Wartime History
After commissioning, U-534 was assigned to the 4th U-boat Flotilla for training purposes and weapons testing, including the new acoustic torpedo Zaunkoenig T-5, until February 1944. She was then reconfigured (main gun removed, flak added) and in April transferred to the 2nd flotilla. Her first war patrol was plagued by an oil leak and bad weather in the North Atlantic and all that was accomplished was collecting weather data. On the second patrol, from 25 August 1944 to 24 October, the boat had to escape the Allied blockade of Lorient in France get back to a friendly port. Again, no ships were sunk, but an attacking Vickers Wellington bomber of 172 Squadron RAF was shot down on 27 August. U-534 was then transferred to the 33rd U-boat Flotilla and put out of duty until 1 May 1945. On the 5th, she was on her last wartime patrol, when the captain was notified of Admiral Dönitz's order to surrender.
Read more about this topic: German Submarine U-534
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