ubootwaffe.net
Kriegsmarine and U-Boat history

   home   |    forum   |    u-boats   |    positions   |    at sea by date   |    ships   |    sunk by date   |    crew lists   |    glossary   |    research   |    articles   |    U 505   |    about   

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-242Type VIIC
Feldpost NumberM 52 339
Construction YardF.Krupp Germaniawerft AG, Kiel-Gaarden
Yard Number676
Ordered10th Apr 1941
Keel laid30th Sep 1942
Launched20th Jul 1943
Commissioned14th Aug 1943
Baubelehrung1.KLA, Kiel
Training, Flotillas and Duties
08.43 - 05.445.U-Flottille, Kiel
Ausbildungsboot (under training)
06.44 - 07.44FdU Mitte, Norway
Frontboot (operational)
07.44 - 02.458.U-Flottille, Danzig
Frontboot (operational)
Frontboot minenünternehmungen (minelaying)
03.45 - 04.453.U-Flottille, La Pallice
Frontboot (operational)
Commanders
08.43 - 02.45OL Karl-Wilhelm Pancke
02.45 - 04.45OL Heinrich Riedel

Operations information for U-242
21.05.1944 - 25.05.1944
First Sailing
U-242 left Kiel under the command of Karl-Wilhelm Pancke on 21st May 1944 and arrived at Stavanger on 25th May 1944 after four days.
08.06.1944 - 26.06.1944
Second Sailing - active patrol
On the 8th Jun 1944, U-242 left Stavanger under the command of Karl-Wilhelm Pancke and after two and a half weeks arrived at Bergen on 26th Jun 1944.
27.06.1944 - 27.06.1944
Third Sailing
U-242 departed under Karl-Wilhelm Pancke from Bergen on 27th Jun 1944 and arrived at Stavanger on the same day.
28.06.1944 - 28.06.1944
Fourth Sailing
U-242 left Stavanger under the command of Karl-Wilhelm Pancke on 28th Jun 1944 and arrived at Kristiansand on the same day.
29.06.1944 - 01.07.1944
Fifth Sailing
On the 29th Jun 1944, U-242 left Kristiansand under the command of Karl-Wilhelm Pancke and arrived at Kiel on 1st Jul 1944 after two days.
11.07.1944 - 14.07.1944
Sixth Sailing
U-242 departed under Karl-Wilhelm Pancke from Kiel on 11th Jul 1944 and after three days arrived at Reval on 14th Jul 1944.
17.07.1944 - 17.07.1944
Seventh Sailing
U-242 left Reval under the command of Karl-Wilhelm Pancke on 17th Jul 1944 and arrived at Grand Hotel on the same day.
18.07.1944 - 20.07.1944
Eighth Sailing
On the 18th Jul 1944, U-242 left Grand Hotel under the command of Karl-Wilhelm Pancke and returned two days later to Grand Hotel on 20th Jul 1944.
21.07.1944 - 23.07.1944
Ninth Sailing
U-242 departed under Karl-Wilhelm Pancke from Grand Hotel on 21st Jul 1944 and arrived back at Grand Hotel two days later on 23rd Jul 1944.
24.07.1944 - 26.07.1944
Tenth Sailing
U-242 left Grand Hotel under the command of Karl-Wilhelm Pancke on 24th Jul 1944 and returned to Grand Hotel on 26th Jul 1944 after two days.
26.07.1944 - 30.07.1944
Eleventh Sailing - active patrol
On the 26th Jul 1944, U-242 left Grand Hotel under the command of Karl-Wilhelm Pancke and arrived back at Grand Hotel on 30th Jul 1944 after four days on patrol.
01.08.1944 - 01.08.1944
Twelfth Sailing
U-242 departed under Karl-Wilhelm Pancke from Grand Hotel on 1st Aug 1944 and arrived at Helsinki on the same day.
23.08.1944 - 26.08.1944
Thirteenth Sailing
U-242 left Helsinki under the command of Karl-Wilhelm Pancke on 23rd Aug 1944 and arrived at Grand Hotel on 26th Aug 1944 after three days.
Karl-Wilhelm Pancke hit two ships on this patrol.
  • On 25th Aug 1944 he sank the Soviet 600 ton KKO-2.
  • On 25th Aug 1944 he sank the Soviet 500 ton VRD-96 Del´fin.
29.08.1944 - 01.09.1944
Fourteenth Sailing - active patrol
On the 29th Aug 1944, U-242 left Grand Hotel under the command of Karl-Wilhelm Pancke and returned to Grand Hotel on 1st Sep 1944 after three days on patrol.
03.09.1944 - 03.09.1944
Fifteenth Sailing
U-242 departed under Karl-Wilhelm Pancke from Grand Hotel on 3rd Sep 1944 and arrived at Reval on the same day.
12.09.1944 - 12.09.1944
Sixteenth Sailing
U-242 left Reval under the command of Karl-Wilhelm Pancke on 12th Sep 1944 and arrived at Baltisch Port on the same day.
21.09.1944 - 28.09.1944
Seventeenth Sailing - active patrol
On the 21st Sep 1944, U-242 left Baltisch Port under the command of Karl-Wilhelm Pancke and arrived at Windau on 28th Sep 1944 after one week.

U-242 laid mines on this patrol. These mines were hit by 1 ship.
The 1,495 ton Finnish Rigel was sunk by a mine on 28th Oct 1944.
30.09.1944 - 02.10.1944
Eighteenth Sailing
U-242 departed under Karl-Wilhelm Pancke from Windau on 30th Sep 1944 and after two days arrived at Pillau on 2nd Oct 1944.
05.10.1944 - 09.10.1944
Nineteenth Sailing - active patrol
U-242 left Pillau under the command of Karl-Wilhelm Pancke on 5th Oct 1944 and arrived back at Pillau on 9th Oct 1944 after four days on patrol.
10.10.1944 - 11.10.1944
Twentieth Sailing
On the 10th Oct 1944, U-242 left Pillau under the command of Karl-Wilhelm Pancke and after one day arrived at Danzig on 11th Oct 1944.
12.01.1945 - 30.01.1945
Twentyfirst Sailing - active patrol
U-242 departed under Karl-Wilhelm Pancke from Danzig on 12th Jan 1945 and arrived at Kiel on 30th Jan 1945 after two and a half weeks.
23.02.1945 - 25.02.1945
Twentysecond Sailing
U-242 left Kiel under the command of Heinz Riedel on 23rd Feb 1945 and after two days arrived at Horten on 25th Feb 1945.
28.02.1945 - 01.03.1945
Twentythird Sailing
On the 28th Feb 1945, U-242 left Horten under the command of Heinz Riedel and arrived at Kristiansand on 1st Mar 1945 after one day.
04.03.1945 - 05.04.1945
Twentyfourth Sailing - active patrol
U-242 departed under Heinz Riedel from Kristiansand on 4th Mar 1945. On the 5th Apr 1945, U-242 was sunk.

Notes for U-242


We have 61 crew names for this boat. click here for crew names of U 242
You can perform other crew searches here. Note that the number of names we give possibly includes prior crew members.

You can discuss this boat or ask questions at the ubootwaffe.net forums

We have extra information on
3 relevant ships here:

KKO-2

VRD-96 DEL,FIN

RIGEL

Make another query
U-

    home   |    forum   |    u-boats   |    positions   |    at sea by date   |    ships   |    sunk by date   |    crew lists   |    glossary   |    research   |    articles   |    U 505   |    about