German submarine U-573

Coordinates: 37°00′N 1°00′W / 37.000°N 1.000°W / 37.000; -1.000
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

History
Nazi Germany
NameU-573
Ordered24 October 1939
Builder
Blohm & Voss of Hamburg
Yard number549
Laid down8 June 1940
Launched17 April 1941
Commissioned5 June 1941
FateDamaged by depth charges north-west of Algiers. Interned at Cartagena, Spain on 2 May 1942. Sold to Spain on 2 August 1942. Became the Spanish submarine G-7.[1]
Spain
NameG-7
Acquired1942
Commissioned2 August 1942
RenamedS-01 (1961)
Stricken2 May 1970
FateBroken up
General characteristics
Class and type
Type VIIC submarine
Displacement
Length
  • 67.10 m (220 ft 2 in)
    o/a
  • 50.50 m (165 ft 8 in)
    pressure hull
Beam
  • 6.20 m (20 ft 4 in) o/a
  • 4.70 m (15 ft 5 in) pressure hull
Height9.60 m (31 ft 6 in)
Draught4.74 m (15 ft 7 in)
Installed power
  • 2,800–3,200 PS (2,100–2,400 kW; 2,800–3,200 bhp) (diesels)
  • 750 PS (550 kW; 740 shp) (electric)
Propulsion
Speed
  • 17.7 knots (32.8 km/h; 20.4 mph) surfaced
  • 7.6 knots (14.1 km/h; 8.7 mph) submerged
Range
  • 8,500 nmi (15,700 km; 9,800 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) surfaced
  • 80 nmi (150 km; 92 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph) submerged
Test depth
  • 230 m (750 ft)
  • Crush depth: 250–295 m (820–968 ft)
Complement4 officers, 40–56 enlisted
Armament
Service record (Kriegsmarine)[2]
Part of:
Identification codes: M 42 508
Commanders:
  • Kptlt.
     Heinrich Heinsohn
  • 5 June 1941 – 2 May 1942
Operations:
  • 4 patrols:
  • 1st patrol:
  • 27 September – 15 November 1941
  • 2nd patrol:
  • a. 7 – 9 December 1941
  • b. 11 – 30 December 1941
  • 3rd patrol:
  • 2 February – 6 March 1942
  • 4th patrol:
  • 20 April – 2 May 1942
Victories: 1 merchant ship sunk
(5,289 GRT)

German submarine U-573 was a

Type VIIC U-boat built for Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine
for service during World War II.

Her keel was

Blohm & Voss yard in Hamburg as yard number 549. She was launched on 17 April 1941 and commissioned on 5 June with Kapitänleutnant Heinrich Heinsohn (12 February 1910 – 6 May 1943) in command. Heinsohn commanded her for her entire career in the Kriegsmarine. In May 1941 he had arranged that the city of Landeck in Tyrol adopted the submarine within the then popular sponsorship programme (Patenschaftsprogramm), organising gifts and holidays for the crew, earning her the honorary name "U-573 Landeck".[3]

The boat began her service career as part of the 3rd U-boat Flotilla when she conducted training; on 1 September 1941 she commenced operations with that flotilla. She was transferred to the 29th Flotilla, also for operations, on 1 January 1942. She was sold to the Spanish Navy that same year and became the Spanish submarine G-7.

Design

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 Brown, Boveri & Cie 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).[4]

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 cm (0.79 in) C/30 anti-aircraft gun. The boat had a complement of between forty-four and sixty.[4]

German service

U-573 conducted four war patrols, sinking just one ship.[5]

First, second and third patrols

Her operational career began with her departure from

St. Nazaire
in occupied France, docking on 15 November.

U-573's second patrol involved the boat slipping past the heavily defended Strait of Gibraltar into the Mediterranean,[6] where she sank the Norwegian Hellen (5,289 GRT) with two torpedoes on 21 December 1941. She arrived at Pola in Croatia on 30 December.

Her third sortie was relatively uneventful, starting and finishing in Pola between 2 February and 6 March 1942.

Fourth patrol and internment

On 29 April 1942, U-573 was attacked with depth charges by Lockheed Hudsons of No. 233 Squadron RAF, northwest of Algiers. Seriously damaged, she limped north to Spain, arriving in Cartagena on 2 May. International agreements allowed ships in neutral ports 24 hours to make emergency repairs before they were to be interned. The Spanish authorities granted U-573 a three-month period for repairs, which prompted several strong protests from the British Embassy in Madrid. On 19 May Heinsohn flew from Madrid to Stuttgart, then travelled on to Berlin, in order to discuss the situation with the Kriegsmarine. He returned by train via Hendaye (in southwest France) on 28 May. Realizing that even three months would not be enough to repair the boat, the Kriegsmarine sold the vessel to Spain for 1.5 million ℛ︁ℳ︁. On 2 August 1942, at 10 am, (one day before the three-month period was due to expire), the Spanish navy commissioned the boat as the G-7.[7]

U-573's crew suffered no casualties during her career in the Kriegsmarine. The men had been interned in Cartagena and were gradually released in groups of two or three. The last five members of the crew left with

German-occupied France to take command of U-438
, and died with all his crew two months later.

Spanish service

Work started on the U-573, now the G-7, in August 1943 following the sale to Spain but took four years to complete. The damage caused by the British attack was found to be more extensive than was first thought; also German technical assistance and parts were difficult to obtain in the last years of World War II and after. In addition, Spain's economy was weak following the Spanish Civil War. Repairs were completed in early 1947 and on 5 November 1947 G-7 was re-commissioned. The bow's net cutter and the 20mm anti aircraft cannon were removed.

Despite the Type VII being out-dated by the end of World War II, G-7 was the most modern of Spain's submarine fleet; her other vessels (two ex-Italian, and four home-built boats) dating from the early 1930s. G-7 lacked radar and did not possess a

Empresa Nacional Bazán, the Spanish shipbuilding company, but these came to nothing when the Spanish Navy bought the former US Navy submarine USS Kraken
.

G-7's repairs were completed in 1947. In 1958 Arca-Filmproduktion GmbH rented G-7 to take part in the semi-fictitious movie U 47 – Kapitänleutnant Prien, partially based on his patrol to Scapa Flow, where he sank HMS Royal Oak.[8]

In 1961 the Spanish Navy's submarine force was re-numbered, and G-7 became S-01.

One other U-boat was interned in Spain during World War II: U-760.

On 2 May 1970 she was de-commissioned after 23 years service. She was auctioned for 3,334,751 Pts (about US$26,500), after which, despite efforts to save and preserve her as a museum, the submarine was broken up for scrap.

Summary of raiding history

Date Ship Name Nationality Tonnage (GRT) Fate[9]
21 December 1941 Hellen  Norway 5,289 Sunk

See also

References

  1. ^ Kemp 1997, p. 81.
  2. ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type VIIC boat U-572". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 15 October 2014.
  3. ^ Three representatives of Landeck, the burgomaster Hermann Bursian, Josef Pesjak, and a Herr Tscholl, participated in the commissioning of the boat and handed over a coat-of-arms of the city to be fixed to the conning tower on every arrival in harbour. Cf. Franz Fröwis, "U-573, U-256 und U-92 trugen das Wappen Landecks", in: Tiroler Heimat. Jahrbuch für Geschichte und Volkskunde, vol. 67 (2003), pp. 289–303, here pp. 291 and 293.
  4. ^ a b c d Gröner 1991, pp. 43–46.
  5. ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Patrol info for U-573 (Second patrol)". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 31 March 2010.
  6. ISBN 9781861762900
    , p. 51.
  7. ^ Paterson, pp. 66–67
  8. Internet Movie Database
    .
  9. ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit by U573". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 3 February 2014.

Bibliography

External links

37°00′N 1°00′W / 37.000°N 1.000°W / 37.000; -1.000

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