U 513

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U 513
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Type : IX C
Field Post Number : M 47994
Shipyard: German shipyard , Hamburg
Construction contract: February 14, 1940
Build number: 309
Keel laying: April 26, 1941
Launch: October 29, 1941
Commissioning: January 10, 1942
Commanders:
Calls: 4 activities
Sinkings:

6 ships (29,940 GRT )

Whereabouts: Sunk on July 19, 1943 in the South Atlantic southeast of São Francisco do Sul (46 dead, 7 prisoners of war)

U 513 was a German type IX C submarine that was used by the German Navy during World War II . In his four patrols it sank six ships 29,940 BRT , with a total of 46 people were killed. On July 19, 1943, it was sunk off the Brazilian Atlantic coast, with 46 of its crew members perishing, while only seven, including the commander Friedrich Guggenberger , survived and were taken prisoner by the United States .

history

Construction and commissioning

The construction contract was placed on February 14, 1940 at the Deutsche Werft in Hamburg. The keel was laid on April 26, 1941, the launch on October 29, 1941 and commissioning under the command of Corvette Captain Rolf Rüggeberg on January 10, 1942.

Time as a training boat

After its commissioning, the boat was used for training purposes in the 4th U-Flotilla until August 31, 1942 . Then it served as a front boat until it was sunk in the 10th U-Flotilla . Rolf Rüggeberg was in command of the boat throughout the entire training period and during the first three patrols. From May 14, 1943 until the sinking of the boat on July 19, 1943, KptLt. Friedrich Guggenberger Commandant.

Calls

U 513 undertook four enemy voyages on which six ships with 29,940 GRT were sunk and two ships with 13,177 GRT were damaged.

First venture

U 513 left Kiel on August 7, 1942. On this 77-day patrol, two ships with 12,789 GRT were sunk and one ship with 7,174 GRT was damaged. On October 22nd, 1942, the boat entered Lorient .

  • 5th September 1942: sinking of the British steamer Saganaga (5,454 GRT, 30 dead)
  • September 5, 1942: sinking of the Canadian steamer Lord Strathcona (7,335 GRT)
  • September 29, 1942: Damage to the British steamer Ocean Vagabond (7,174 GRT, 1 dead, in convoy HX-209 )

Second venture

The boat left Lorient on November 21, 1942 and returned there on December 18. No ship was sunk or damaged in the course of this undertaking.

Third company

U 513 left Lorient on February 20, 1943 and returned there on April 14. No ship was sunk or damaged during this time.

  • April 3, 1943: The boat was attacked by a British Lockheed Hudson with two bombs and suffered minor damage.

Fourth venture

U 513 left Lorient on May 18, 1943. On this 63-day undertaking four ships with 17,151 GRT were sunk and one ship with 6,003 GRT was damaged.

  • June 21, 1943: sinking of the Swedish steamer Venezia (1,673 GRT)
  • June 25, 1943: Damage to the American tanker Eagle (6,003 GRT)
  • July 1, 1943: sinking of the Brazilian steamer Tutoya (1,125 GRT, 7 dead)
  • July 3, 1943: sinking of the American steamer Elihu B. Washburne (7,176 GRT)
  • July 16, 1943: sinking of the American steamer Richard Caswell (7,177 GRT, 9 dead)

Whereabouts

On July 19, 1943, the boat was located southeast of São Francisco do Sul by radio direction finding, as Commander Guggenberger had made an unusually long radio message. U 513 was caught by a US American flying boat of the type Martin PBM Mariner and attacked with depth charges. Despite considerable resistance, the American pilot managed to hit U 513 twice under flak fire, whereupon the German boat sank ( Lage ). It went down so quickly that only 12 men - some seriously wounded - were able to jump from the bridge and the flak into the water, while the others went down with the submarine. Five swimmers did not survive the next few hours, with at least two wounded being eaten by sharks . Only seven managed to pull themselves into a floating lifeboat dropped by an airplane, including the seriously wounded commander, lieutenant captain (and later rear admiral of the German Navy) Friedrich Guggenberger , who was dragged into the boat by the hair. The survivors drifted through the Atlantic in a lifeboat for a day until they were taken in as prisoners of war by the USS Barnegat and brought ashore in Rio de Janeiro . Guggenberger was the most seriously wounded and was flown to the United States for medical operations. A total of 46 men were killed by the crew, seven people survived.

In March 2012, the wreck of U 513 was examined by employees of the University of Vale do Itaja at a depth of 133 meters ; it was discovered by divers in 2011.

statistics

date

 Surname nationality Tonnage (GRT) dead Survivors success
September 5, 1942 Saganaga United KingdomUnited Kingdom United Kingdom 5,454 30th 14th sunk ( location )
September 5, 1942 Lord Strathcona CanadaCanada Canada 7,720 0 44 sunk ( location )
September 29, 1942 Ocean vagabond United KingdomUnited Kingdom United Kingdom 7.174 0 47 damaged
June 21, 1943 Venezia SwedenSweden Sweden 1,673 0 27 sunk ( location )
June 25, 1943 eagle United StatesUnited States United States 6.003 0 53 damaged
July 1, 1943 Tutoya BrazilBrazil Brazil 1,125 7th 30th sunk
July 3, 1943 Elihu B. Washburne United StatesUnited States United States 7.176 0 70 sunk ( location )
July 16, 1943 Richard Caswell United StatesUnited States United States 7.177 9 60 sunk ( location )

literature

  • Rainer Busch, Hans-Joachim Röll: The submarine war 1939-1945. Volume 1: The German submarine commanders. Preface by Prof. Dr. Jürgen Rohwer, Member of the Presidium of the International Commission on Military History. ES Mittler and Son, Hamburg / Berlin / Bonn 1996, pp. 85, 198. ISBN 3-8132-0490-1 .
  • Rainer Busch, Hans-Joachim Röll: The submarine war 1939-1945. Volume 2: Submarine construction in German shipyards. ES Mittler und Sohn, Hamburg / Berlin / Bonn 1997, pp. 66, 230. ISBN 978-3-8132-0512-1 .
  • Rainer Busch, Hans-Joachim Röll: The submarine war 1939-1945. Volume 3: The German submarine successes from September 1939 to May 1945. ES Mittler und Sohn, Hamburg / Berlin / Bonn 2008, p. 220. ISBN 978-3-8132-0513-8 .
  • Rainer Busch, Hans-Joachim Röll: The submarine war 1939-1945. Volume 4: The German submarine losses from September 1939 to May 1945. ES Mittler und Sohn, Hamburg / Berlin / Bonn 2008, p. 117. ISBN 978-3-8132-0514-5 .
  • Erich Gröner, Dieter Jung, Martin Maas: The German warships 1815-1945. Volume 3: Submarines, auxiliary cruisers, mine ships, net layers. Bernhard & Graefe Verlag, Munich 1985, ISBN 3-7637-4802-4 .
  • Clay Blair: The Submarine War - The Hunters 1939–1942 . Heyne Verlag, 1998. pp. 795f. ISBN 3-4531-2345-X .
  • Clay Blair: The Submarine War - The Hunted 1942–1945 . Heyne Verlag, 1999. pp. 182, 257, 260f., 417, 420-423. ISBN 3-4531-6059-2 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Rainer Busch, Hans-Joachim Röll: The U-Boat War 1939-1945. Volume 2: U-boat construction in German shipyards. ES Mittler und Sohn, Hamburg et al. 1997, ISBN 3-8132-0512-6 , p. 66.
  2. ↑ Rainer Busch, Hans-Joachim Röll: The U-Boat War 1939-1945. Volume 2: U-boat construction in German shipyards. ES Mittler und Sohn, Hamburg et al. 1997, ISBN 3-8132-0512-6 , p. 496.
  3. ↑ a b c Rainer Busch, Hans-Joachim Röll: The U-Boat War 1939-1945. Volume 2: U-boat construction in German shipyards. ES Mittler und Sohn, Hamburg et al. 1997, ISBN 3-8132-0512-6 , p. 495.
  4. ^ Paul Kemp: The German and Austrian submarine losses in both world wars. Urbes Verlag, Graefelfing vor München 1998, ISBN 3-924896-43-7 , p. 137.
  5. ↑ Theodore P. Savas: Silent Hunters. German U-boat Commanders of World War II. Savas Publishing, Campbell (California) 1997, pp. 105f.
  6. ↑ German submarine wreck discovered off the coast of Brazil. In: Spiegel Online . July 16, 2011, accessed December 6, 2014 .
  7. ↑ Rainer Busch, Hans-Joachim Röll: The U-Boat War 1939-1945. Volume 3: German submarine successes from September 1939 to May 1945. ES Mittler und Sohn, Hamburg et al. 2001, ISBN 3-8132-0513-4 , p. 220.