German submarine U-511
U-511 as Ro-500 in 1943
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History | |
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Nazi Germany | |
Name | U-511 |
Ordered | 20 October 1939 |
Builder | Deutsche Werft, Hamburg |
Yard number | 307 |
Laid down | 21 February 1941 |
Launched | 22 September 1941 |
Commissioned | 8 December 1941 |
Fate | Sold to Japan on 16 September 1943 |
Empire of Japan | |
Name | Ro-500 |
Acquired | 16 September 1943 |
Fate |
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General characteristics | |
Class and type | Type IXC submarine |
Displacement | |
Length |
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Beam |
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Height | 9.60 m (31 ft 6 in) |
Draught | 4.70 m (15 ft 5 in) |
Installed power |
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Propulsion |
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Speed |
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Range |
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Test depth | 230 m (750 ft) |
Complement | 4 officers, 44 enlisted |
Armament |
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Service record (Kriegsmarine)[1][2] | |
Part of: |
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Identification codes: | M 42 792 |
Commanders: |
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Operations: |
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Victories: | |
Service record (IJN)[3] | |
Part of: |
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Commanders: |
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Operations: | None |
Victories: | None |
German submarine U-511 was a
After training with the
The U-boat was attached to the 10th U-boat Flotilla for front-line service on 1 August 1942. In that role she carried out four war patrols, two commanded by Kptlt. Steinhoff, and two by Kptlt. Fritz Schneewind, sinking five ships totalling 41,373 gross register tons (GRT) and damaging one of 8,773 GRT.[1]
The U-boat was transferred to Japan on 16 September 1943 and served in the Imperial Japanese Navy as submarine Ro-500 (呂500), spending its career as a training ship in Japanese home waters, until August 1945 when she surrendered to the Allies.[1][4]
Design
The submarine had a maximum surface speed of 18.3 knots (33.9 km/h; 21.1 mph) and a maximum submerged speed of 7.3 knots (13.5 km/h; 8.4 mph).
Service history
First patrol
On 16 July 1942 U-511 sailed from Kiel and across the Atlantic to the Caribbean Sea.
At 06:29 on 27 August, U-511 fired a spread of four torpedoes at Convoy TAW-15, en route from
The U-boat arrived at her new home port of Lorient in occupied France, on 29 September after a voyage lasting 76 days.[2]
Second patrol
U-511 sailed from Lorient on 24 October 1942, and patrolled the waters off the coast of north-west Africa before returning to base after 36 days, on 28 November, having had no successes.[10]
Third patrol
U-511, now under the command of
U-511 returned to Lorient on 8 March after 68 days at sea.[2]
Fourth patrol
U-511's final patrol took her all the way to Japan, as part of the ongoing
The first attack was made at 09:42 on 27 June, when she hit the unescorted 7,194 GRT American Liberty ship Sebastian Cermeno with two torpedoes, disabling the engines and killing an officer and two men. The survivors abandoned ship in five lifeboats. Ten minutes after being hit, the ship sank. The U-boat surfaced and questioned the survivors before leaving. The lifeboats lost contact with each other, but all were eventually rescued by Allied ships, apart from one boat which made its own way to Madagascar.[15] Her second success came on 9 July when she torpedoed the 7,176 GRT American Liberty ship Samuel Heintzelman, loaded with 5,644 tons of ammunition and general cargo. The U-boat dived after firing and did not directly observe the results, but heard underwater explosions. On surfacing they saw no trace of the ship, only floating debris. There were no survivors from the 75 men on board. The ship was reported missing, and was at first believed to have been sunk by a Japanese surface raider. On 30 September, wreckage from the ship was discovered off the Maldives.[16]
The U-boat arrived at Kure on 7 August after a voyage lasting 90 days[2] and was handed over to Japan on 16 September.[1]
Japanese service
After being commissioned in the Imperial Japanese Navy as Ro-500, in September 1943 it was examined by a team of Japanese naval engineers. Several elements of the Type IXC design were later incorporated into the I-201-class. The boat's German crew trained Japanese personnel in its handling, then departed for Penang in late September. Starting in November 1943, Ro-500 was assigned to the Naval Submarine School at Ōtake as a training ship.[4]
In May 1944, Ro-500 was assigned to Submarine Division 33 along with Ro-62, Ro-63, and Ro-64. That month Ro-500 participated in testing anti-submarine warfare equipment with dive bombers from the 634th Naval Air Group. From July 1944 to May 1945, it was used for training purposes in the Kure Naval District, before being reassigned to the 51st Squadron along with Ro-68 and sent from Kure to the Maizuru naval base.[17] For the rest of the war, Ro-500 was at Maizuru to help train air crews in anti-submarine warfare by simulating an American submarine. After Japan's surrender, the crew of Ro-500, led by Lieutenant Yasuhisa Yamamoto, joined the rebels that wanted to continue the war against the Soviets. They departed from Maizuru on 18 August 1945, but the 6th Fleet headquarters contacted the crew, and the same day Ro-500 returned to Maizuru.[4]
Fate
Ro-500 was
In 2018, an expedition led by the Society La Plongee for Deep Sea Technology discovered the wrecks of Ro-500 and I-121 in Wakasa Bay off the coast of Kyoto Prefecture.[18]
Summary of raiding history
Date | Ship Name | Nationality | Tonnage (GRT) |
Fate[19] |
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27 August 1942 | Esso Aruba | United States | 8,773 | Damaged |
27 August 1942 | Rotterdam | Netherlands | 8,968 | Sunk |
27 August 1942 | San Fabian | United Kingdom | 13,031 | Sunk |
9 January 1943 | William Wilberforce | United Kingdom | 5,004 | Sunk |
27 June 1943 | Sebastin Cermeno | United States | 7,194 | Sunk |
9 July 1943 | Samuel Heintzelman | United States | 7,176 | Sunk |
References
- ^ a b c d e f g Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type IXC boat U-511". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 1 February 2010.
- ^ a b c d Helgason, Guðmundur. "War Patrols by German U-boat U-511". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 1 February 2010.
- ^ "Ro-500". IJN Submarine Service – Ijnsubsite.info. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
- ^ a b c Hackett, Bob; Sander, Kingsepp (2018). IJN Submarine RO-500 (Ex-U-511): Tabular Record of Movement. combinedfleet.com. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
- ^ a b c d Gröner 1991, p. 68.
- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Patrol of U-boat U-511 from 16 Jul 1942 to 29 Sep 1942". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 1 February 2010.
- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "San Fabian (Steam tanker)". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 1 February 2010.
- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Rotterdam (Motor tanker)". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 1 February 2010.
- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Esso Aruba (Steam tanker)". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 1 February 2010.
- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Patrol of U-boat U-511 from 24 Oct 1942 to 28 Nov 1942". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 1 February 2010.
- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Patrol of U-boat U-511 from 31 Dec 1942 to 8 Mar 1943". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 1 February 2010.
- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "William Wilberforce (Motor merchant)". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 1 February 2010.
- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Patrol of U-boat U-511 from 10 May 1943 to 7 Aug 1943". German U-boats of WWII—uboat.net. Retrieved 1 February 2010.
- ^ a b Hackett, Bob; Kingsepp, Sander (2018). "IJN Submarine I-121: Tabular Record of Movement". combinedfleet.com. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Sebastian Cermeno (Steam merchant)". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 1 February 2010.
- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Samuel Heintzelman (Steam merchant)". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 1 February 2010.
- ^ 51st Squadron. ijnsubsite.info. Retrieved 27 October 2023.
- ^ Tanaka, Seiji. "U-boat given to Japan during WWII found in sea after 72 years:The Asahi Shimbun". The Asahi Shimbun. Asahi. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit by U-511". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 3 October 2014.
Bibliography
- Bishop, Chris (2006). Kriegsmarine U-Boats, 1939–45. London: Amber Books. ISBN 978-1-904687-96-2.
- 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). Deutsche U-Boot-Verluste von September 1939 bis Mai 1945 [German U-boat losses from September 1939 to May 1945]. Der U-Boot-Krieg (in German). Vol. IV. Hamburg, Berlin, Bonn: Mittler. ISBN 3-8132-0514-2.
- Gröner, Erich; Jung, Dieter; Maass, Martin (1991). U-boats and Mine Warfare Vessels. German Warships 1815–1945. Vol. 2. Translated by Thomas, Keith; Magowan, Rachel. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-593-4.
External links
- Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type IXC boat U-511". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 7 December 2014.
- Hofmann, Markus. "U 511". Deutsche U-Boote 1935–1945 - u-boot-archiv.de (in German). Retrieved 7 December 2014.
- Submarine RO-500: Tabular Record of Movement
- Japanese–German pre–World War II industrial co-operation