German submarine U-334

German submarine U-334 was a Type VIIC U-boat of the Nazi German Kriegsmarine during World War II. The submarine was laid down on 16 March 1941 at the Nordseewerke yard at Emden as 'werk' 206, launched on 15 August and commissioned on 9 October under the command of Kapitänleutnant Hilmar Siemon. During her career, the U-boat sailed on four combat patrols, sinking two ships of 14,372 GRT, before she was sunk on 14 June 1943.

She was a member of three wolfpacks.

Service history
After training with the 8th U-boat Flotilla, she moved to the 3rd flotilla for front-line service in March 1942. She was reassigned to the 11th flotilla in July.

1st patrol
U-334's maiden patrol saw the U-boat sail into the Greenland Sea; it was then marred by the loss overboard of 19-year old Matrosengefreiter Otto Mayerhof in the Barents Sea on 13 April 1942, a day before the submarine docked at Trondheim in Norway.

2nd patrol
Her second foray was split into two parts. During the second, longer portion, the boat sank the William Hopper, a former member of the notorious convoy PQ 17 on 4 July 1942. The ship had already been badly damaged in an air attack. In a scuttling attempt, she was fired-on by a British escort vessel, but stubbornly refused to sink. Later that same day, U-334 fired two 'coup de grâce' torpedoes at the ship; the first was defective, the second missed. The wreck was eventually sunk by fire from the boat's deck gun.

The following day (5 July 1942), she sank the Earlston, also a member of the ill-fated convoy. She too, had already been damaged by bombs. U-334 was also subject to attack from the air that day; a Ju 88 damaged the steering gear and rendered the U-boat unable to dive. U-456 was obliged to escort U-334 to Neidenfjord.

She then sailed from Neidenfjord to Trondheim, arriving on 14 July.

3rd patrol
Sortie number three took the boat north of Iceland and into the Norwegian Sea, finishing at Narvik.

4th patrol and loss
Following short trips from Narvik to Trondheim and Trondheim to Bergen, the submarine commenced her fourth patrol from Bergen on 5 June 1943. She passed through the 'gap' between Iceland and the Faroe Islands. She was sunk by depth charges from the British frigate HMS Jed and the sloop Pelican southwest of Iceland.

Forty-seven men died; there were no survivors.