German submarine U-558
U-558 in June 1942
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History | |
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Nazi Germany | |
Name | U-558 |
Ordered | 25 September 1939 |
Builder | Blohm & Voss , Hamburg |
Yard number | 534 |
Laid down | 6 January 1940 |
Launched | 23 December 1940 |
Commissioned | 20 February 1941 |
Fate | Sunk on 20 July 1943 in the Bay of Biscay |
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 | |
Part of: |
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Identification codes: | M 36 167 |
Commanders: |
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Operations: |
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Victories: |
German submarine U-558 was a
. She sank 18 ships totalling 94,099 GRT before being sunk by bombers on 20 July 1943.Construction and early service life
U-558 was
Her service began with the 1st U-boat Flotilla where she conducted training before moving on to operations, also with the first flotilla, on 1 May 1941.
Design
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).
Service history
First, second and third patrols
U-558 departed Kiel on 1 June 1941 and entered the Atlantic via the North Sea and the gap between Iceland and the Faroe Islands with no major encounters, arriving at her new home port of Brest in occupied France on the 28th.
Her second patrol was also relatively uneventful.
The submarine's third patrol, from 25 August to 16 September 1941, became interesting when she came upon the British
Fourth and fifth patrols
Her fourth patrol, which began on 11 October 1941, first saw action off Ireland when she torpedoed and sank the unescorted Vancouver Island, a Canadian merchant ship of 9,472 GRT, on 15 October.
U-558's fifth patrol began on 24 November 1941. On 2 December, a British aircraft spotted the U-boat attempting to enter the Mediterranean Sea and called for surface support. U-558 took serious damage from depth charges dropped by the two ships that responded. She was able to escape, but had to return to Brest for repairs, arriving 7 December 1941 after only 14 days at sea, having had no success.[8]
Sixth and seventh patrols
U-558 required significant repairs and remained in port until 10 February 1942, when she embarked on her sixth patrol. On 21 February Convoy ON 67 was spotted, so she moved into position along with five other submarines. Eight of its ships were sunk by the U-boats, another two were left damaged. On 24 February, U-558 torpedoed the 8,009 GRT British tanker Anadara, which escaped.[9] That same day she also torpedoed and sank the 9,432 GRT Norwegian tanker Eidanger and the 5,578 GRT British steamer Inverarder.[10][11] She returned to Brest on 11 March 1942.
U-558 departed Brest to begin her seventh patrol of the war on 12 April 1942 . On 12 May, she sank the 913 GRT British
Eighth, ninth and tenth patrols
U-558's eighth patrol began when she left Brest on 29 July 1942. On 25 August, she encountered the 1,987 GRT British steamer Amakura, which had been travelling with Convoy WAT 15 but had fallen behind. U-558 torpedoed and sank her approximately 90 mi (140 km) southeast of Port Morant, Jamaica.[19] U-558 encountered Convoy TAG 5 on 13 September; she torpedoed and sank the 7,241 GRT British cargo ship Empire Lugard and the 7,915 GRT Dutch steamer Suriname.[20] The same day she also hit the convoy's 6,672 GRT Norwegian tanker Vilja, whose crew quickly abandoned ship but were able to reboard after U-558 left the area. Vilja did not sink, but was later deemed a total loss.[21][22] On 16 September U-558 torpedoed and sank the 2,606 GRT American steamer Commercial Trader about 75 mi (121 km) east of Trinidad.[23] U-558 returned to port on 16 October, having sunk four ships and damaged a fifth.
U-558 remained in port until the end of 1942, and embarked on her ninth war patrol on 9 January 1943. In January she met with the U-109 in order to transfer an officer to their crew, since the commander of U-109 had fallen out with a nervous breakdown.[24] On 23 February, she torpedoed and sank the 9,811 GRT British steam tanker Empire Norseman south of the Azores, which had been travelling with Convoy UC 1 but was drifting unmanned after being torpedoed by U-382 and U-202.[25] She found no other targets during her ninth patrol, which ended when she returned to Brest on 29 March 1943.
Her tenth—and ultimately last—patrol began on 8 May 1943. U-558 ran into difficulty many times during this patrol. At one point, she manoeuvred to attack a large eastbound convoy, but a destroyer harried her into retreat.
Fate
In the
Later the same day, a second Liberator from the 19th Antisubmarine Squadron, 479th Antisubmarine Group, piloted by Charles F. Gallmeier, dropped 7 depth charges on U-558. The sub was severely damaged and unable to dive. The Liberator, her port inner engine taken out by U-558's anti-aircraft flak guns, left the scene and was relieved by a Halifax bomber from 58 Squadron, piloted by Geoffrey R. Sawtell. Although the U-boat was devastated by the previous attack, and the Germans were attempting to scuttle and to abandon the ship, the Halifax attacked U-558 with 8 depth charges. Captain Krech, badly wounded in the spine, and four of his crew miraculously escaped in a raft, and were picked up on 24 July by HMCS Athabaskan.[8]". All other 41 men perished.[27][28] She sank at position 45°10′N 09°42′W / 45.167°N 9.700°W north-west of Spain in the Bay of Biscay.
Wolfpacks
U-558 took part in nine wolfpacks, namely:
- Bosemüller (28 August – 2 September 1941)
- Seewolf (2 – 12 September 1941)
- Delphin (24 January – 14 February 1943)
- Rochen (16 – 28 February 1943)
- Tümmler (1 – 22 March 1943)
- Oder (17 – 19 May 1943)
- Mosel (19 – 24 May 1943)
- Trutz (1 – 16 June 1943)
- Trutz 1 (16 – 29 June 1943)
Summary of raiding history
Date | Ship Name | Nationality | Tonnage (GRT) |
Fate[29] |
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28 August 1941 | Otaio | United Kingdom | 10,298 | Sunk |
15 October 1941 | Vancouver Island | Canada | 9,472 | Sunk |
17 October 1941 | Erviken | Norway | 6,595 | Sunk |
17 October 1941 | Rym | Norway | 1,369 | Sunk |
17 October 1941 | W.C. Teagle | United Kingdom | 9,552 | Sunk |
24 February 1942 | Anadara | United Kingdom | 8,009 | Damaged |
24 February 1942 | Eidanger | Norway | 9,432 | Sunk |
24 February 1942 | Inverarder | United Kingdom | 5,578 | Sunk |
12 May 1942 | HMT Bedfordshire | Royal Navy | 913 | Sunk |
18 May 1942 | Fauna | Netherlands | 1,254 | Sunk |
21 May 1942 | Troisdoc | Canada | 1,925 | Sunk |
23 May 1942 | William Boyce Thompson | United States | 7,061 | Damaged |
25 May 1942 | Beatrice | United States | 3,451 | Sunk |
27 May 1942 | USAT Jack | United States Army | 2,622 | Sunk |
2 June 1942 | Triton | Netherlands | 2,078 | Sunk |
25 August 1942 | Amakura | United Kingdom | 1,987 | Sunk |
13 September 1942 | Empire Lugard | United Kingdom | 7,241 | Sunk |
13 September 1942 | Suriname | Netherlands | 7,915 | Sunk |
13 September 1942 | Vilja | Norway | 6,672 | Total loss |
16 September 1942 | Commercial Trader | United States | 2,606 | Sunk |
23 February 1943 | Empire Norseman | United Kingdom | 9,811 | Sunk |
References
- ^ a b c d Gröner 1991, pp. 43–46.
- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Otaio". Ships hit by U-558 - uboat.net. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Vancouver Island". Ships hit by U-558 - uboat.net. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "W.C. Teagle". Ships hit by U-558 - uboat.net. Retrieved 3 December 2008.
- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Erviken". Ships hit by U-558 - uboat.net. Retrieved 3 December 2008.
- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Rym". Ships hit by U-558 - uboat.net. Retrieved 3 December 2008.
- ^ "D/S Erviken". warsailors.com. Retrieved 4 December 2008."D/S Rym". warsailors.com. Retrieved 4 December 2008.
- ^ a b c d Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type VIIC boat U-558". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Anadara". Ships hit by U-558 - uboat.net. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Eidanger". Ships hit by U-558 - uboat.net. Retrieved 28 December 2014.Helgason, Guðmundur. "Inverarder". Ships hit by U-558 - uboat.net. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
- ^ "M/T Eidanger". warsailors.com. Retrieved 4 December 2008.
- ISBN 0-8133-2332-0. p. 163. Retrieved 3 December 2008.
- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Fauna". Ships hit by U-558 - uboat.net. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Troisdoc". Ships hit by U-558 - uboat.net. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "William Boyce Thompson". Ships hit by U-558 - uboat.net. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Beatrice". Ships hit by U-558 - uboat.net. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Jack". Ships hit by U-558 - uboat.net. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Triton". Ships hit by U-558 - uboat.net. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Amakura". Ships hit by U-558 - uboat.net. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Empire Lugard". Ships hit by U-558 - uboat.net. Retrieved 28 December 2014.Helgason, Guðmundur. "Suriname". Ships hit by U-558 - uboat.net. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Vilja". Ships hit by U-558 - uboat.net. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
- ^ "M/T Vilja". warsailors.com. Retrieved 4 December 2008.
- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Commercial Trader". Ships hit by U-558 - uboat.net. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
- ^ Blair Vol2, p.137
- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Empire Norseman". Ships hit by U-558 - uboat.net. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
- ^ "U.558 Interrogation of Survivors Archived 9 October 2008 at the Wayback Machine", p. 2. Admiralty Report ADM186/808. Uboatarchive.net. Retrieved 3 December 2008.
- ^ Hitler's U-boat War, The Hunted, by Clay Blair, p345
- ^ U.558 Interrogation of Survivors Archived 9 October 2008 at the Wayback Machine", p. 4. Admiralty Report ADM186/808. Uboatarchive.net. Retrieved 3 December 2008.
- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit by U-558". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 2 February 2014.
Bibliography
- Blair, Clay (1998). Hitler's U-Boat War [Volume 2]: The Hunted 1942–1945. Casell. 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). 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.
- Edwards, Bernard (1996). Dönitz and the Wolf Packs - The U-boats at War. Cassell Military Classics. pp. 54, 56, 57, 75, 85, 86. ISBN 0-304-35203-9.
- 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 VIIC boat U-558". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 28 December 2014.