German submarine U-576
History | ||
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Nazi Germany | ||
Name | U-576 | |
Ordered | 8 January 1940 | |
Builder | Blohm & Voss, Hamburg | |
Yard number | 552 | |
Laid down | 1 August 1940 | |
Launched | 30 April 1941 | |
Commissioned | 26 June 1941 | |
Fate | Sunk by US aircraft and a merchant ship, near the East Coast of the United States on 15 July 1942[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 44 117 | |
Commanders: |
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Operations: |
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Victories: | ||
U-576 and Bluefields (shipwrecks and remains) | ||
Nearest city | MPS World War II Shipwrecks along the East Coast and Gulf of Mexico MPS | |
NRHP reference No. | 15000864 | |
Added to NRHP | 8 December 2015 |
German submarine U-576 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
U-576 trained in the 7th U-boat Flotilla, and stayed with that flotilla for operations from 1 September 1941 until her loss on 15 July 1942.
First and second patrols
U-576's first patrol was from Kirkenes in Norway. She headed for the Barents Sea and swept the area off the Kola Peninsula. No encounters were reported.
On her second patrol, she sailed into the Atlantic Ocean through the
Third patrol
Leaving St. Nazaire on 20 January 1942, the U-576 sank the Empire Spring, a catapult armed merchantman or CAM ship, on 14 February, southeast of Sable Island, off Nova Scotia.[4] The Empire Spring's entire crew of 55 died in the sinking.[5]
Fourth patrol
As one of the boats involved in Operation Drumbeat (U-boat operations off the eastern seaboard of the North America),[6] U-576 sank the Pipestone County on 21 April 1942, 475 nautical miles (880 km; 547 mi) east of Cape Henry, Virginia. All 46 of the Pipestone County's crewmen survived. The submarine surfaced, Heinicke apologized to the Pipestone County's crew for sinking their ship, and U-576's crew gave provisions to the men in one of the lifeboats.[5] On 30 April 1942, the U-576 sank the Norwegian[5] vessel Taborfjell 95 nautical miles (176 km; 109 mi) east of Cape Cod. The merchant ship went down in just one minute, with the loss of 17 of her 20 crewmen.
Fifth patrol and loss
The boat set out from St. Nazaire for the last time on 16 June 1942, heading for the U.S. Atlantic seaboard to participate in Operation Drumbeat. During the first half of July, she sighted an Allied convoy but was unable to attack it. The U-576 was plagued with engine trouble,[5] and on 13 or 14 July, an aircraft attack damaged one of her ballast tanks, hampering her ability to dive and surface, and Heinicke signaled that the damage could not be repaired at sea. On the 29th day of the patrol, Heinicke signaled that he was heading east on the surface in moderate seas and had made 16 nautical miles that day. It was the U-576's last signal.
On 15 July 1942 off the coast of
Discovery
In 2009, the U.S.
On 24 August 2016, during a series of dives in two-person submersibles from the 146-foot (45-meter) vessel Baseline Explorer, scientists working in partnership with
Under
Summary of raiding history
Date | Ship Name | Nationality | Tonnage (GRT) |
Fate[8] |
---|---|---|---|---|
14 February 1942 | Empire Spring | United Kingdom | 6,946 | Sunk |
21 April 1942 | Pipestone County | United States | 5,102 | Sunk |
30 April 1942 | Taborfjell | Norway | 1,339 | Sunk |
15 July 1942 | Bluefields | Nicaragua | 2,063 | Sunk |
15 July 1942 | Chilore | United States | 8,310 | Damaged |
15 July 1942 | J.A. Mowinckel | Panama | 11,147 | Damaged |
References
- ^ Kemp 1997, p. 84.
- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type VIIC boat U-576". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 8 October 2012.
- ^ a b c d Gröner 1991, pp. 43–46.
- ISBN 0-7230-0809-4, p. 55
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Ruane, Michael E. (31 August 2016). "After a 7-year search, a missing German U-boat is lost no longer". The Washington Post. Retrieved 25 January 2018.
- ISBN 0-06-016155-8, p. 489
- ^ Lendon, Brad (21 October 2014). "Wreck of WWII German U-boat found off North Carolina". CNN. Retrieved 21 October 2014.
- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit by U-576". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 3 February 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). 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 - German Submarine Losses in the World Wars. Arms & Armour. ISBN 1-85409-515-3.
External links
- Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type VIIC boat U-576". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 29 December 2014.