German submarine ''U-591'' was a Type VIIC

U-boat U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare ro ...

built for

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

's '' Kriegsmarine'' for service during

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. She was

laid down Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship. Keel laying is one o ...

on 30 October 1940 by Blohm & Voss,

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

as yard number 567, launched on 20 August 1941 and commissioned on 9 October 1941 under ''

Kapitänleutnant ''Kapitänleutnant'', short: KptLt/in lists: KL, ( en, captain lieutenant) is an officer grade of the captains' military hierarchy group () of the German Bundeswehr. The rank is rated OF-2 in NATO, and equivalent to Hauptmann in the Heer an ...

'' Hans-Jürgen Zetzsche.

Design

German Type VIIC submarines German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

were preceded by the shorter Type VIIB submarines. ''U-591'' had a displacement of when at the surface and while submerged. She had a total length of , a

pressure hull A submarine hull has two major components, the ''light hull'' and the ''pressure hull''. The light hull (''casing'' in British usage) of a submarine is the outer non-watertight hull which provides a hydrodynamically efficient shape. The pressure ...

length of , a beam of , a height of , and a draught of . The submarine was powered by two Germaniawerft F46 four-stroke, six-cylinder supercharged

diesel engine The diesel engine, named after Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of the fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to mechanical compression; thus, the diesel engine is a so-ca ...

s producing a total of for use while surfaced, two

Brown, Boveri & Cie Brown, Boveri & Cie. (Brown, Boveri & Company; BBC) was a Swiss group of electrical engineering companies. It was founded in Zürich, in 1891 by Charles Eugene Lancelot Brown and Walter Boveri who worked at the Maschinenfabrik Oerlikon. In 1 ...

GG UB 720/8 double-acting electric motors producing a total of for use while submerged. She had two shafts and two propellers. The boat was capable of operating at depths of up to . The submarine had a maximum surface speed of and a maximum submerged speed of . When submerged, the boat could operate for at ; when surfaced, she could travel at . ''U-591'' was fitted with five

torpedo tube A torpedo tube is a cylindrical device for launching torpedoes. There are two main types of torpedo tube: underwater tubes fitted to submarines and some surface ships, and deck-mounted units (also referred to as torpedo launchers) installed aboa ...

s (four fitted at the bow and one at the stern), fourteen

torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, s ...

es, one SK C/35 naval gun, 220 rounds, and a C/30 anti-aircraft gun. The boat had a

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of between forty-four and sixty.

Service history

The boat's service began on 9 October 1941 with training, followed by active service as part of the 6th U-boat Flotilla. She was transferred to the 11th Flotilla on 1 July 1942 for active service in the North Atlantic operating out of

Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula o ...

. The following year, on 1 June 1943, she transferred to 9th Flotilla operating of

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. In 8 patrols she sank four merchant ships, for a total of , plus one merchant ship damaged.

Convoy ONS 154

The first victim of Convoy ONS 154 was the 5,701-GRT Norwegian freighter ''Norse King'', the second in column eleven, on 28 December 1942. ''U-591'' torpedo hit her at 20:04. Badly damaged, ''Norse King'' attempted to limp to the

Azores ) , motto =( en, "Rather die free than subjected in peace") , anthem= ( en, "Anthem of the Azores") , image_map=Locator_map_of_Azores_in_EU.svg , map_alt=Location of the Azores within the European Union , map_caption=Location of the Azores wi ...

but was found by and sent to the bottom.
''U-591''’s second success was the badly damaged and abandoned 4,871-GRT

United Africa Company The United Africa Company (UAC) was a British company which principally traded in West Africa during the 20th century. The United Africa Company was formed in 1929 as a result of the merger of The Niger Company, which had been effectively owne ...

freighter ''Zarian'' with a single torpedo, although she missed the ''Baron Cochrane''

Convoy SC 121

Having recently returned to sea after a long recovery from gunshot wounds, Hans-Jürgen Zetzsche was on target with Convoy SC 121 when he sighted the ''Empire Impala'', hove-to picking up survivors from the torpedoed ''Egyptian'', on 7 March 1943. Of the combined crew of 80 men, from both ''Egyptian'' and ''Empire Impala'', only 3 survived.

Fate

''U-591'' was sunk on 30 July 1943 in the

South Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

near

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in position ; depth charged by a US Lockheed Ventura aircraft of VB-127. There were 19 dead and 28 survivors.

Wolfpacks

U-591 took part in nine wolfpacks, namely: * Schlei (21 January – 12 February 1942) * Bums (6 – 10 April 1942) * Greif (14 – 29 May 1942) * Nebelkönig (27 July – 13 August 1942) * Ungestüm (11 – 30 December 1942) * Sturmbock (21 – 26 February 1943) * Wildfang (26 February – 5 March 1943) * Westmark (6 – 11 March 1943) * Seewolf (21 – 30 March 1943)

Summary of raiding history

References

Bibliography

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:U0591 German Type VIIC submarines 1941 ships U-boats commissioned in 1941 U-boats sunk by depth charges U-boats sunk by US aircraft U-boats sunk in 1943 World War II submarines of Germany World War II shipwrecks in the Atlantic Ocean World War II shipwrecks in the South Atlantic Ships built in Hamburg Maritime incidents in July 1943