German submarine U-543
| Career (Nazi Germany) |  |
|---|---|
| Name: | U-543 |
| Ordered: | 5 June 1941 |
| Builder: | Deutsche Werft, Hamburg |
| Yard number: | 364 |
| Laid down: | 3 July 1942 |
| Launched: | 3 February 1943 |
| Commissioned: | 21 April 1943 |
| Fate: | Sunk, July 1944 southwest of Tenerife by an American aircraft[1] |
| General characteristics [2] | |
| Class and type: | Type IXC/40 submarine |
| Displacement: | 1,144 t (1,126 long tons) surfaced 1,257 t (1,237 long tons) submerged |
| Length: | 76.76 m (251 ft 10 in) o/a 58.75 m (192 ft 9 in) pressure hull |
| Beam: | 6.86 m (22 ft 6 in) o/a 4.44 m (14 ft 7 in) pressure hull |
| Height: | 9.6 m (31 ft 6 in) |
| Draft: | 4.67 m (15 ft 4 in) |
| Propulsion: | 2 × MAN M 9 V 40/46 supercharged 9-cylinder diesel engines, 4,400 hp (3,281 kW) 2 × SSW GU 345/34 double-acting electric motors, 1,000 hp (746 kW) |
| Speed: | 19 knots (35 km/h; 22 mph) surfaced 7.3 knots (13.5 km/h; 8.4 mph) submerged |
| Range: | 13,850 nmi (25,650 km; 15,940 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) surfaced 63 nautical miles (117 km; 72 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph) submerged |
| Test depth: | 230 m (750 ft) |
| Complement: | 4 officers, 44 enlisted |
| Armament: |
|
| Service record | |
|---|---|
| Part of: |
4th U-boat Flotilla (21 April–31 October 1943) 10th U-boat Flotilla (1 November 1943–2 July 1944)) |
| Commanders: |
Kptlt. Hans-Jürgen Hellriegel (21 April 1943–2 July 1944) |
| Operations: |
1st patrol: 9 November 1943–24 January 1944 2nd patrol: 28 March–2 July 1944 |
| Victories: | None |
German submarine U-543 was a Type IXC U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II.
She was laid down at the Deutsche Werft (yard) in Hamburg as yard number 364 on 3 July 1942, launched on 3 February and commissioned on 21 April with Kapitänleutnant Hans-Jürgen Hellriegel in command.
U-543 began her service career with training as part of the 4th U-boat Flotilla from 21 April 1943. She was re-assigned to the 10th flotilla for operations on 1 November.
She carried out two patrols, but did not sink any ships. She was a member of three wolfpacks.
She was sunk in July 1944 southwest of Tenerife by an American aircraft.
Operational career
1st patrol
The boat departed Kiel on 9 November 1943, moved through the North Sea, negotiated the gap between Iceland and the Faroe Islands and into the Atlantic Ocean. She entered Lorient, on the French Atlantic coast, on 24 January 1944.
2nd patrol and loss
Her second foray took her west of Portugal where she found a small convoy on 9 April 1944, but she was driven off by depth charges from the escorts.
After refuelling from U-488, the boat was attacked on 19 April by a TBM Avenger with rockets and a FIDO homing torpedo. The aircraft had come from the USS Tripoli. The submarine escaped undamaged and sailed to the west coast of Africa, then across the central Atlantic to the waters off Brazil.
She was sunk on 2 July 1944 on the return leg west of Portugal by an Avenger, this time from USS Wake Island. The same mix of rockets and a FIDO were used, but were successful.
Fifty-eight men died; there were no survivors.[1]
Wolfpacks
U-543 took part in three wolfpacks, namely.
- Coronel (4–8 December 1943)
- Coronel 2 (8–14 December 1943)
- Coronel 3 (14–17 December 1943)
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Kemp 1997, p. 200.
- ↑ Gröner 1985, p. 105-7.
Bibliography
- Busch, Rainer; Röll, Hans-Joachim (1999). Deutsche U-Boot-Verluste von September 1939 bis Mai 1945. Der U-Boot-Krieg (in German) IV (Hamburg, Berlin, Bonn: Mittler). ISBN 3-8132-0514-2.
- Gröner, Erich (1985). U-Boote, Hilfskreuzer, Minenschiffe, Netzleger, Sperrbrecher. Die deutschen Kriegsschiffe 1815-1945 (in German) III (Koblenz: Bernard & Graefe). ISBN 3-7637-4802-4.
- 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 IXC/40 boat U-543". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 7 December 2014.
- Hofmann, Markus. "U 543". Deutsche U-Boote 1935-1945 - u-boot-archiv.de (in German). Retrieved 1 February 2015.
- U-543 at Ubootwaffe
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