List of all U-boats

U-377

Type

VIIC

 
Ordered16 Oct 1939
Laid down8 Apr 1940 Howaldtswerke AG, Kiel (werk 8)
Launched15 Aug 1941
Commissioned2 Oct 1941Kptlt. Otto Köhler
Commanders
2 Oct 1941 - 2 Aug 1943  Kptlt. Otto Köhler
3 Aug 1943 - 17 Jan 1944  Oblt. Gerhard Kluth
22 Sep 1943 - 10 Oct 1943  Ltn. Ernst-August Gerke
Career
11 patrols
2 Oct 1941-1 Feb 1942  6. Flottille (training)
1 Feb 1942-30 Jun 1942  6. Flottille (active service)
1 Jul 1942-28 Feb 1943  11. Flottille (active service)
1 Mar 1943-17 Jan 1944  9. Flottille (active service)
SuccessesNo ships sunk or damaged
Fate

Sunk on 17 January 1944 in the North Atlantic south-west of Ireland, in position 49.39N, 20.10W, by depth charges from the British destroyer HMS Wanderer and the British frigate HMS Glenarm. 52 dead (all hands lost). (Axel Niestlé, September 2003).

Loss position

View the 11 war patrols

The boat is often listed as sunk by its own acoustic (T5) torpedo on 15 January. This is for example documented in Showell's U-boat Command and the Battle of the Atlantic. The author's father was lost on that boat and thus he has researched its fate considerably. The Kriegsmarine received at least two unsigned but coded emergency messages around this time but at least one of them seems to have been from U-305.

Previously recorded fate

  • Sunk on 15 Jan, 1944 in the North Atlantic, in approximate position 46N, 20W, by one of its circling torpedoes. (Dr. Axel Niestlé, 1998)
  • Sunk 15 Jan, 1944 in the Atlantic by rockets and depth charges from aircraft of the US escort Carrier USS Santee.

    (Postwar assessment)

Wolfpack operations

U-377 operated with the following Wolfpacks during its career:
   Aufnahme (7 Mar 1942 - 11 Mar 1942)
   Blücher (11 Mar 1942 - 18 Mar 1942)
   Bums (6 Apr 1942 - 14 Apr 1942)
   Blutrausch (15 Apr 1942 - 17 Apr 1942)
   Trägertod (12 Sep 1942 - 21 Sep 1942)
   Ritter (11 Feb 1943 - 21 Feb 1943)
   Neptun (22 Feb 1943 - 2 Mar 1943)
   Amsel (22 Apr 1943 - 3 May 1943)
   Amsel 2 (3 May 1943 - 6 May 1943)
   Elbe (7 May 1943 - 10 May 1943)
   Elbe 2 (10 May 1943 - 14 May 1943)
   Leuthen (15 Sep 1943 - 22 Sep 1943)
   Borkum (24 Dec 1943 - 3 Jan 1944)
   Borkum 3 (3 Jan 1944 - 13 Jan 1944)
   Rügen (13 Jan 1944 - 17 Jan 1944)

Attacks on this boat and other events

22 Sep 1943
On 22 Sept a British B-24 Liberator (Sqdn 10) attacked U-377, wounding the commander. The boat had to return to port under the command of the I WO.

U-377 on arrival at Brest. The wounded commander, Oblt.z.S. Kluth is wearing a white cap, standing to the left of the flotilla commander

1 recorded attack on this boat.

Men lost from the boat

22 Sep 1943
On 22 Sept a British B-24 Liberator (Sqdn 10) attacked U-377, wounding the commander. The boat had to return to port under the command of the I WO.


U-377 on arrival at Brest. The wounded commander, Oblt.z.S. Kluth is wearing a white cap, standing to the left of the flotilla commander

  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.


The Laughing Sawfish - 9th Flotilla

Media links


German U-Boat Losses During World War II

Niestle, Axel


Hitler's U-boat War, Vol II

Blair, Clay


U-Boat Operations of the Second World War - Vol 1

Wynn, Kenneth


U-Boat Commanders and Crews 1935-1945

Showell, Jak P. Mallmann


amazon.com
($ 60.00)


Hitler's U-boat War

Blair, Clay




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