German submarine U-598

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Career
Name: U-598
Ordered: 16 January 1940
Builder: Blohm & Voss, Hamburg
Yard number: 574
Laid down: 11 January 1941
Launched: 2 October 1941
Commissioned: 27 November 1941
Fate: Sunk by US aircraft, July 1943[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 kn (19 km/h) surfaced
150 km (81 nmi) at 4 kn (7.4 km/h) 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
(27 November 194130 June 1942)
6th U-boat Flotilla
(127 July 1942)
Commanders: Krvkpt. Gottfried Holtorf
(27 November 194123 July 1943)
Operations: 1st patrol:
7 July13 September 1942
2nd patrol:
26 December 19428 February 1943
3rd patrol:
6 March13 May 1943
4th patrol:
26 June23 July 1943
Victories: Sank two ships, total 9,295 GRT; damaged one ship - 6,197 GRT

German submarine U-598 was a Type VIIC U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II.

She carried out four patrols, was a member of four wolfpacks and sank two ships; she also damaged one other.

The boat was sunk by depth charges from two US aircraft, off the Brazilian coast in July 1943.

Service history

The submarine was laid down on 11 January 1941 at Blohm & Voss, Hamburg as 'werk' 574, launched on 2 October 1941 and commissioned on 27 November under the command of Korvettenkapitän Gottfried Holtorf.

She served with the 8th U-boat Flotilla from 27 November 1941 for training and the 6th flotilla for operations from 1 July 1942 until her loss.

1st patrol

U-598's first patrol began from Kiel on 7 July 1942. She headed for the Atlantic Ocean via the 'gap' separating Iceland and the Faroe Islands. One man drowned while carrying out maintenance on hydroplanes and propellers in mid-Atlantic on 5 August.

She damaged the Standella, sank the Michael Jebsen and the Empire Corporal, all on 14 August northwest of Barlovento Point, Cuba. The Empire Corporal had, as the British Corporal, been damaged by a torpedo and bombs in the English Channel in 1940. She had been repaired and returned to service in 1942.

The boat arrived at St. Nazaire, in occupied France on the 13 September.

2nd and 3rd patrols

U-598's second sortie was to the south of Greenland; it was relatively uneventful.

Her third foray also started and finished in St. Nazaire between March and May 1943.

4th patrol and loss

The boat departed St. Nazaire for the last time on 26 June 1943. On 23 July she was sunk by depth charges dropped by two US Liberators near Natal (on the Brazilian coast).

Forty-three men died with U-598; there were two survivors.

Summary of Raiding Career

Date Name Nationality Tonnage
(GRT)
Fate[3]
14 August 1943 Empire Corporal  United Kingdom 6,972 Sunk
14 August 1943 Michael Jebson  United Kingdom 2,323 Sunk
14 August 1943 Standella  United Kingdom 6,197 Damaged

References

Notes
  1. Kemp, Paul: U-Boats Destroyed - German Submarine Losses in the World Wars, 1997, Arms & Armour, ISBN 1-85409-515-3, p. 134
  2. "The Type VIIC boat U-598 - German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net". www.uboat.net. Retrieved 13 October 2012. 
  3. "U598 successes". UBoat.net. Retrieved 4 February 0214. 
Bibliography

See also

  • List of German U-boats


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