German submarine U-454

German submarine U-454 was a Type VIIC U-boat of the Nazi German Kriegsmarine during World War II.

She carried out ten patrols. She sank two ships and damaged one more.

She was a member of 19 wolfpacks.

She was sunk in the Bay of Biscay by an Australian aircraft in August 1943.

Service history
The submarine was laid down on 4 July 1940 in the Deutsche Werke, Kiel as 'werk' 285, launched on 30 April 1941 and commissioned on 24 July under the command of Kapitänleutnant Burkhard Hackländer.

She served with the 5th U-boat Flotilla from 24 July 1941 for training and the 7th flotilla from 1 November for operations.

1st patrol
U-432's first patrol was preceded by the short journey from Kiel in Germany to Kirkenes in Norway not far from the border with Russia. The patrol itself commenced with her departure from Kirkenes on 25 December 1941.

She sank the Soviet trawler RT-68 Enise on 17 January 1942 78 mi north of Kanin Nos. That same day, she damaged the British registered Harmatis and sank the British destroyer HMS Matabele. The warship was hit in the stern by a torpedo, which caused her magazines to explode; the vessel sank in two minutes. The loss of life was made worse by the detonation of her depth charges and men freezing to death in the icy water.

2nd and 3rd patrols
Her second sortie terminated in Trondheim on 3 February 14942 and had covered the Barents Sea.

The submarine's third patrol was marred by the loss overboard of Matrosengefreiter Josef Kauerlos on 26 February 1942.

4th and 5th patrols
The boat's fourth patrol was also carried out in the Barents Sea.

Her fifth foray was toward Bear Island between 8 and 20 April 1942.

6th patrol
Two more short trips were carried out from Kirkenes and Bergen and finished in Kiel, from where she proceeded via the 'gap' separating Iceland from the Faroe Islands into the Atlantic Ocean. She went as far west as Newfoundland before arriving at St. Nazaire in occupied France on 17 August 1942.

7th and 8th patrols
Patrol number seven started and finished in St. Nazaire and at 73 days, was the boat's longest.

Her eighth sortie was relatively uneventful; the area negotiated was west of Ireland and north of the Azores.

9th patrol
U-454 left St. Nazaire on 17 April 1943. On 10 May, she encountered a Fairey Swordfish from the escort carrier HMS Biter. No damage was incurred, but the U-boat was forced to dive. She returned to France, but this time to La Pallice, on 23 May.

10th patrol and loss
U-445 was sunk in the Bay of Biscay by depth charges dropped by an Australian Sunderland flying boat of No. 10 Squadron RAAF. The aircraft crashed, the U-boat was on her way to the Mediterranean when she met her fate.

Thirty-two men died; there were 14 survivors.