List of all U-boats
U-107
Type | IXB | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Ordered | 24 May 1938 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Laid down | 6 Dec 1939 | AG Weser, Bremen (werk 970) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Launched | 2 Jul 1940 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Commissioned | 8 Oct 1940 | Kptlt. Günther Hessler | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Commanders |
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| Career 13 patrols |
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| Successes | 37 ships sunk, total tonnage 207,375 GRT 2 auxiliary warships sunk, total tonnage 10,411 GRT 3 ships damaged, total tonnage 17,392 GRT 1 auxiliary warship damaged, total tonnage 8,246 GRT | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Fate |
Sunk on 18 August 1944 in the Bay of Biscay south-west of St. Nazaire, in position 46.46N, 03.49W, by depth charges from a British Sunderland aircraft (201 Sqn RAF/W). 58 dead (all hands lost). | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Wolfpack operations
U-107 operated with the following Wolfpacks during its career:
Störtebecker (5 Nov 1941 - 7 Nov 1941)
Seeräuber (14 Dec 1941 - 23 Dec 1941)
Blücher (23 Aug 1942 - 28 Aug 1942)
Iltis (6 Sep 1942 - 23 Sep 1942)
Hartherz (3 Feb 1943 - 7 Feb 1943)
Delphin (11 Feb 1943 - 14 Feb 1943)
Robbe (16 Feb 1943 - 13 Mar 1943)
Amsel 2 (4 May 1943 - 6 May 1943)
Elbe (7 May 1943 - 10 May 1943)
Elbe 2 (10 May 1943 - 14 May 1943)
Weddigen (24 Nov 1943 - 7 Dec 1943)
Coronel (7 Dec 1943 - 8 Dec 1943)
Coronel 2 (8 Dec 1943 - 14 Dec 1943)
Coronel 3 (14 Dec 1943 - 17 Dec 1943)
Borkum (18 Dec 1943 - 30 Dec 1943)
Attacks on this boat and other events
22 Mar 1943
14.35 hrs, Bay of Biscay, inbound: Whitley bomber A for Apple on A/S patrol from RAF OTU Sqdn 10 sighted the boats wake from a distance of 2.5 miles, but had to lose height before carrying out an attack, making a starboard turn to approach from dead astern and dropping six depth charges set for shallow along the track 20 seconds after the U-boat dived. U-107 had already reached a safe depth and escaped without damage. (Sources: ADM 199/1784)
28 Jul 1943
When sailing from Lorient with another boat both boats were attacked by aircraft but fought off the attack without damage. (Sources: Blair, vol 2, page 387.)
4 Jan 1944
19.34 hours, Bay of Biscay: the inbound boat fought off an attack by a four-engined aircraft. No bombs dropped, one crewman slightly wounded by strafing. (Sources: Ritschel)
7 Jan 1944
Between 00.08 and 01.20 hours, inbound in the Bay of Biscay, U-107 was attacked four times by aircraft identified as Liberators, replying each time with AA fire, while nearby, U-621 fired on an aircraft without herself being attacked at 00.10 hours. All bombs fell astern of U-107, causing no damage.
Three aircraft probably attacked U-107 that night: a Canadian Wellington (407 Sqdn RCAF/J, pilot F/O Jordan), a British Halifax (502 Sqdn RAF/F, pilot F/O J.H. Spurgeon) and a second Halifax (53 Sqdn RAF, pilot F/L E.B.A. Le Maistre, RCAF), which was badly damaged by flak hits to the bomb bay and the control surfaces. (Sources: Franks/Zimmerman)
4 recorded attacks on this boat.
General notes on this boat
29 Mar 1941. At 19:30 hrs on 29 March 1941 U-107 left Lorient, France under the command of Kptlt. Günther Hessler on what would become the most successful U-boat patrol of the entire war. She sailed with U-94, commanded by Kptlt. Kuppisch, but then U-107 turned south.
Her area of operations was around the Canary Islands and nearby Freetown, where she sank 14 ships with a total of 86,699 tons. On 3 and 4 of May U-107 refuelled from the German supply ship Nordmark, together with U-105. Five days later U-107 transferred 14 torpedoes, food, water and more fuel from the supply ship Egerland. U-107 returned to Lorient on 2 July 1941.
Kptlt. Hessler married Karl Dönitz's daughter Ursula in November 1937. At that time he was serving on torpedo boats, but he joined the U-boat force in April 1940. Because Hessler was his son-in-law, Dönitz felt uncomfortable about bestowing the Knights Cross his achievement entitled him to, and eventually Grand Admiral Raeder signed the papers.
Schnorchel-fitted U-boat
This boat was fitted with a Schnorchel underwater-breathing apparatus and sailed equipped with it in May 1944 but it was of course installed prior to that date.
Read more about the Schnorchel and see list of fitted boats.
Men lost from the boat
4 Jan 1944
19.34 hours, Bay of Biscay: the inbound boat fought off an attack by a four-engined aircraft. No bombs dropped, one crewman slightly wounded by strafing.
Related: For more info on such losses see - Men lost from U-boats -
U-boat Emblems
We have 1 emblem entry for this boat. See the emblem page for this boat or view emblems individually below.
 4 Aces - U-107 |
Media links
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There was another U-107 in World War One
That boat was launched from its shipyard on 28 Jun 1917 and commissioned into the Imperial Navy on 18 Aug 1917. The Naval war in WWI was brought to an end with the Armistice signed on 11 Nov, 1918. Read about SM U 107 during WWI.
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