German submarine U-408

German submarine U-408 was a Type VIIC U-boat of the Nazi German Kriegsmarine during World War II.

She carried out three patrols. She sank three ships.

She was a member of two wolfpacks.

She was sunk by a US aircraft north of Iceland in November 1942.

Service history
The submarine was laid down on 30 September 1940 at the Danziger Werft at Danzig (now Gdansk) as 'werk' 109, launched on 16 July 1941 and commissioned on 19 November under the command of KorvettenKapitän Reinhard von Hymmen.

She served with the 5th U-boat Flotilla from 19 November 1941 for training and the 9th flotilla from 1 May 1942 for operations. She was reassigned to the 11th flotilla on 1 July 1942 and served with that organization until her loss.

1st patrol
U-359's first patrol was preceded by a move from Kiel in Germany to Skjomenfjord in Norway. She left there for her first patrol on 7 June, sailing through the north Norwegian Sea into the Barents Sea. She returned to Skjomenfjord on 16 July.

2nd patrol
The boat set-out on her second foray on 10 September 1942. She sank the Stalingrad on the 13th, 100 mi southwest of Spitsbergen. She also sank the Oliver Ellsworth with the same spread of torpedos. The master of the Soviet ship, A. Sakharov, was awarded the George Cross after acting as pilot for his convoy and spending 40 minutes in the freezing water.

The next day she sank the Atheltemplar southwest of Bear Island.

3rd patrol and loss
The submarine's third and last sortie began from Narvik on 31 October 1942. On 5 November she was sunk by a US PBY Catalina north of Iceland. Her previous track was from the east, towards the Denmark Strait, (which separates Greenland from Iceland).

Forty-five men died in U-408; there were no survivors.