German submarine U-443 was a Type VIIC U-boat

U-boat

U-boat is the anglicized version of the German word U-Boot , itself an abbreviation of Unterseeboot , and refers to military submarines operated by Germany, particularly in World War I and World War II...

 built for the German

Nazi Germany

Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...

 Kriegsmarine

Kriegsmarine

The Kriegsmarine was the name of the German Navy during the Nazi regime . It superseded the Kaiserliche Marine of World War I and the post-war Reichsmarine. The Kriegsmarine was one of three official branches of the Wehrmacht, the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany.The Kriegsmarine grew rapidly...

 for service during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

.
She was commissioned on 18 April 1942. U-443 served with 8th U-boat Flotilla for training, with 9th U-boat Flotilla from 1 October 1942 to 31 December 1942, and with 29th U-boat Flotilla from 1 January 1943 to 23 February 1943. U-443 completed three patrols sinking three ships totalling , and one warship (the escort destroyer HMS Blean

HMS Blean (L47)

HMS Blean was a Type III Hunt class destroyer of the Royal Navy. She was named after the Blean Beagles Hunt at the village of Blean just north of Canterbury....

).

U-443 was sunk with all hands on deck on 23 February 1943 in the Mediterranean near Algiers

Algiers

' is the capital and largest city of Algeria. According to the 1998 census, the population of the city proper was 1,519,570 and that of the urban agglomeration was 2,135,630. In 2009, the population was about 3,500,000...

 by depth charge

Depth charge

A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare weapon intended to destroy or cripple a target submarine by the shock of exploding near it. Most use explosives and a fuze set to go off at a preselected depth in the ocean. Depth charges can be dropped by either surface ships, patrol aircraft, or from...

s from the escort destroyer

Escort destroyer

A Escort Destroyer is a US Navy post World War II classification for destroyers modified for and assigned to a fleet escort role. These destroyers retained their original hull numbers...

s HMS Bicester

HMS Bicester (L34)

HMS Bicester was an escort destroyer of the Hunt Type II class. The Royal Navy ordered Bicesters construction three months after the outbreak of the Second World War. Hawthorn Leslie & Co. laid down her keel at their Tyne yard on 29 May 1940, as Admiralty Job Number J4210...

, HMS Lamerton, and HMS Wheatland.