German submarine U-209

German submarine U-209 was a Type VIIC U-boat of the Kriegsmarine during World War II. The submarine was laid down on 28 November 1940 by the Friedrich Krupp Germaniawerft yard at Kiel as 'werk' 638, launched on 28 August 1941 and commissioned on 11 November under the command of Kapitänleutnant Heinrich Brodda.

She was lost in May 1943, possibly due to a diving accident.

Operational career
U-209 began her service career as part of the 6th U-boat Flotilla for training, she then commenced operations with the same organization on 1 March 1942. She was re-assigned to the 11th flotilla on 1 July 1942. She was with the 1st flotilla until her loss on 7 May 1943. She carried out a total of seven patrols and was a member of nine wolfpacks.

1st patrol
She made the short journey from Kiel to the German island of Helgoland and then departed on her first patrol on 15 March 1942. She headed north, into the Norwegian Sea, then east. The boat was attacked by the armed trawler HMS Blackfly on the 28th ; but conditions were so bad that the ship could not use her armament because it was frozen. Depth charges were little better, at least one malfunctioned.

The submarine also came under attack from two minesweepers, HMS Hussar and Gossamer in the Barents Sea on the 29th. U-209 escaped.

2nd patrol
The boat's second sortie began in the Norwegian port of Kirkenes in the far north of the country. She patrolled the vicinity of Bear Island, then sailed south and southwest, before docking in Bergen, also in Norway.

3rd and 4th patrols
Her third and fourth patrols, in June and July 1942, covered the Norwegian Sea and the passage between Bear Island and Svalbard, it saw her depart Bergen and return to Kirkenes.

5th patrol
The boat attacked a small Soviet convoy on 17 August 1942, near Mateev Island in the eastern Barents Sea. She sank the Komiles, the Komsolec, SH-500 and P-4, (two tugs and two barges), with her gun.

6th and 7th patrols and loss
Patrol number six, at 35 days, was her longest. It took her northwest of Bear Island.

By now the boat had returned to Kiel, from where she departed for the last time on 6 April 1943. She was attacked by a British B-17 Flying Fortress of No. 220 Squadron RAF southeast of Iceland, on the 16th, sustaining damage to her periscope. She was also attacked by a Canadian PBY Catalina (known as a Canso) of No. 5 Squadron RCAF on 4 May. The damage incurred included her radio transmitter, so a message to Bdu (U-boat headquarters), was sent via U-954. U-209 was recalled, but she was never heard from again; her loss might be explained by a diving accident. Whatever the reason, forty-six men died; there were no survivors.

Afterword
U-209 was originally thought to have been sunk by the frigate HMS Jed and the sloop HMS Sennen on 19 May 1943. This attack was responsible for the demise of U-954. U-209 was nicknamed Brno by the southmoravian town in where the crew took holiday in February 1943. They were invited by SS- Sturmbannführer Konrad Nussbaum, chief of Brno Kripo whose son was one of the crew. Brno municipality got as a gift the model of submarine (the photo exist) but model itself probably lost after the end of WWII.