Events on this day
4 November
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 (12) | Laid down (2) | Launched (6) | Commissioned (6) |
| 1940: U-189, U-190, U-191, U-192, U-193, U-194, U-195, U-196, U-197, U-198, U-199, U-200 | 1942: U-1191, U-1192 | 1936: U-36 1942: U-235 1943: U-1200, U-1201 1944: U-3515, U-3516 | 1939: U-44 1941: U-509 1942: U-416 1943: U-1000U-1195 1944: U-2518 |
| 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 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1940 | |||||||
| U-99 | Kretschmer |  | HMS Patroclus | 11,314 |  br | ||
| 1942 | |||||||
| U-126 | Bauer | Oued Grou | 792 | br | |||
| U-132 | Vogelsang | | Empire Lynx | 6,379 | br | SC-107 | |
| U-132 | Vogelsang | | Hatimura (d) | 6,690 | br | SC-107 | |
| U-132 | Vogelsang | | Hobbema | 5,507 |  nl | SC-107 | |
| U-178 | Ibbeken | Hai Hing | 2,561 |  nw | |||
| U-178 | Ibbeken | | Trekieve | 5,244 | br | ||
| U-354 | Herbschleb | | William Clark | 7,176 |  am | ||
| U-442 | Hesse | | Hatimura | 6,690 | br | SC-107 | |
| U-89 | Lohmann | | Daleby | 4,640 | br | SC-107 | |
| 56,993 | |||||||
| * 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
1943
U-333. While hunting a KMS convoy bound for Gibraltar, U-333 surfaced in heavy fog and soon found the convoy, but was driven under by a destroyer and heavily depth charged. Once again, she escaped. (Blair, vol 2, page 447)
U-boats lost
1942: U-132 +
47 men died when this U-boat was lost. There were no survivors.
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
1942
U-197
Obermaschinist Alfred Wernicke died following an accident in Kiel.
- For more information on Men lost from U-boats check out this page.
Personnel Information
The following men died on this day:
Adalbert Schnee (1982), Ernst Vogelsang (1942).
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 4 November
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.
1939
Sailed:
From Kiel, Germany: U-60
1941
Sailed:
From Brest, France: U-81
From St. Nazaire, France: U-433
1942
Sailed:
From Hamburg, Germany: U-657
From Skjomenfjord: U-611 (lost 35 days later), U-625
From St. Nazaire, France: U-596
U-boats entering base:
To Brest, France: U-443 (35 days)
To La Spezia, Italy: U-431 (37 days)
To St. Nazaire, France: U-356 (63 days), U-459 (79 days)
1943
Sailed:
From Bergen, Norway: U-269, U-712
From Kiel, Germany: U-541
From Trondheim, Norway: U-355, U-625
U-boats entering base:
To Konstanza, Rumania: U-24 (16 days)
To Narvik, Norway: U-956 (43 days)
To Salamis, Greece: U-565 (13 days)
1944
Sailed:
From Horten, Norway: U-294
From Kiel, Germany: U-1276
From Stavanger, Norway: U-267
From Trondheim, Norway: U-296
U-boats entering base:
To Narvik, Norway: U-1163 (3 days)
U-boats at sea on 4 November
Boats entering port on this day are not counted, but boats departing for patrol are. (+) indicates the boat was lost during this patrol.
1939
U-21, U-23, U-25, U-26, U-33, U-34, U-37, U-46, U-53, U-56, U-57, U-58, U-59, U-60, U-61.
15 boats at sea.
1940
U-28, U-29, U-47, U-65, U-99, U-124, U-137.
7 boats at sea.
1941
U-38, U-66, U-68, U-69, U-73, U-74, U-77, U-81, U-82, U-84, U-85, U-93, U-96, U-98, U-101, U-103, U-106, U-107, U-109, U-123, U-124, U-125, U-126, U-129, U-133, U-201, U-202, U-203, U-205, U-208, U-332, U-373, U-374, U-402, U-434 (+), U-502, U-552, U-561, U-565, U-567, U-568, U-569, U-571, U-572, U-573, U-576, U-577, U-652, U-751, UA.
50 boats at sea.
1942
U-24, U-43, U-67, U-68, U-69, U-71, U-73, U-77, U-81, U-84, U-86, U-87, U-89, U-91, U-92, U-98 (+), U-103, U-106, U-107, U-108, U-117, U-125, U-126, U-128, U-129, U-130, U-134, U-154, U-156, U-159, U-160, U-161, U-163, U-172, U-173 (+), U-174, U-177, U-178, U-181, U-183, U-185, U-203, U-205, U-212, U-218, U-224, U-260, U-263, U-264, U-301, U-332, U-334, U-354, U-377, U-381, U-383, U-402, U-407, U-408 (+), U-409, U-413, U-436, U-437, U-438, U-440, U-441, U-442, U-454, U-458, U-462, U-463, U-504, U-505, U-506, U-508, U-509, U-510, U-511, U-514, U-516, U-518, U-519, U-521, U-522, U-552, U-563, U-564, U-565, U-566, U-571, U-572, U-575, U-586, U-590, U-593, U-595 (+), U-596, U-602, U-604, U-605 (+), U-606, U-608, U-611 (+), U-613, U-617, U-620, U-621, U-622, U-624, U-625, U-653, U-659, U-660 (+), U-662, U-664, U-704, U-706, U-752, U-753, U-755, UD-3, UD-5.
122 boats at sea.
1943
U-9, U-18, U-23, U-68, U-91, U-103, U-123, U-129, U-154, U-155, U-168, U-170, U-190, U-193, U-211 (+), U-212, U-214, U-218, U-219, U-226 (+), U-228, U-231, U-256, U-262, U-267, U-269, U-280 (+), U-281, U-307, U-309, U-333, U-343, U-354, U-358, U-360, U-373, U-380, U-387, U-391 (+), U-413, U-424, U-426, U-437, U-441, U-450, U-453, U-455, U-466, U-488, U-505, U-510, U-516, U-518, U-530, U-536 (+), U-537, U-538 (+), U-541, U-542 (+), U-552, U-575, U-586, U-592, U-593, U-608, U-625, U-642, U-648 (+), U-707 (+), U-709, U-714, U-762, U-764, U-842 (+), U-843, U-848 (+), U-849 (+), U-953, U-962, U-963, U-966 (+), U-967, U-969.
83 boats at sea.
1944
U-170, U-181, U-195, U-219, U-246, U-262, U-290, U-293, U-295, U-296, U-300, U-310, U-312, U-315, U-318, U-322, U-363, U-365, U-387, U-396, U-425, U-427, U-475, U-479 (+), U-481, U-483, U-541, U-546, U-636, U-668, U-679 (+), U-680, U-722, U-771 (+), U-773, U-802, U-806, U-956, U-958, U-965, U-968, U-978, U-991, U-992, U-995, U-997, U-1003, U-1199, U-1200 (+), U-1202, U-1221, U-1223, U-1227, U-1228, U-1230, U-1231.
56 boats at sea.
General Events on 4 November
1939
U-21 laid nine mines in the Firth of Forth, which later resulted in the sinking of two ships and badly damaged the light cruiser HMS Belfast.
U-23 laid nine mines in the North Sea off Cromarty Firth, Scotland, but without result.
1941
U-81 sailed from Brest, but returned some hours later after discovering there were no charts for their operational area on board.
1942
The IWO (1st Watch Officer) of U-108 fell overboard in heavy seas, but was retrieved within fifteen minutes.
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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 783 entries that will appear in due course, so your suggestion may not appear immediately, but we are continuously updating the database.