German submarine U-581
| History | |
|---|---|
 Nazi Germany | |
| Name | U-581 |
| Ordered | 8 January 1940 |
| Builder | Blohm & Voss, Hamburg |
| Yard number | 557 |
| Laid down | 25 September 1940 |
| Launched | 12 June 1941 |
| Commissioned | 31 July 1941 |
| Fate | Sunk by depth charges from HMS Westcott near the Azores on 2 February 1942[1] |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Type VIIC submarine |
| Displacement | |
| Length |
|
| Beam |
|
| Height | 9.60 m (31 ft 6 in) |
| Draught | 4.74 m (15 ft 7 in) |
| Installed power |
|
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed |
|
| Range | |
| Test depth |
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| Complement | 4 officers, 40–56 enlisted |
| Armament |
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| Service record[1] | |
| Part of: |
|
| Identification codes: | M 46 386 |
| Commanders: |
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| Operations: |
|
| Victories: |
1 auxiliary warship sunk (364 GRT) |
German submarine U-581 was a
.She carried out two patrols and sank one auxiliary warship of 364 GRT.
She was scuttled by her own crew after being pursued and attacked by a British warship near the Azores on 2 February 1942. After 20 years of search, in 2016, in a depth of approx. 900 m, the boat was discovered and filmed.
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 5th U-boat Flotilla from 31 July 1941 for training and moved to the 7th flotilla for operations until her loss, from 1 December 1941 until 2 February 1942.
First patrol
The boat departed
Second patrol and loss
For her second foray, U-581 left St. Nazaire on 11 January 1942. On 19 January, she likely sank the British armed trawler HMS Rosemonde northeast of the Azores. There is an element of doubt because the small warship was not reported missing until this date.
U-581 was sunk by depth charges from the British destroyer HMS Westcott near the Azores on 2 February 1942. Four men died; there were 41 survivors.
One of U-581's officers, Walter Sitek,[3] swam six kilometres to land. He was repatriated to Germany through neutral Spain. Sitek survived the war.
Summary of raiding history
| Date | Ship Name | Nationality | Tonnage[Note 1] | Fate[4] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19 January 1942 | HMS Rosemonde |  Royal Navy
|
364 | Sunk |
References
Notes
- gross register tons. Military vessels are listed by tons displacement.
Citations
- ^ a b Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type VIIC boat U-581". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 9 October 2012.
- ^ a b c d Gröner 1991, pp. 43–46.
- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Walter Sitek". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit by U-581". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 4 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 (1999). U-Boats Destroyed - German Submarine Losses in the World Wars. London: Arms & Armour. ISBN 1-85409-515-3.
External links
- Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type VIIC boat U-581". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
- Hofmann, Markus. "U 581". Deutsche U-Boote 1935-1945 - u-boot-archiv.de (in German). Retrieved 29 December 2014.
- British Admiralty, Naval Intelligence Division (April 1942). "C.B. 4051 (42) "U 581" Interrogation of Survivors". U-boat Archive - uboatarchive.net. Archived from the original on 10 February 2017. Retrieved 6 February 2017.
- Video of the wrack
