U-Boat Refueling

U-402, 458, 754, 171

by Chuck Myles


Thanks to CHUCK MYLES (1068-1989) for this huge task. Every time a U-Boat took on fuel in any foreign port, on the high seas, from another U-Boat, from some ship -- any way at all that a U-Boat took on fuel CHUCK put it on this list.

U-402 refueled from U-460 on 11 July, 1942. She departed her French base (the 3rd U-Boot-Flotille at La Rochelle) on 16 June and arrived on station off Cape Hatteras about 10 July and took on fuel as shown.

U-402 was attacked by aircraft and damaged on 14 July, then she departed her patrol area and arrived her home port on 5 August, 1942.

U-458 took on fuel from U-460 on 11 July, 1942. She departed her home port (the 3rd U-Boot-Flotille at La Rochelle) on 21 June, 1942 and she arrived off the US East Coast around 10 July and took on fuel as indicated, then proceeded to her patrol area off Cape Hatteras and up the US coast as far as the southern border of Nova Scotia, Canada.

She engaged Convoy ON.113, then went south to Newfoundland and then departed her patrol area and arrived her home port on 26 August, 1942.

U-754 refueled from U-460 on 11 July, 1942. She departed her home port (the 5th U-Boot-Flotille) on 19 June and arriving off the US East Coast around 10 July and took on fuel as shown.

She patrolled off Cape Hatteras then up the coast as far as Nova Scotia.

She engaged Convoy ON.113 on 31 July, 1942 and was sunk during that action by RCAF aircraft of 113 Squadron, all hands (43 men) lost.

U-171 took on fuel from U-460 on 12 July, 1942. She departed her home port (the 10th U-Boot-Flotille at Lorient) on 17 June en route to the Antilles (in the Caribbean). She refueled as indicated, then patrolled the Greater Antilles, into the Gulf of Mexico, south of Cuba, back to the Antilles and the Mona Passage and departed for her home port around 22 September.

She never reached home port, as she struck a mine off Lorient and went down with 22 men lost.

Here's a possible refueling CHUCK will not cover - and I'll bet nobody else has the answer - when U-977 departed Norway for her historic dash in 1945, with a side trip to England and back to Norway, then to Argentina - on how much fuel???


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