German submarine U-603
History | |
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Name | U-603 |
Ordered | 22 May 1940 |
Builder | Blohm & Voss, Hamburg |
Yard number | 579 |
Laid down | 27 February 1941 |
Launched | 16 November 1941 |
Commissioned | 2 January 1942 |
Fate | Missing since 19 February 1944 in the North Atlantic. No explanation for her loss.[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[1] | |
Part of: |
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Identification codes: | M 47 142 |
Commanders: |
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Operations: |
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Victories: |
4 merchant ships sunk (22,406 GRT) |
German submarine U-603 was a
. She wasDesign
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 boat's career began with training at 5th U-boat Flotilla on 2 January 1942, followed by active service on 1 December 1942 as part of the 1st Flotilla for the remainder of her service.
In five patrols she sank four merchant ships, for a total of 22,406 gross register tons (GRT).
On 4 December 1942 she was returning to base when she spotted a convoy and attacked by convoy escorts, but not before reporting to base and calling in support boats.
On 8 July 1943 she was attacked by a RAF
On 13 October 1943 an
Convoy ON 166
On 21 February 1943, while operating against Convoy ON 166, she jointly attacked the Norwegian motor tanker Stigstad with U-332. U-332 hit her first with one torpedo, closely followed by two further torpedoes from U-603 which broke her back; sinking her in 15 minutes.
Two nights later she finished off the straggling Norwegian motor tanker Glittre with two torpedoes.
Convoy HX 237
Now under the command of Oberleutnant zur See Rudolf Baltz, U-603 attacked convoy HX 237 and successfully sank the Norwegian motor vessel Brand on 12 May 1943.
Wolf packs
U-603 took part in 13 wolfpacks, namely:
- Ritter (14 – 26 February 1943)
- Burggraf (4 – 5 March 1943)
- Raubgraf(7 – 20 March 1943)
- Oder (17 – 19 May 1943)
- Mosel (19 – 24 May 1943)
- Trutz (1 – 16 June 1943)
- Trutz 2 (16 – 29 June 1943)
- Geier 1 (30 June – 14 July 1943)
- Leuthen(15 – 24 September 1943)
- Rossbach (24 September – 9 October 1943)
- Igel 2 (15 – 17 February 1944)
- Hai 1(17 – 22 February 1944)
- Preussen (22 February – 1 March 1944)
Fate
U-603 has been missing since 19 February 1944 in the North Atlantic.[1]
Previously recorded fate
U-603 was sunk on 1 March 1944 in the
Summary of raiding history
Date | Ship Name | Nationality | Tonnage (GRT) |
Fate[3] |
---|---|---|---|---|
21 February 1943 | Stigstad | ![]() |
5,964 | Sunk |
23 February 1943 | Glittre | ![]() |
6,409 | Sunk |
16 March 1943 | Elin K | ![]() |
5,214 | Sunk |
12 May 1943 | Brand | ![]() |
4,819 | Sunk |
References
- ^ a b c Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type VIIC boat U-603". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 6 July 2014.
- ^ a b c d Gröner 1991, pp. 43–46.
- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit by U-603". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 6 July 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.
- Edwards, Bernard (1996). Dönitz and the Wolf Packs - The U-boats at War. Cassell. pp. 129, 155, 156, 160, 208. ISBN 0-304-35203-9.
- 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.
- Sharpe, Peter (1998). U-Boat Fact File. Great Britain: Midland Publishing. ISBN 1-85780-072-9.
External links
- Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type VIIC boat U-603". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 29 December 2014.