German submarine U-426

German submarine U-426 was a Type VIIC U-boat of the Nazi German Kriegsmarine during World War II.

She carried out two patrols. She was a member of seven wolfpacks. She sank one ship.

She was sunk by an Australian aircraft in January 1944

Service history
The submarine was laid down on 20 June 1942 at the Danziger Werft (yard) at Danzig (now Gdansk), as 'werk' 127, launched on 6 February 1943 and commissioned on 12 May under the command of Kapitänleutnant Christian Reich.

She served with the 8th U-boat Flotilla from 12 May 1943 and the 11th flotilla from 1 October of that year.

Patrols and loss
The boat's first patrol was preceded by a trip from Kiel in Germany to Bergen in Norway. U-426 then left Bergen on 5 October 1943 and headed for the Atlantic Ocean via the 'gap' between Iceland and the Faroe Islands. She sank the British ship Essex Lance on 15 October 408 mi east of Cape Farewell (Greenland). The submarine arrived in Brest in occupied France on 29 November.

Her second sortie began on 3 January 1944. On the 8th, she was attacked and sunk by depth charges dropped by an Australian Sunderland flying boat of No. 10 Squadron RAAF.

Fifty-one men went down with the U-boat; there were no survivors.