German submarineU-571

This article is about the German submarine. For the 2000 war film, seeU-571 (film).

History
Nazi Germany
Name	U-571
Ordered	24 October 1939
Builder	Blohm & Voss,Hamburg
Yard number	547
Laid down	8 June 1940
Launched	4 April 1941
Commissioned	22 May 1941
Fate	Sunk west of Ireland on 28 January 1944. 52 dead (all hands lost).
General characteristics
Class and type	Type VIICsubmarine
Displacement	769tonnes(757long tons) surfaced 871 t (857 long tons) submerged 1,070 tonnes (1,050 long tons) total
Length	67.10 m (220 ft 2 in)o/a 50.50 m (165 ft 8 in)pressure hull
Beam	6.20 m (20 ft 4 in) o/a 4.70 m (15 ft 5 in) pressure hull
Draught	4.74 m (15 ft 7 in)
Installed power	2,800–3,200 PS (2,100–2,400 kW; 2,800–3,200 bhp) (diesels) 750 PS (550 kW; 740 shp) (electric)
Propulsion	2 shafts 2 ×diesel engines 2 ×electric motors
Speed	17.7knots(32.8 km/h; 20.4 mph) surfaced 7.6 knots (14.1 km/h; 8.7 mph) submerged
Range	8,500nmi(15,700 km; 9,800 mi)at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) surfaced 80 nmi (150 km; 92 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph) submerged
Test depth	220 m (720 ft)
Complement	4 officers, 40–52 enlisted
Armament	5 × 53.3 cm (21 in)torpedo tubes(four bow, one stern) 14 × torpedoesor26 TMAmines 1 ×8.8 cm (3.46 in) deck gun(220 rounds) 1 x2 cm (0.79 in) C/30AA gun
Service record
Part of:	3rd U-boat Flotilla 22 May 1941 – 28 January 1944
Identification codes:	M 42 483
Commanders:	Kptlt.Helmut Möhlmann 22 May 1941 – 31 May 1943 Oblt.z.S.Gustav Lüssow 31 May 1943 – 28 January 1944
Operations:	11 patrols: 1st patrol: a. 18 – 27 August 1941 b. 28 August – 5 September 1941 c. 18 – 19 October 1941 2nd patrol: 22 October – 26 November 1941 3rd patrol: 21 December 1941 – 27 January 1942 4th patrol: 10 March – 7 May 1942 5th patrol: 11 June – 7 August 1942 6th patrol: 3 October – 14 November 1942 7th patrol: 22 December 1942 – 19 February 1943 8th patrol: a. 22 – 23 March 1943 b. 25 March – 1 May 1943 9th patrol: 8 June – 1 September 1943 10th patrol: 26 – 28 December 1943 11th patrol: 8–28 January 1944
Victories:	5 merchant ships sunk (33,511GRT) 1 merchant ship total loss (9,788GRT) 1 auxiliary warship total loss (3,870GRT) 1 merchant ship damaged (11,394GRT)

German submarineU-571was aType VIICU-boatbuilt for theKriegsmarineofNazi Germanyfor service duringWorld War II.U-571conducted eleven war patrols, sinking five ships totalling 33,511gross register tons(GRT), and damaging one other for 11,394 GRT. On 28 January 1944 she was attacked by an Australian-crewedSunderlandaircraft fromNo. 461 Squadron RAAFwest of Ireland and was destroyed bydepth charges.All hands were lost.

The fictional 2000 U.S. war filmU-571has no relation to this U-boat, but is very loosely based on the British capture ofU-110and herEnigmaand cipherkeys.

Design

German Type VIIC submarineswere preceded by the shorterType VIIB submarines.U-571had a displacement of 769 tonnes (757 long tons) when at the surface and 871 tonnes (857 long tons) while submerged.She had a total length of 67.10 m (220 ft 2 in), apressure hulllength of 50.50 m (165 ft 8 in), abeamof 6.20 m (20 ft 4 in), a height of 9.60 m (31 ft 6 in), and adraughtof 4.74 m (15 ft 7 in). The submarine was powered by twoGermaniawerftF46 four-stroke, six-cylindersuperchargeddiesel enginesproducing a total of 2,800 to 3,200 metric horsepower (2,060 to 2,350 kW; 2,760 to 3,160 shp) for use while surfaced, twoBrown, Boveri & CieGG UB 720/8double-acting electric motorsproducing a total of 750 metric horsepower (550 kW; 740 shp) for use while submerged. She had two shafts and two 1.23 m (4 ft)propellers.The boat was capable of operating at depths of up to 230 metres (750 ft).

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).When submerged, the boat could operate for 80 nautical miles (150 km; 92 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph); when surfaced, she could travel 8,500 nautical miles (15,700 km; 9,800 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph).U-571was fitted with five 53.3 cm (21 in)torpedo tubes(four fitted at the bow and one at the stern), fourteentorpedoes,one8.8 cm (3.46 in) SK C/35 naval gun,220 rounds, and a2 cm (0.79 in) C/30anti-aircraft gun. The boat had acomplementof between forty-four and sixty.

Service history

Her keel waslaid downon 8 June 1940 byBlohm & VossofHamburg.She wascommissionedon 22 May 1941 withKapitänleutnantHelmut Möhlmannin command. Under his commandU-571had nine successful patrols in the Arctic and in the North and Central Atlantic. In August and September 1941,U-571operated against Allied and Soviet forces, damaging the Soviet passenger vesselMarija Uljanovaon 26 August.

In 1942,U-571operated off the east coast of the United States, sinking the British cargo shipHertfordon 29 March, theNorwegiantankerM/TKollon 6 April offCape Hatteras,and theAmericanfreighterMargareton April 14 after the ship leftSan Juan, Puerto Rico.AlthoughU-571’s log mentions that some of the 8 officers and 21 men managed to get into a lifeboat and onto rafts, none ofMargaret’s crew was ever seen again. In July 1942 the submarine operated in the Caribbean and torpedoed four ships: theBritishfreighterUmtataon 7 July, the American tanker,J. A. Moffett, Jr.on 8 July, theHonduranfreighterNicholas Cuneoon 9 July and on 15 July the American tanker,Pennsylvania Sun.

The tankerPennsylvania Sun,torpedoed byU-571on 15 July 1942 (was saved and returned to service in 1943)

The whole crew ofJ. A. Moffett, Jr.(35merchant marineand 5Naval Armed Guard) abandoned ship into two lifeboats and three rafts, except for the master who was killed. TheUnited States Coast GuardvesselsMary JeanandSouthboundpicked up the 39 survivors and brought them toFlorida.WhenPennsylvania Sunwas torpedoed, two of the merchant crew died in the resulting explosion, but the rest of the 40 merchant marine crew and the 17 members of the Naval Armed Guard aboard survived after being rescued byUSSDahlgren.Pennsylvania Sunwas later salvaged and returned to service, while the other three ships attacked in July were sunk.

On 22 March 1943,U-571was attacked by an aircraft in the North Atlantic and was damaged and had to return to base. In April 1943, Möhlmann claimed that he sank three additional ships but these could not be matched with records of Allied losses. On 22 April 1943, she had to return to base because the commander was badly injured in an accident on the conning tower. On 2 May 1943, Möhlmann was relieved byOberleutnant zur SeeGustav Lüssow.U-571patrolled off the west coast of Africa in July before returning to base on 1 September. Between September and December,U-571was probably being overhauled in a drydock as no mention of the boat for that time period appears in war diary kept by the German Commander in Chief, Submarines, AdmiralKarl Dönitz.

On 18 January 1944, Lüssow reported to his submarine command that he attacked and sank an unknowndestroyer.This could not, however, be identified with any known Allied losses duringWorld War II.

Fate

On 28 January 1944 she was attacked by an Australian captainedSunderlandaircraft fromNo. 461 Squadron RAAFwest of Ireland and was destroyed bydepth charges.The aircraft's captain, Flight Lieutenant R. D. Lucas, reported that most of the crew successfully abandoned ship, but soon died fromhypothermia.A dinghy was dropped but failed to open.U-571sank with all hands – 52 dead – at52°41′N14°27′W.She had not, until her loss, suffered any casualties to her crew during her entire career. The plane,EK577(callsign "D for Dog" ), was crewed partly byRoyal Air Force(RAF) personnel and was based atRAF Pembroke Dock,inWales.The crew was Lucas, Sergeant (Sgt) J. R. Brannan (RAF, a Canadian), Flight Sergeant (F/Sgt) W. J. Darcey, Sgt D. Musson (RAF), F/Sgt S. T. Burnett, Sgt D. McWalker (RAF), Flying Officer (F/O) H. D. Roberts, F/Sgt G. H. Simmonds (RAF), F/O R. H. Prentice, and F/Sgt C. D. Bremner.

Wolfpacks

U-571took part in 14wolfpacks,namely:

• Stosstrupp (30 October – 4 November 1941)
• Raubritter (4 – 17 November 1941)
• Störtebecker (17 – 22 November 1941)
• Seydlitz (27 December 1941 – 16 January 1942)
• Endrass(12 – 17 June 1942)
• Panther (10 – 20 October 1942)
• Veilchen(20 October – 7 November 1942)
• Delphin (26 December 1942 – 19 January 1943)
• Landsknecht (19 – 28 January 1943)
• Without name (27 – 30 March 1943)
• Adler (7 – 13 April 1943)
• Meise (13 – 25 April 1943)
• Rügen (15 – 26 January 1944)
• Hinein (26 – 28 January 1944)

Summary of raiding history

Date	Ship Name	Nationality	Tonnage (GRT)	Fate
26 August 1941	Marija Uljanova	Soviet Navy	3,870	Total loss
29 March 1942	Hertford	United Kingdom	10,923	Sunk
6 April 1942	Koll	Norway	10,044	Sunk
14 April 1942	Margaret	United States	3,352	Sunk
7 July 1942	Umtata	United Kingdom	8,141	Sunk
8 July 1942	J. A. Moffett, Jr.	United States	9,788	Total loss
9 July 1942	Nicholas Cuneo	Honduras	1,051	Sunk
15 July 1942	Pennsylvania Sun	United States	11,394	damaged

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.ISBN1-55750-186-6.
• Busch, Rainer; Röll, Hans-Joachim (1999).Deutsche U-Boot-Verluste von September 1939 bis Mai 1945[German U-boat losses from September 1939 to May 1945]. Der U-Boot-Krieg (in German). Vol. IV. Hamburg, Berlin, Bonn: Mittler.ISBN3-8132-0514-2.
• Gröner, Erich; 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.ISBN0-85177-593-4.
• Southall, Ivan (1956).They Shall Not Pass Unseen.Sydney: Angus and Robertson.

External links

• Helgason, Guðmundur."The Type VIIC boat U-571".German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net.Retrieved28 December2014.
• Hofmann, Markus."U 571".Deutsche U-Boote 1935–1945 – u-boot-archiv.de(in German).Retrieved29 December2014.