 1940 U-122 transported material to Trondheim for the Norwegian campaign: one 8.8 cm anti-aircraft gun with ammunition, bombs, 90 cbm (some 750 barrels) aviation fuel and motor oil.

1943

On 19 May 1943 U-954 was sunk in the North Atlantic. Among the crew of 47 lost was Admiral Dönitz's youngest son, Peter.

1944

On this day U-1014 rammed her sister boat U-1015 in the Baltic west of Pillau, sinking her with the loss of 36 men (14 survived).

---

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.