German submarine U-597
| Career |  |
|---|---|
| Name: | U-597 |
| Ordered: | 16 January 1940 |
| Builder: | Blohm & Voss, Hamburg |
| Yard number: | 573 |
| Laid down: | 13 January 1941 |
| Launched: | 1 October 1941 |
| Commissioned: | 20 November 1941 |
| Fate: | Sunk southwest of Iceland by a British aircraft, October 1942[1] |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Type VIIC submarine |
| Displacement: |
769 tonnes (757 long tons) surfaced 871 t (857 long tons) submerged |
| Length: |
67.1 m (220 ft 2 in) o/a 50.5 m (165 ft 8 in) pressure hull |
| Beam: |
6.2 m (20 ft 4 in) o/a 4.7 m (15 ft 5 in) pressure hull |
| Draft: | 4.74 m (15 ft 7 in) |
| Propulsion: |
2 × supercharged Germaniawerft 6-cylinder 4-stroke F46 diesel engines, totalling 2,800–3,200 bhp (2,100–2,400 kW). Max rpm: 470-490 2 × electric motors, totalling 750 shp (560 kW) and max rpm: 296. |
| Speed: |
17.7 knots (32.8 km/h; 20.4 mph) surfaced 7.6 knots (14.1 km/h; 8.7 mph) submerged |
| Range: |
15,170 km (8,190 nmi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) surfaced 150 km (81 nmi) 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) |
| Complement: | 44–52 officers and ratings |
| Armament: |
5 × 53.3 cm (21 in) torpedo tubes (four bow, one stern) 14 × G7e torpedoes or 26 TMA mines 1 × 8.8 cm (3.46 in) deck gun (220 rounds) Various AA guns |
| Service record[2] | |
|---|---|
| Part of: |
8th U-boat Flotilla (20 November 1941–30 June 1942) 1st U-boat Flotilla (1 July–12 October 1942) |
| Commanders: |
Krvkpt. Eberhard Bobst (20 November 1941–12 October 1942) |
| Operations: |
1st patrol: 27 June–16 August 1942 2nd patrol: 16 September–12 October 1942 |
| Victories: | None |
German submarine U-597 was a Type VIIC U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II.
She was a member of eight wolfpacks, carried out two patrols but sank no ships.
She was sunk southwest of Iceland by a British aircraft, in October 1942.
Service history
The submarine was laid down on 13 January 1941 at Blohm & Voss, Hamburg as 'werk' 573, launched on 1 October and commissioned on 20 November under the command of kapitänleutnant Eberhard Bopst.
She served with the 8th U-boat Flotilla from 20 November 1941 for training and the 1st flotilla from 1 July 1942 for operations.
1st patrol
U-597 departed Kiel on 12 October 1942 and headed for the Atlantic Ocean. Her route took her through the 'gap' between Iceland and the Faroe Islands toward Newfoundland[3]
She arrived in Brest in occupied France on 16 August.
2nd patrol and loss
She departed Brest on 16 September and was sunk less than a month later on 12 October by depth charges dropped by a British B-24 Liberator of No. 120 Squadron RAF.
Forty-nine men died in U-597; there were no survivors.
References
Notes
- ↑ Kemp, Paul: U-Boats Destroyed - German Submarine Losses in the World Wars, 1997, Arms & Armour, ISBN 1-85409-515-3, p. 92
- ↑ "The Type VIIC boat U-597 - German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net". www.uboat.net. Retrieved 14 October 2012.
- ↑ The Times Atlas of the World - Third edition, revised 1995, ISBN 0 7230 0809 4, p. 55
External links
- Uboat.net: U-597
- U-597 at Ubootwaffe
See also
List of German submarines
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