4 Soviet small submarine chasers sunk and 2 damaged 4 Soviet small minesweepers sunk and 1 damaged 1 motor torpedo boat damaged 4 Finnish fishing boats sunk and 1 damaged
The Gulf of Finland U-boat campaign lasted in the Gulf of Finland during the World War II against the Soviet Union between summer 1944 and spring 1945. During the campaign Finland switched sides and joined the Allies.
German operations until Moscow Armistice when Finland joined Side with Allies:[2]
On 15 July 1944, U-679 was attacked by small Soviet boats: during a gunnery battle, the motor torpedo boat TK-57 suffered damages and two of her torpedoes barely missed the submarine. U-679 fled under cover of Finnish ground artillery.
On 18 July 1944, U-479 damaged the Soviet submarine chaser MO-304 (later repaired).
On 28 July 1944, U-475 damaged the Soviet submarine chaser MO-107
a MO-4 type submarine chaser
On 30 July 1944, U-481 attacked a group of small Soviet minesweepers, sinking KT-804 and KT-807 while KT-806 was damaged. On the same day U-250 sunk the Soviet submarine chaser MO-105 but was then chased by other units until she sunk by depth charges launched by MO-103. 6 crewmember of U-250, including the captain, were captured by Soviet and the submarine sunk at low depth: Soviet divers worked to collect intelligence despite Axis attempts to prevent it (with mines, depth-charging the wreck and artillery shelling). Despite the efforts, Soviets managed to raise and recover the wreck, acquiring secret documents, an ENIGMA machine and the new acoustic G7es torpedo, gaining the interest of the Royal Navy that asked (and failed) to obtain one of the torpedoes.[3]
On 31 July 1944, U-379 sunk the Soviet submarine chaser MO-101.
On 25 August 1944, U-242 sunk the Soviet survey vessel KKO-2 (600 tons) that was lost together the towed barge VRD-96 Del'fin (500 tons.
On 26 August 1944, U-745 sunk the Soviet auxiliary minesweeper T-45.
Finland joins the Allies
After Finland Joined the Allies, The Germans lost their base at Kotka and the Finnish Navy laid other mine fields under Soviet direction.[4]
On 15 October 1944, U-481 sunk with gunfire the Finnish fishing boats Dan, Endla and Maria.
On 17 October 1944, U-1165 sunk the Soviet submarine chaser BMO-512. Soviets believed she was sunk by mine.
On 24 October 1944, U-958 sunk the Finnish fishing boat Linnea and damaged Piikkiö
On 28 October 1944, on a mine laid by U-242 was sunk the Finnish merchant Rigel (1495 GRT). She was the only proper merchant ship sunk by U-boats during this campaign.
On 29 October 1944, U-958 sunk the Soviet landing craft SB-2 (720 tons). The ship was carrying military equipment, supplies and guns and was heading to Saarenmaa for the Moonsund Landing Operation.
On 18 November 1944, U-679 sunk the Soviet patrol boat SK-62.
On 19 November 1944, U-481 sunk the Soviet barge 112600 (1000 tons)
On 12 January 1945, U-370 torpedoed and sunk Finnish minelayer Louhi. The Finnish ship had just laid the mine barrage "Vantaa-3" together Ruotsinsalmi and was under escort by two Soviet submarine chasers.
On 31 January 1945, U-745 sunk on mines from the barrage "Vantaa-3".
On 12 February 1945, U-676 sunk on mines from the barrage "Vantaa-3".
Outcome
German submarines operated in difficult conditions, with large numbers of naval mines and light antisubmarine boats. Only a few targets, mostly small patrols, were sunk and no large merchant or significant target was found, at the cost of several U-boats lost. The only proper merchant ship sunk was the Finnish Rigel. The loss of U-250 was particularly important for the technology and intelligence obtained from it by the Soviets.
The Baltic Sea Campaigns were conducted by Axis and Allied naval forces in the Baltic Sea, its coastal regions, and the Gulf of Finland during World War II. After early fighting between Polish and German forces, the main combatants were Germany and Finland, opposed by the Soviet Union. Sweden's navy and merchant fleet played important roles, and the British Royal Navy planned Operation Catherine for the control of the Baltic Sea and its exit choke point into the North Sea.
Albrecht Brandi was a German U-boat commander in Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II. Together with Wolfgang Lüth, he was the only Kriegsmarine sailor who was awarded with the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds. The Knight's Cross, and its variants were the highest awards in the military and paramilitary forces of Nazi Germany during World War II. Brandi is credited with the sinking of eight merchant ships for a total of 25,879 gross register tons (GRT), one auxiliary warship of 810 GRT, and three warships of 5,000 long tons.
German submarine U-481 was a Type VIIC U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II. The submarine was laid down on 6 February 1943 at the Deutsche Werke yard in Kiel, launched on 25 September 1943, and commissioned on 10 November 1943 under the command of Oberleutnant zur See Ewald Pick.
HMS Porpoise (N14) was one of the six-ship class of Grampus-class mine-laying submarines of the Royal Navy. She was built at Vickers Armstrong, Barrow and launched 30 August 1932. She served in World War II in most of the naval theatres of the war, in home waters, the Mediterranean and the Far East. She was sunk with all hands by Japanese aircraft on 19 January 1945, and was the last Royal Navy submarine to be lost to enemy action.
The Soviet evacuation of Tallinn, also called Tallinn disaster or Russian Dunkirk, was a Soviet operation to evacuate the 190 ships of the Baltic Fleet, units of the Red Army, and pro-Soviet civilians from the fleet's encircled main base of Tallinn in Soviet-occupied Estonia during August 1941.
U-745 was a Type VIIC U-boat built for Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine for service during World War II, and which was lost at sea on 30 January 1945.
The Black Sea Campaigns were the operations of the Axis and Soviet naval forces in the Black Sea and its coastal regions during World War II between 1941 and 1944, including in support of the land forces.
German submarine U-479 was a Type VIIC U-boat built for Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine for service during World War II. She was laid down at the Deutsche Werke in Kiel on 19 November 1942 as yard number 310, launched on 14 August 1943 and was commissioned on 27 October 1943 with Oberleutnant zur See Hans-Joachim Förster, a Knights Cross winner, in command. He was replaced shortly afterwards by Oberleutnant Friedrich-Wilhelm Sons.
The Arctic Circle defining the "midnight sun" encompasses the Atlantic Ocean from the northern edge of Iceland to the Bering Strait in the Pacific Ocean. Military activity in this area between 1939 and 1945 is often considered part of the Battle of the Atlantic or of the European Theatre of World War II. Pre-war navigation focused on fishing and the international ore-trade from Narvik and Petsamo. Soviet settlements along the coast and rivers of the Barents Sea and Kara Sea relied upon summer coastal shipping for supplies from railheads at Arkhangelsk and Murmansk. The Soviet Union extended the Northern Sea Route past the Taymyr Peninsula to the Bering Strait in 1935.
German submarine U-679 was a Type VIIC U-boat built for Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine for service during World War II. She was laid down on 3 September 1942 by Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft, Hamburg as yard number 828, launched on 18 September 1943 and commissioned on 29 November 1943 under Oberleutnant zur See Friedrich Breckwoldt.
The Battle of Nerva Island was a battle in the Gulf of Finland during World War II on 19–20 June 1944 between the Soviet Union and Germany, which occurred amid the 1944 Soviet offensive against Finland. It was one of the few engagements in the Baltic theater with large surface ships.
Submarine warfare in the Black Sea in World War II during 1941 primarily involved engagements between submarines of the Soviet Black Sea Fleet attacking Axis merchantmen defended by Romanian and Bulgarian warships. These engagements were a part of the naval Black Sea campaigns between Axis and Soviet naval forces.
The Soviet Navy launched the Soviet submarine Baltic Sea campaign in 1942 to harass the strategic iron-ore traffic from neutral Sweden to Nazi Germany during World War II. The Soviet Union and the German Reich fought each other on the Eastern Front (1941-1945) during the war. The Allies also launched other operations - especially involving the Royal Navy - against the traffic.
Submarine warfare in the Black Sea in World War II during 1944 involved engagements between submarines of the Soviet Black Sea Fleet attacking Axis merchantmen, defended by Romanian and German naval warships, as well as German U-boats and Romanian submarines attacking Soviet merchants on the eastern Black Sea. Before the conclusion of the campaign, Romania joined the Allies after King Michael's Coup. These engagements were a part of the naval Black Sea campaigns.
The Soviet submarine Baltic Sea campaign in 1944 was launched by the Soviet Navy to harass enemy shipping and naval military assets of the Nazi Germany on the Eastern Front during World War II.
The Soviet naval Baltic Sea campaign in 1945 was launched by the Soviet Navy to harass enemy shipping and naval military assets of Nazi Germany on the Eastern Front during World War II. Both submarines and surface units of the Soviet Navy were employed. The campaign scored successes during Operation Hannibal.
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Nazi Germany 
Finland (until September 1944)
Soviet Union 
Albrecht Brandi 
