[Markus Witt]

On 16 April 1941 U-201 departs Kiel under command of Oberleutnant zur See Alexander Witt for her first war patrol. Mission orders are to head out into the Atlantic and patrol the area around grid AK59. After this patrol the new home base will be St. Nazaire.
U-201 transits the Kaiser Wilhelm Kanal and heads into the North Sea. Proceeding along the Norwegian coast she enters the North Atlantic passing between the Faröer Islands and Iceland. The voyage into the Atlantic is uneventful. Two vessels are encountered off the Norwegian coast, which turn out to be friendly. No aeroplanes are sighted as a safe distance to the Shetlands is maintained.