German submarine U-593
History | |
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Name | U-593 |
Ordered | 16 January 1940 |
Builder | Blohm & Voss, Hamburg |
Yard number | 569 |
Laid down | 17 December 1940 |
Launched | 3 September 1941 |
Commissioned | 23 October 1941 |
Fate | Sunk on 13 December 1943 at position 37°38′N 05°58′E / 37.633°N 5.967°E by US & Royal Navy. |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Type VIIC submarine |
Displacement | |
Length |
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Beam |
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Height | 9.60 m (31 ft 6 in) |
Draught | 4.74 m (15 ft 7 in) |
Installed power |
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Propulsion |
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Speed |
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Range | |
Test depth |
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Complement | 4 officers, 40–56 enlisted |
Armament |
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Service record[1] | |
Part of: |
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Identification codes: | M 38 214 |
Commanders: |
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Operations: |
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Victories: |
German submarine U-593 was a Type VIIC U-boat built for Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine for service during World War II. She was laid down on 17 December 1940 by Blohm & Voss in Hamburg as yard number 569, launched on 3 September 1941 and commissioned on 23 October under Kapitänleutnant Gerd Kelbling.
The boat's service began on 23 October 1941 with training as part of the 8th U-boat Flotilla. She was transferred to the 7th flotilla on 1 March 1942 and moved on to the 29th flotilla on 1 November.
Design
[edit]German Type VIIC submarines were preceded by the shorter Type VIIB submarines. U-593 had a displacement of 769 tonnes (757 long tons) when at the surface and 871 tonnes (857 long tons) while submerged.[2] She had a total length of 67.10 m (220 ft 2 in), a pressure hull length of 50.50 m (165 ft 8 in), a beam of 6.20 m (20 ft 4 in), a height of 9.60 m (31 ft 6 in), and a draught of 4.74 m (15 ft 7 in). The submarine was powered by two Germaniawerft F46 four-stroke, six-cylinder supercharged diesel engines producing a total of 2,800 to 3,200 metric horsepower (2,060 to 2,350 kW; 2,760 to 3,160 shp) for use while surfaced, two BBC GG UB 720/8 double-acting electric motors producing a total of 750 metric horsepower (550 kW; 740 shp) for use while submerged. She had two shafts and two 1.23 m (4 ft) propellers. The boat was capable of operating at depths of up to 230 metres (750 ft).[2]
The submarine had a maximum surface speed of 17.7 knots (32.8 km/h; 20.4 mph) and a maximum submerged speed of 7.6 knots (14.1 km/h; 8.7 mph).[2] When submerged, the boat could operate for 80 nautical miles (150 km; 92 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph); when surfaced, she could travel 8,500 nautical miles (15,700 km; 9,800 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph). U-593 was fitted with five 53.3 cm (21 in) torpedo tubes (four fitted at the bow and one at the stern), fourteen torpedoes, one 8.8 cm (3.46 in) SK C/35 naval gun, 220 rounds, and a 2 cm (0.79 in) C/30 anti-aircraft gun. The boat had a complement of between forty-four and sixty.[2]
Service history
[edit]U-593 made 16 patrols between March 1942 and December 1943, and sank 13 ships, for a total of 38,290 GRT and 2,954 tons. She made three patrols in the Atlantic from her base in Germany and from St Nazaire in occupied France, and sank three ships. She briefly clashed with British forces on their way to the St Nazaire Raid in March 1942. In October U-593 transferred to the Mediterranean and from various bases there made a further 13 patrols, sinking 8 merchant ships and 4 naval vessels, before being sunk in December 1943.[3]
Fate
[edit]U-593 departed Toulon on 1 December 1943 for her 16th war patrol. On 12 December she intercepted convoy KMS 34, outbound from Gibraltar, off the coast of Algeria. Making an attack she hit the escorting destroyer Tynedale, but was pursued by other escorts who engaged in a Swamp operation. During the 32 hour hunt U-593 torpedoed Holcombe, one of her pursuers, but was caught by the destroyers Wainwright and Calpe off Bougie, Algeria. In the afternoon of 13 December she was forced to the surface with depth charges and abandoned. All her crew escaped, and were picked up by the Allied ships.[4][5][6][Note 1]
Wolfpacks
[edit]In addition she took part in three wolfpacks, namely:
- Steinbrinck (3 – 11 August 1942)
- Lohs (11 – 17 August 1942)
- Tümmler (3 – 11 October 1942)
Summary of raiding history
[edit]Date | Ship Name | Nationality | Tonnage[Note 2] | Fate[7] |
---|---|---|---|---|
14 May 1942 | Stavros | ![]() |
4,853 | Damaged |
25 May 1942 | Persephone | ![]() |
8,426 | Total loss |
5 August 1942 | Spar | ![]() |
3,616 | Sunk |
12 November 1942 | Browning | ![]() |
5,332 | Sunk |
18 March 1943 | Dafila | ![]() |
1,940 | Sunk |
18 March 1943 | Kaying | ![]() |
2,626 | Sunk |
27 March 1943 | City of Guildford | ![]() |
5,157 | Sunk |
11 April 1943 | Runo | ![]() |
1,858 | Sunk |
22 June 1943 | USS LST-333 | ![]() |
1,625 | Total loss |
22 June 1943 | USS LST-387 | ![]() |
1,625 | Damaged |
5 July 1943 | Devis | ![]() |
6,054 | Sunk |
5 July 1943 | HMS LCM-1123[Note 3] | ![]() |
52 | Sunk |
5 July 1943 | HMS LCM-1129[Note 3] | ![]() |
52 | Damaged |
21 September 1943 | William W. Gerhard | ![]() |
7,176 | Sunk |
7 September 1943 | USS Skill | ![]() |
815 | Sunk |
3 November 1943 | Mont Viso | ![]() |
4,531 | Sunk |
12 December 1943 | HMS Tynedale | ![]() |
1,000 | Sunk |
12 December 1943 | HMS Holcombe | ![]() |
1,087 | Sunk |
See also
[edit]References
[edit]Notes
[edit]- ^ The position of her sinking is given variously as 37°58′N 05°58′E / 37.967°N 5.967°E (Kemp) and 37°38′N 05°58′E / 37.633°N 5.967°E (Niestle)
- ^ Merchant ship tonnages are in gross register tons. Military vessels are listed by tons displacement.
- ^ a b Being carried by Devis.
Citations
[edit]- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type VIIC boat U-593". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 17 April 2014.
- ^ a b c d Gröner 1991, pp. 43–46.
- ^ U-593: war patrols at uboat.net; retrieved 20 January 2021
- ^ Blair p.457
- ^ Kemp p.161
- ^ Niestle p.73
- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit by U-593". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 17 April 2014.
Bibliography
[edit]- Blair, Clay (1998). Hitler's U-Boat War: The Hunted 1942-1945. ISBN 0-304-35261-6.
- Busch, Rainer; Röll, Hans-Joachim (1999). German U-boat commanders of World War II : a biographical dictionary. Translated by Brooks, Geoffrey. London, Annapolis, Md: Greenhill Books, Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-186-6.
- Busch, Rainer; Röll, Hans-Joachim (1999). Der U-Boot-Krieg, 1939-1945: Deutsche U-Boot-Verluste von September 1939 bis Mai 1945 [German U-boat losses from September 1939 to May 1945] (in German). Vol. IV. Hamburg, Berlin, Bonn: Mittler. ISBN 3-8132-0514-2.
- Gröner, Eric; Jung, Dieter; Maass, Martin (1991). German Warships 1815-1945: U-boats and Mine Warfare Vessels. Vol. 2. Translated by Thomas, Keith; Magowan, Rachel. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-593-4.
- Edwards, Bernard (1996). Dönitz and the Wolf Packs – The U-Boats at War. London, UK: Cassell Military Classics. pp. 89, 91–93. ISBN 0-304-35203-9.
- Kemp, Paul (1997). U-Boats Destroyed, German submarine losses in the World Wars. Arms and Armour. ISBN 1-85409-515-3.
- Niestle, Axel (1998). German U-Boat Losses During World War II. Greenhill. ISBN 1-85367-352-8.
External links
[edit]- Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type VIIC boat U-593". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
- Hofmann, Markus. "U 593". Deutsche U-Boote 1935-1945 - u-boot-archiv.de (in German). Retrieved 29 December 2014.
- German Type VIIC submarines
- U-boats commissioned in 1941
- U-boats sunk in 1943
- World War II submarines of Germany
- World War II shipwrecks in the Mediterranean Sea
- 1941 ships
- U-boats sunk by depth charges
- U-boats sunk by British warships
- U-boats sunk by US warships
- Ships built in Hamburg
- Maritime incidents in December 1943