German submarine U-516
,_10_May_1945_(A_28552).jpg) U-516 surrenders to HMS Cavendish (R15) on 10 May 1945
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| History | |
|---|---|
 Nazi Germany | |
| Name | U-516 |
| Ordered | 14 February 1940 |
| Builder | Deutsche Werft, Hamburg |
| Yard number | 312 |
| Laid down | 12 May 1941 |
| Launched | 16 December 1941 |
| Commissioned | 21 February 1942 |
| Fate | Surrendered on 14 May 1945 at Lisahally in Northern Ireland. Sunk on 2 January 1946 |
| General characteristics [1] | |
| 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 | |
| Part of: |
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| Identification codes: | M 41 960 |
| Commanders: |
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| Operations: |
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| Victories: | |
German submarine U-516 was a
.She was laid down at the Deutsche Werft (yard) in Hamburg as yard number 312 on 12 May 1941, launched on 16 December 1941 and commissioned on 21 February 1942 with Korvettenkapitän Gerhard Wiebe in command.
U-516 began her service career with training as part of the 4th U-boat Flotilla from 10 March 1942. She was reassigned to the 10th flotilla for operations on 1 September 1942, then the 33rd flotilla on 1 October 1944.
She carried out six patrols, sank 16 ships and damaged one more. She surrendered on 14 May 1945 at
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
U-516'es first patrol was preceded by a short trip from Kiel in Germany to Kristiansand in Norway. The patrol itself began with the boat's departure from Kristiansand on 15 August 1942. She passed through the 'gap' separating Iceland and the Faroe Islands before heading out into the Atlantic Ocean.
She damaged the Port Jackson with 14 rounds from her
The boat moved to the waters off northern South America where her success rate shot-up, although one target required seven torpedoes to sink her.
She entered Lorient, on the French Atlantic coast, on 14 November.
Second and third patrols
For her second foray, U-516 headed toward
Her third sortie was also in a southerly direction; its furthest point was reached between South America and the
Fourth patrol
Patrol number four took the boat to the Caribbean Sea. One of her victims was the Colombian sailing ship Ruby, which was sunk with the deck gun on 18 November 1943.
Another was the Elizabeth Kellog. This ship, which had been torpedoed and abandoned on the 23rd, ran around the survivors (she was still underway because the engines could not be secured). Her after magazine exploded and she burned for 12 hours before sinking.
The U-boat was damaged by an unidentified aircraft on 19 December 1943.
Fifth patrol
The boat's fifth patrol saw her sink the Esso Harrisburg 200 nautical miles (370 km; 230 mi) northwest of Aruba in the Caribbean.[4] She then made her way to Flensburg via the Denmark Strait that separates Greenland and Iceland. She docked at the German harbour on 4 October 1944.
Sixth patrol and fate
Having moved from Kiel to
Summary of raiding history
| Date | Ship Name | Nationality | Tonnage (GRT) |
Fate[5] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 27 August 1942 | Port Jackson |  United Kingdom
|
9,687 | Damaged |
| 31 August 1942 | Jack Carnes |  United States
|
10,907 | Sunk |
| 19 September 1942 | Wichita | United States
|
6,174 | Sunk |
| 28 September 1942 | Antonico |  Brazil
|
1,223 | Sunk |
| 30 September 1942 | Alipore | United Kingdom
|
5,273 | Sunk |
| 24 October 1942 | Holmpark | United Kingdom
|
5,780 | Sunk |
| 11 February 1943 | Helmspey | United Kingdom
|
4,764 | Sunk |
| 17 February 1943 | Deer Lodge | United States
|
6,187 | Sunk |
| 27 February 1943 | Colombia |  Netherlands
|
10,782 | Sunk |
| 20 March 1943 | Nortun |  Panama
|
3,663 | Sunk |
| 13 November 1943 | Pompoon | Panama
|
1,082 | Sunk |
| 18 November 1943 | Ruby |  Colombia
|
39 | Sunk |
| 23 November 1943 | Elizabeth Kellog | United States
|
5,189 | Sunk |
| 24 November 1943 | Melville E. Stone | United States
|
7,176 | Sunk |
| 8 December 1943 | Colombia | Panama
|
1,064 | Sunk |
| 16 December 1943 | McDowell | United States
|
10,195 | Sunk |
| 7 July 1944 | Esso Harrisburg | United States
|
9,887 | Sunk |
References
- ^ Gröner 1985, pp. 105–107.
- ^ a b c d Gröner 1991, p. 68.
- ISBN 0 7230 0809 4, p. 52
- ^ The Times Atlas of the World, p 69
- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit by U-516". German U-boats of WWII – uboat.net. Retrieved 3 October 2014.
Bibliography
- 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 (1985). Die deutschen Kriegsschiffe 1815–1945 / 3, U-Boote, Hilfskreuzer, Minenschiffe, Netzleger, Sperrbrecher (in German). Koblenz: Bernard & Graefe. OCLC 310610321.
- 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-516". German U-boats of WWII – uboat.net. Retrieved 7 December 2014.
