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U-459
First
and most productive of the Type XIV supply tanker or "milch-cow" U-boats, which
resupplied front-line U-boats with fuel, torpedoes, and provisions at sea, thus
considerably extending the U-boats' effectiveness and range. Resupplied a total
of 65 U-boats in her first five patrols, March 1942-June 1943.
Type: XIV
Built: Deutsche Werke, Kiel
Keel laid: 23 November 1940
Launched: 13 September 1941
Commissioned: 15 November 1941
Commander: KK Georg von Wilamovitz-Moellendorf
Fate: Sunk by British air attack in the Bay of Biscay 24 July 1943, with the
loss of her captain (a former U-boat commander in World War I) and 18 men. The
remaining 41 crewmen were recovered as prisoners of war.
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