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U-343 1944

Marker: recorded wreck position (Second World War).

Key facts

NameU-343Wikidata label
Year lost1944Wikidata P793 significant event, point-in-time qualifier
EraSecond World Warderived from year
Ship typeU-boatWikidata P31 instance of
Cause of lossWar actionKeyword match in English Wikipedia lead sentence
Nationality / flagNazi GermanyWikidata P8047 country of registry
OperatorKriegsmarineWikidata P137 operator
ConflictBattle of the Atlantic, Mediterranean U-boat CampaignWikidata P607 conflict
Sea / oceanMediterranean SeaNatural Earth marine areas (public domain), point-in-polygon
Nearest coastTunisiaNatural Earth (public domain); approx. 85 km from land
Position38.0700, 9.4100Wikidata P793 significant event, coordinate qualifier (CC0)

About the wreck

German submarine U-343 was a Type VIIC U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II. The submarine was laid down on 1 April 1942 at the Nordseewerke yard at Emden, launched on 21 December 1942 and commissioned on 18 February 1943 under the command of Leutnant zur See Wolfgang Rahn.

After training with the 8th U-boat Flotilla at Danzig, U-343 was transferred to the 3rd U-boat Flotilla, based at La Pallice in France, for front-line service on 1 November 1943, and then to the 29th U-boat Flotilla, based at Toulon on the Mediterranean coast, on 1 February 1944. On 10 March 1944, U-343 was sunk off Bizerte by depth charges from a British warship. All 51 of her crew members were lost with the U-boat.

Location

  • Recorded position: 38.0700, 9.4100 (Wikidata P793 significant event, coordinate qualifier (CC0); may be approximate)
  • Sea / ocean: Mediterranean Sea
  • Nearest coast: Tunisia

Wreck positions on this site are for interest only and are not for navigation. Many wrecks are war graves or legally protected: never disturb human remains or remove artefacts, and check local law before diving.

OpenStreetMap

Text adapted from the Wikipedia article German submarine U-343 (revision 1352473702), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; condensed by selecting paragraphs; citations and formatting removed. No text added. This excerpt is available under the same licence.

Wreck facts from Wikidata (CC0).

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Browse more: Africa wrecks · wrecks off Tunisia · Mediterranean Sea · Second World War

Further reading