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Erich Topp's Red Devil
© S. Burbridge
Image courtesy of SubArt.net
U-Boat Operations
Major contributors to this section:
Commanders, Flotillas & Yards —  Fernando Almeida
Ships, General —  Werner Freitag
Ship Details —  David Rayner & Walter Janssens
Detail Consultant —  Horst Schmeisser
Patrols, Fates and Air Attacks —  Howard Cock

U-404Type VIIC
Feldpost NumberM 03 340
Construction YardDanziger Werft AG, Danzig
Yard Number105
Ordered23rd Sep 1939
Keel laid4th Jun 1940
Launched4th Jun 1941
Commissioned6th Aug 1941
BaubelehrungBaubelehrung U-Boote Ostsee, Kiel /
Kriegsschiffbaulehrabteilung für Unterseeboote Ostsee, Kiel
Training, Flotillas and Duties
08.41 - 07.436.U-Flottille, Danzig & St.Nazaire
Ausbildungsboot (under training)
Frontboot (operational)
Commanders
06.08.41 - 19.07.43KL ~ KK Otto von Bülow
see also: U-3 U-2545 
20.07.43 - 28.07.43OL Adolf Schönberg
see also: U-62 

Operations information for U-404
17.01.1942 - 01.02.1942
First Sailing - active patrol
U-404 left Kiel under the command of Otto von Bülow on 17th Jan 1942 and arrived at return on 1st Feb 1942 after just over two weeks.
14.02.1942 - 04.04.1942
Second Sailing - active patrol
On the 14th Feb 1942, U-404 left Lorient under the command of Otto von Bülow and after seven weeks arrived at return on 4th Apr 1942.
Otto von Bülow hit four ships on this patrol, one was from convoy HX-178.
  • On 5th Mar 1942 he sank the American 5,112 ton Collamer, sailing with convoy HX-178.
  • On 13th Mar 1942 he sank the 1,858 ton Tolten.
  • On 14th Mar 1942 he sank the American 7,610 ton Lemuel Burrows.
  • On 17th Mar 1942 he sank the British 8,073 ton San Demetrio.


You can find more about convoy HX-178 at the warsailors.com page on convoy HX-178.
06.05.1942 - 14.07.1942
Third Sailing - active patrol
U-404 departed under Otto von Bülow from Brest on 6th May 1942 and arrived at return on 14th Jul 1942 after nearly ten weeks.
Otto von Bülow hit seven ships on this patrol.
  • On 30th May 1942 he sank the American 5,491 ton Alcoa Shipper.
  • On 1st Jun 1942 he sank the American 5,492 ton West Notus.
  • On 3rd Jun 1942 he sank the Swedish 1,345 ton Anna.
  • On 24th Jun 1942 he sank the Yugoslavian 3,289 ton Ljubica Matkovic.
  • On 25th Jun 1942 he sank the Panamanian 3,845 ton Nordal.
  • On 25th Jun 1942 he sank the American 4,772 ton Manuela.
  • On 27th Jun 1942 he sank the Norwegian 6,827 ton Moldanger.
You can read more about the Norwegian ship listed for this patrol at www.warsailors.com.
Click the link for more information on Moldanger.
23.08.1942 - 13.10.1942
Fourth Sailing - active patrol
U-404 left St. Nazaire under the command of Otto von Bülow on 23rd Aug 1942 and after over seven weeks arrived at return on 13th Oct 1942.
Otto von Bülow hit three ships on this patrol and all of them were in convoy: two were from convoy ON-127 and one was from convoy RB-1.
  • On 11th Sep 1942 he damaged the Norwegian 7,417 ton Marit II, a member of convoy ON-127.
  • On 12th Sep 1942 he damaged the Norwegian 9,272 ton Daghild, part of convoy ON-127.
  • On 26th Sep 1942 he sank the British 1,120 ton HMS Veteran, from convoy RB-1.


You can find more about convoy ON-127 at the warsailors.com page on convoy ON-127. You can read more about the Norwegian ships listed for this patrol at www.warsailors.com.
Click the links for more information on Marit II and Daghild.
21.12.1942 - 06.02.1943
Fifth Sailing - active patrol
On the 21st Dec 1942, U-404 left St. Nazaire under the command of Otto von Bülow and arrived at return on 6th Feb 1943 after more than six weeks.
21.03.1943 - 03.05.1943
Sixth Sailing - active patrol
U-404 departed under Otto von Bülow from St. Nazaire on 21st Mar 1943 and after just over six weeks arrived at return on 3rd May 1943.
On 19th Apr 1943 U-404 came under attack from an unidentified aircraft. U-404 was not damaged by the attack.
Otto von Bülow hit three ships on this patrol and all of them were in convoy: One was from convoy ON-176 and two were from convoy SL-126.
  • On 29th Mar 1943 he sank the British 8,791 ton Nagara, sailing with convoy SL-126.
  • On 30th Mar 1943 he sank the British 7,031 ton Empire Bowman, a member of convoy SL-126.
  • On 12th Apr 1943 he sank the British 1,914 ton Lancastrian Prince, part of convoy ON-176.
24.07.1943 - 28.07.1943
Seventh Sailing
U-404 left St. Nazaire under the command of Adolf Schönberg on 24th Jul 1943 and arrived at return on 28th Jul 1943 after four days.

Notes for U-404


We have 58 crew names for this boat. click here for crew names of U 404
You can perform other crew searches here. Note that the number of names we give possibly includes prior crew members.

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