German submarine U-575
The crew after return from seventh patrol
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History | |
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Nazi Germany | |
Name | U-575 |
Ordered | 8 January 1940 |
Builder | Blohm & Voss, Hamburg |
Yard number | 551 |
Laid down | 1 August 1940 |
Launched | 30 April 1941 |
Commissioned | 19 June 1941 |
Nickname(s) | Liliput |
Fate | Sunk by Allied warships and aircraft on 13 March 1944[1] |
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[2] | |
Part of: |
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Identification codes: | M 44 068 |
Commanders: |
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Operations: |
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Victories: |
German submarine U-575 was a
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
The submarine was
She served with the 7th U-boat Flotilla until her loss (from 1 September 1941 until 13 March 1944).
First patrol
U-575's first patrol was from Trondheim in Norway; she headed for the Atlantic Ocean via the gap between Iceland and the Faroe Islands. She swept an area southeast of Greenland and sank the Tuva on 2 October 1941. The ship's crew abandoned their vessel in a pair of lifeboats and two rafts, but had to leave one of their number who had been trapped underneath debris. The neutral US destroyer USS Winslow, escorting convoy ON 20, came to help Tuva. As Winslow reached the area, she closed in on U-575 and began the tracing with depth charges, but U-575 escaped without any damage.
The submarine was the target of an air attack on 7 October, but received minimal damage. She arrived at
Statistics
- Days on sea: 32
- Overall distance travelled: 5,059.5 nmi
- Distance travelled surfaced: 4,776.70 nmi (94.4%)
- Distance travelled submerged: 282.8 nmi (5.6%)
- Most distance travelled in 24 hours surfaced: 292 nmi (on 08.10.1941)
- Most distance travelled in 24 hours submerged: 36.3 nmi (on 12.09.1941)
- Total diving time: 7,029 minutes; 117.15 hours; 4.88 days (15.3%)
Second patrol
Having left St. Nazaire on 9 November 1941, U-575 headed for the Newfoundland and Labrador coast.
On 1 December 1941 she encountered the American tanker Astral at 35°40´N/24°00´W (ca. grid square CF75-79). The tanker had departed Aruba in Venezuela, and sailed to Lissabon with a cargo of 78,200 barrels of benzine and kerosine. For many hours, U-575 hunted Astral so that she could come into a good firing position; after doing so, Captain Heydemann recognized the neutral US flag, and refrained from attacking the tanker.
On the return leg, when U-575 was looking to re-fuel at Vigo, Spain, she was depth charged. The damage was serious enough to prevent her entry into the Mediterranean; she was obliged to return to St. Nazaire, which she did on 17 December.
Statistics
- Days on sea: 39
- Overall distance travelled: 5,814 nmi
- Distance travelled surfaced: 5,508.80 nmi (94.8%)
- Distance travelled submerged: 305.2 nmi (5.2%)
- Most distance travelled in 24 hours surfaced: 354 nmi (on 30.11.1941)
- Most distance travelled in 24 hours submerged: 37 nmi (on 10.12.1941)
- Total diving time: 6,841 minutes; 114.02 hours; 4.75 days (12.2%)
Third patrol
For her third foray, U-575 left St. Nazaire on 14 January 1942. On the 25th, a lookout broke an arm in bad weather.
At the end of January, U-575 was involved with U-123 in trying, in the mid-ocean 'air-gap', to rendezvous with the Spreewald, a German blockade runner whose doctor might be able to treat one of U123's crew members who had been injured. On the 31st, U-123 met U-575, but there was no sign of the Spreewald. She had been sunk, but it was not then known by whom.[4]
Statistics
- Days on sea: 44
- Overall distance travelled: 5,986 nmi
- Distance travelled surfaced: 5,750 nmi (96.1%)
- Distance travelled submerged: 236 nmi (3.9%)
- Most distance travelled in 24 hours surfaced: 210 nmi (on 27.01.1942)
- Most distance travelled in 24 hours submerged: 24 nmi (on 16.01.1942)
- Total diving time: 3,369 minutes; 56.15 hours; 2.34 days (5.3%)
Fourth patrol
U-575's only target on this patrol was the Robin Hood, which she sank about 300 nautical miles (560 km; 350 mi) southeast of
Statistics
- Days on sea: 52
- Overall distance travelled: 7,129.5 nmi
- Distance travelled surfaced: 6,912 nmi (97%)
- Distance travelled submerged: 217.5 nmi (3%)
- Most distance travelled in 24 hours surfaced: 268 nmi (on 28.03.1942)
- Most distance travelled in 24 hours submerged: 37,5 nmi (on 26.03.1942)
- Total diving time: 5,622 minutes; 93.7 hours; 3.90 days (7.4%)
Fifth patrol
U-575 performed a steady stream of sinkings on her fifth sortie. The Norlandia was sunk on 4 July 1942 and Empire Explorer on the ninth. Additionally, she sunk two sailing ships (Comrade and Glacier) with gunfire on the 18th.
She also damaged San Gaspar off Manzilla, Trinidad[5] on the 18th. It was assumed at that time that this ship had been sunk, but she was taken in tow by the tug HMS Roode Zee to Port of Spain,[5] repaired, and returned to service in October 1943.
Statistics
- Days on sea: 59
- Overall distance travelled: 10,173 nmi
- Distance travelled surfaced 9,732.30 nmi (95.7%)
- Distance travelled submerged: 440.7 nmi (4.3%)
- Most distance travelled in 24 hours surfaced: 286.1 nmi (on 14.06.1942)
- Most distance travelled in 24 hours submerged: 57 nmi (on 06.08.1942)
- Total diving time: 9,866 minutes; 164.4 hours; 6.85 days (11.6%)
Sixth patrol
On the boat's sixth patrol, a man was lost overboard on 5 October 1942.
U-575 tallied another kill when she sank the troopship
Statistics
- Days on sea: 54
- Overall distance travelled: 7,363.4 nmi
- Distance travelled surfaced: 6,903.10 nmi (93.8%)
- Distance travelled submerged: 460.3 nmi (6.2%)
- Most distance travelled in 24 hours surfaced: 300 nmi (on 04.10.1942)
- Most distance travelled in 24 hours submerged: 53 nmi (on 23.09.1942)
- Total diving time: 7,587 minutes; 126.5 hours; 5.27 days (9.8%)
Seventh patrol
On U-575's seventh mission, she sank the US ship City of Flint from the convoy UGS 4 about 300 nmi (560 km; 350 mi) southeast of the Azores on 25 January 1943.
Statistics
- Days on sea: 64
- Overall distance travelled: 10,132.3 nmi
- Distance travelled surfaced: 9,692.70 nmi (95.7%)
- Distance travelled submerged: 439.6 nmi (4.3%)
- Most distance travelled in 24 hours surfaced: 294.8 nmi (on 09.01.1943)
- Most distance travelled in 24 hours submerged: 40.7 nmi (on 20.12.1942)
- Total diving time: 10,449 minutes; 174.2 hours; 7.26 days (10.8%)
Eight patrol
Her eighth sortie, which commenced on 22 April 1943 and finished on 11 June, was relatively uneventful.
Statistics
- Days on sea: 51
- Overall distance travelled: 8,028.7 nmi
- Distance travelled surfaced: 7,164.90 nmi (89.2%)
- Distance travelled submerged: 863.8 nmi (10.8%)
- Most distance travelled in 24 hours surfaced: 307 nmi (on 14.05.1943)
- Most distance travelled in 24 hours submerged: 53.3 nmi (on 26.04.1943)
- Total diving time: 17,217 minutes; 287 hours; 11.96 days (23.4%)
Ninth patrol
U-575 had a new Captain, Oberleutnant zur See Wolfgang Boehmer, since September 1943, in time for her ninth patrol.
The expedition was split into four parts; the first three were only a couple of days' duration. The fourth was longer and included an approach by a
Statistics
- Days on sea: 63
- Overall distance travelled: 6,776.2 nmi
- Distance travelled surfaced: 5,432.80 nmi (80.2%)
- Distance travelled submerged: 1,343.4 nmi (19.8%)
- Most distance travelled in 24 hours surfaced: 263.1 nmi (on 16.11.1943)
- Most distance travelled in 24 hours submerged: 54 nmi (on 09.10.1943)
- Total diving time: 36,392 minutes; 606.5 hours; 25.27 days (36.1%)
Tenth patrol and loss
U-575 was fitted with a Snorkel. On this journey she was used as weather-boat. U-575 left St. Nazaire for the last time on 29 February 1944. After sinking HMS Asphodel northwest of Cape Finisterre on 10 March, the boat was hunted for 18 hours by convoy escorts, but escaped.
Her luck ran out on the 13th when she was sunk by the combined efforts of the Canadian frigate
18 men died with U-575; there were 37 survivors.
Wolfpacks
U-575 took part in 18 wolfpacks, namely:
- Brandenburg (15 – 26 September 1941)
- Steuben (14 November – 2 December 1941)
- Endrass (12 – 17 June 1942)
- Tiger (26 – 27 September 1942)
- Luchs (27 September – 6 October 1942)
- Panther (6 – 16 October 1942)
- Puma (16 – 22 October 1942)
- Delphin (26 December 1942 – 14 February 1943)
- Amsel 1 (3 – 6 May 1943)
- Elbe (7 – 10 May 1943)
- Elbe 1 (10 – 14 May 1943)
- Mosel (19 – 24 May 1943)
- Siegfried (22 – 27 October 1943)
- Siegfried 3 (27 – 30 October 1943)
- Jahn (30 October – 2 November 1943)
- Tirpitz 3 (2 – 8 November 1943)
- Eisenhart 4 (9 – 15 November 1943)
- Preussen (2 – 13 March 1944)
Summary of raiding history
Date | Ship Name | Nationality | Tonnage[Note 1] | Fate[6] |
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2 October 1941 | Tuva | Netherlands | 4,652 | Sunk |
16 April 1942 | Robin Hood | United States | 6,887 | Sunk |
4 July 1942 | Norlandia | United Kingdom | 2,689 | Sunk |
9 July 1942 | Empire Explorer | United Kingdom | 5,345 | Sunk |
18 July 1942 | Comrade | United Kingdom | 69 | Sunk |
18 July 1942 | Glacier | United Kingdom | 75 | Sunk |
18 July 1942 | San Gaspar | United Kingdom | 12,910 | Damaged |
29 October 1942 | Abosso | United Kingdom | 11,330 | Sunk |
25 January 1943 | City of Flint | United States | 4,963 | Sunk |
10 March 1944 | HMS Asphodel | Royal Navy | 1,015 | Sunk |
References
Notes
- gross register tons. Military vessels are listed by tons displacement.
Citations
- ^ a b Kemp 1997, p. 177.
- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type VIIC boat U-575". German U-boats of WWII – uboat.net. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
- ^ a b c d Gröner 1991, pp. 43–46.
- ISBN 0-06016155-8.
- ^ ISBN 0-7230-0809-4.
- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit by U-575". German U-boats of WWII – uboat.net. Retrieved 7 October 2012.
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). 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.
- Kemp, Paul (1997). U-boats destroyed. London: Arms & Armour. ISBN 1-85409-515-3.
External links
- Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type VIIC boat U-575". German U-boats of WWII – uboat.net. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
- private Homepage about U-575 Archived 28 September 2012 at the Wayback Machine