Events on this day
16 January
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 (16) | Laid down (1) | Launched (3) | Commissioned (6) |
| 1940: U-455, U-456, U-457, U-458, U-587, U-588, U-589, U-590, U-591, U-592, U-593, U-594, U-595, U-596, U-597, U-598 | 1940: U-651 | 1943: U-220, U-281, U-763 | 1936: U-19 1943: U-278U-736 1945: U-2358U-2359U-2524 |
| 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-30 [Mine] | Lemp |  | Gracia (d) | 5,642 |  br | OB-72 | |
| U-33 [Mine] | Dresky | Inverdargle | 9,456 | br | |||
| U-44 | Mathes | | Panachrandos | 4,661 |  gr | ||
| 1941 | |||||||
| U-96 | Lehmann-Willenbrock | | Oropesa | 14,118 | br | ||
| 1942 | |||||||
| U-402 | Forstner | | Llangibby Castle (d) | 11,951 | br | WS-15 | |
| U-86 | Schug | Toorak (d) | 8,627 | br | ON-52 | ||
| 1944 | |||||||
| U-20 | Grafen | | Vaijan Kutur’e total loss | 7,602 |  sj | ||
| U-960 | Heinrich | | Sumner I. Kimball | 7,176 |  am | ON-219 | |
| 1945 | |||||||
| U-956 | Mohs | | Dejatelnyj | 1,190 | sj | KB-1 | |
| 70,423 | |||||||
| * 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
1942
U-123. 00.01 hrs, off New York: the boat was surprised by an aircraft which dropped four bombs. All missed, and U-123 escaped undamaged by crash-diving. (KTB U-123)
1945
On 16 Jan, 1945 in the Northern Channel, in position 55.30N, 05.53W, the British sloops HMS Peacock, HMS Starling, HMS Hart and HMS Amethyst and the British frigate HMS Loch Craggie depth charged a contact.
This attack was actually directed against a nonsub target. This was believed to have sunk U-482 but later revised.
U-boats lost
1944: U-305 +, U-544 +
1945: U-248 +
155 men died when those 3 U-boats were lost on this date. 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
There were no men lost from U-boats on this date, 16 January.
- For more information on Men lost from U-boats check out this page.
Personnel Information
The following men were born on this day:
Hans-Ludwig Gaude (1916), Wilhelm von Mässenhausen (1915), Prosper Ohlsen (1918), Günther Prien (1908), Werner Sass (1916).
The following men died on this day:
Rudolf Bahr (1944), Klaus Euler (1969), Johann-Friedrich Loos (1945), Willy Mattke (1944), Gustav Poel (2009).
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 16 January
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.
1940
Sailed:
From Kiel, Germany: U-9, U-55 (lost 15 days later), U-57
U-boats entering base:
To Wilhelmshaven, Germany: U-20 (11 days)
1943
Sailed:
From Kristiansand: U-358
From La Pallice: U-262, U-553 (lost 5 days later)
From Lorient, France: U-156 (lost 52 days later), U-510
From St. Nazaire, France: U-465, U-609 (lost 22 days later)
U-boats entering base:
To Lorient, France: U-167 (27 days)
1944
Sailed:
From Lorient, France: U-66 (lost 112 days later)
From Narvik, Norway: U-737
From Trondheim, Norway: U-277
U-boats entering base:
To Bergen, Norway: U-387 (5 days)
To Hammerfest, Norway: U-716 (33 days)
1945
Sailed:
From Bergen, Norway: U-963
From Bogenbucht: U-992
From Farsund: U-1276
From Kiel, Germany: U-1022, U-1064
From Kilbotn: U-739
From Kristiansand: U-1208 (lost 40 days later)
From Narvik, Norway: U-295
U-boats entering base:
To Singapore, Singapore: U-181 (3 days)
To Stavanger, Norway: U-979 (69 days)
U-boats at sea on 16 January
Boats entering port on this day are not counted, but boats departing for patrol are. (+) indicates the boat was lost during this patrol.
1940
U-9, U-15, U-22, U-25, U-30, U-31, U-32, U-34, U-44, U-55 (+), U-57, U-59, U-60, U-61.
14 boats at sea.
1941
U-38, U-93, U-94, U-96, U-105, U-106, U-123, U-124.
8 boats at sea.
1942
U-43, U-66, U-71, U-73, U-82 (+), U-84, U-85, U-86, U-87, U-94, U-97, U-103, U-106, U-107, U-108, U-109, U-123, U-125, U-128, U-130, U-132, U-133, U-134, U-135, U-203, U-205, U-331, U-333, U-352, U-402, U-454, U-455, U-504, U-552, U-553, U-561, U-566, U-568, U-571, U-572, U-575, U-578, U-581 (+), U-582, U-585, U-586, U-587, U-588, U-591, U-654, U-656, U-701, U-751, U-754.
54 boats at sea.
1943
U-43, U-66, U-69 (+), U-71, U-83, U-87 (+), U-96, U-105, U-109, U-117, U-123, U-124, U-125, U-134, U-156 (+), U-160, U-175, U-176, U-177, U-181, U-182 (+), U-186, U-187 (+), U-201 (+), U-202, U-205, U-214, U-217, U-218, U-223, U-226, U-257, U-258, U-260, U-262, U-264, U-266, U-267, U-268 (+), U-302, U-303, U-333, U-358, U-381, U-383, U-384, U-402, U-403, U-404, U-413, U-414, U-431, U-436, U-438, U-440, U-441, U-442 (+), U-444, U-453, U-455, U-456, U-459, U-463, U-465, U-466, U-506, U-509, U-510, U-511, U-514, U-516, U-518, U-521, U-522 (+), U-525, U-553 (+), U-558, U-571, U-572, U-575, U-584, U-594, U-598, U-606 (+), U-607, U-609 (+), U-613, U-614, U-617, U-618, U-620 (+), U-622, U-624 (+), U-625, U-629, U-631, U-632, U-662, U-704, U-706, U-707, U-752.
102 boats at sea.
1944
U-19, U-20, U-24, U-66 (+), U-92, U-123, U-129, U-177 (+), U-178, U-188, U-193, U-212, U-257 (+), U-260, U-270, U-271 (+), U-278, U-281, U-283 (+), U-302, U-309, U-311, U-343, U-360, U-364 (+), U-377 (+), U-380, U-382, U-386 (+), U-390, U-392, U-406 (+), U-425, U-453, U-455, U-471, U-510, U-516, U-530, U-532, U-539, U-543, U-545 (+), U-547, U-549, U-571 (+), U-592 (+), U-601, U-621, U-641 (+), U-642, U-650, U-666 (+), U-731, U-737, U-739, U-741, U-758, U-762 (+), U-763, U-845 (+), U-846, U-953, U-956, U-960, U-965, U-976, U-981, U-984, U-989, U-1062.
71 boats at sea.
1945
U-242, U-244, U-245, U-275, U-278, U-285, U-286, U-290, U-293, U-295, U-313, U-325, U-348, U-370, U-427, U-480 (+), U-485, U-510, U-532, U-636, U-680, U-739, U-745 (+), U-764, U-806, U-825, U-843, U-861, U-862, U-869 (+), U-870, U-905, U-907, U-956, U-963, U-992, U-1001, U-1009, U-1017, U-1051 (+), U-1053, U-1055, U-1058, U-1172 (+), U-1199 (+), U-1203, U-1208 (+), U-1230, U-1231, U-1232, U-1233, UIT-24.
52 boats at sea.
General Events on 16 January
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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 782 entries that will appear in due course, so your suggestion may not appear immediately, but we are continuously updating the database.