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Kriegsmarine and U-Boat history

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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-953Type VIIC
Feldpost NumberM 49 558
Construction YardBlohm und Voß, Hamburg
Yard Number153
Ordered10th Apr 1941
Keel laid10th Feb 1942
Launched28th Oct 1942
Commissioned17th Dec 1942
Baubelehrung8.KLA, Hamburg
Training, Flotillas and Duties
12.42 - 05.435.U-Flottille, Kiel
Ausbildungsboot (under training)
06.43 - 10.443.U-Flottille, La Pallice
Frontboot (operational)
10.44 - 05.4533.U-Flottille, Flensburg
Frontboot (operational)
Commanders
12.42 - 08.44OL Karl-Heinz Marbach
see also: U-101 U-29 U-28 U-3014 
09.44 - 03.45OL Herbert A. Werner
see also: U-415 
04.45 - 05.45OL Erich Steinbrinck
see also: U-1203 U-293 

Operations information for U-953
13.05.1943 - 22.07.1943
First Sailing - active patrol
U-953 left Kiel under the command of Karl-Heinz Marbach on 13th May 1943 and arrived at La Pallice on 22nd Jul 1943 after ten weeks.
On 21st May 1943 in square AE 85, U-953 came under attack from an aircraft of RAF 190 Squadron. U-953 was moderately damaged by the attack. The boat defended itself with flak without destroying the aircraft.
02.10.1943 - 17.11.1943
Second Sailing - active patrol
On the 2nd Oct 1943, U-953 left La Pallice under the command of Karl-Heinz Marbach and returned to La Pallice on 17th Nov 1943 after six and a half weeks on patrol.
26.12.1943 - 20.02.1944
Third Sailing - active patrol
U-953 departed under Karl-Heinz Marbach from La Pallice on 26th Dec 1943 and arrived back at La Pallice on 20th Feb 1944 after eight weeks on patrol.
30.03.1944 - 01.04.1944
Fourth Sailing - active patrol
U-953 left La Pallice under the command of Karl-Heinz Marbach on 30th Mar 1944 and returned two days later to La Pallice on 1st Apr 1944.
23.04.1944 - 26.04.1944
Fifth Sailing
On the 23rd Apr 1944, U-953 left La Pallice under the command of Karl-Heinz Marbach and arrived at Brest on 26th Apr 1944 after three days.
22.05.1944 - 28.05.1944
Sixth Sailing - active patrol
U-953 departed under Karl-Heinz Marbach from Brest on 22nd May 1944 and returned to Brest on 28th May 1944 after six days on patrol.
06.06.1944 - 18.06.1944
Seventh Sailing - active patrol
U-953 left Brest under the command of Karl-Heinz Marbach on 6th Jun 1944 and arrived back at Brest on 18th Jun 1944 after more than one week on patrol.
24.06.1944 - 22.07.1944
Eighth Sailing - active patrol
On the 24th Jun 1944, U-953 left Brest under the command of Karl-Heinz Marbach and returned four weeks later to Brest on 22nd Jul 1944.
Karl-Heinz Marbach hit one ship on this patrol from convoy ETC-27.
  • On 5th Jul 1944 he sank the British 1,927 ton Glendinning, sailing with convoy ETC-27.
10.08.1944 - 11.08.1944
Ninth Sailing
U-953 departed under Herbert A. Werner from Brest on 10th Aug 1944 and arrived back at Brest one day later on 11th Aug 1944.
12.08.1944 - 19.08.1944
Tenth Sailing - active patrol
U-953 left Brest under the command of Herbert A. Werner on 12th Aug 1944 and after one week arrived at La Pallice on 19th Aug 1944.
31.08.1944 - 11.10.1944
Eleventh Sailing - active patrol
On the 31st Aug 1944, U-953 left La Pallice under the command of Herbert A. Werner and arrived at Bergen on 11th Oct 1944 after nearly six weeks.
16.10.1944 - 25.10.1944
Twelfth Sailing
U-953 departed under Herbert A. Werner from Bergen on 16th Oct 1944 and after just over one week arrived at Flensburg on 25th Oct 1944.
04.02.1945 - 09.02.1945
Thirteenth Sailing
U-953 left Kiel under the command of Herbert A. Werner on 4th Feb 1945 and arrived at Kristiansand on 9th Feb 1945 after five days.
12.02.1945 - 15.02.1945
Fourteenth Sailing
On the 12th Feb 1945, U-953 left Kristiansand under the command of Herbert A. Werner and after three days arrived at Bergen on 15th Feb 1945.
21.02.1945 - 03.04.1945
Fifteenth Sailing - active patrol
U-953 departed under Herbert A. Werner from Bergen on 21st Feb 1945 and arrived back at Bergen on 3rd Apr 1945 after nearly six weeks on patrol.
06.04.1945 - 09.04.1945
Sixteenth Sailing
U-953 left Bergen under the command of Herbert A. Werner on 6th Apr 1945 and after three days arrived at Trondheim on 9th Apr 1945.

Notes for U-953
One of U-953's commanders, Herbert Werner, wrote a book of his wartime experiences, called "Iron Coffins", a vivid and highly readable personal account of life in the U-boot-waffe.

We have 85 crew names for this boat. click here for crew names of U 953
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
5 relevant ships here:

LUNENBURG K.151 HMCS

QU,APPELLE HMCS

RESTIGOUCHE HMCS

SKEENA HMCS

GLENDINNING

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