German submarine U-424

German submarine U-424 was a Type VIIC U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II.

She carried out two patrols. She was a member of four wolfpacks. She did not sink or damage any ships.

She was sunk by British warships southwest of Ireland on 11 February 1944.

Design
German Type VIIC submarines were preceded by the shorter Type VIIB submarines. U-424 had a displacement of 769 t when at the surface and 871 t while submerged. She had a total length of 67.10 m, a pressure hull length of 50.50 m, a beam of 6.20 m, a height of 9.60 m, and a draught of 4.74 m. The submarine was powered by two Germaniawerft F46 four-stroke, six-cylinder supercharged diesel engines producing a total of 2800 to 3200 PS for use while surfaced, two Siemens-Schuckert GU 343/38–8 double-acting electric motors producing a total of 750 PS for use while submerged. She had two shafts and two 1.23 m propellers. The boat was capable of operating at depths of up to 230 m.

The submarine had a maximum surface speed of 17.7 kn and a maximum submerged speed of 7.6 kn. When submerged, the boat could operate for 80 nmi at 4 kn; when surfaced, she could travel 8500 nmi at 10 kn. U-424 was fitted with five 53.3 cm torpedo tubes (four fitted at the bow and one at the stern), fourteen torpedoes, one 8.8 cm SK C/35 naval gun, 220 rounds, and two twin 2 cm C/30 anti-aircraft guns. The boat had a complement of between forty-four and sixty.

Service history
The submarine was laid down on 16 April 1942 at the Danziger Werft (yard) at Danzig (now Gdansk), as yard number 125, launched on 28 November and commissioned on 7 April 1943 under the command of Oberleutnant zur See Günter Lüders.

She served with the 8th U-boat Flotilla from 7 April 1942 and the 1st flotilla from 1 October 1943.

Patrols and loss
The boat's first patrol was preceded by a trip from Kiel in Germany to Trondheim in Norway. U-424 then left Trondheim on 22 October 1943 and headed for the Atlantic Ocean via the gap between Iceland and the Faroe Islands, arriving in Brest in occupied France on 15 December.

Her second sortie began on 29 January 1944. On 11 February, she was attacked and sunk by depth charges dropped by the British sloops HMS Wild Goose (U45) and HMS Woodpecker (U08).

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

Wolfpacks
U-424 took part in four wolfpacks, namely:
 * Eisenhart 2 (9 – 15 November 1943)
 * Schill 3 (18 – 22 November 1943)
 * Weddigen (22 November – 7 December 1943)
 * Igel 2 (3 – 11 February 1944)