U 568
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U 568 ( previous / next - all submarines ) |
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| Type : | VII C |
| Field Post Number : | M 42 161 |
| Shipyard: | Blohm & Voss , Hamburg |
| Construction contract: | October 24, 1939 |
| Build number: | 544 |
| Keel laying: | April 27, 1940 |
| Launch: | March 6, 1941 |
| Commissioning: | May 1, 1941 |
| Commanders: |
Kptlt. Joachim Preuss |
| Flotilla: |
3rd U-Flotilla training boat |
| Calls: | 5 patrols |
| Sinkings: |
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| Whereabouts: | Sunk on May 29, 1942 northeast of Tobruk (47 prisoners of war, no dead) |
U 568 was a German type VII C submarine of the Kriegsmarine , which was used in World War II . On its five patrols it sank a merchant ship with 6023 GRT and two warships with a total of 1850 t and damaged another warship, killing a total of over 300 people, including around 100 Italian and German prisoners of war. On May 29, 1942, it was badly damaged and self- sunk in the Mediterranean near Tobruk by three British warships , whereupon all 47 crew members fell into British captivity .
history
The building contract for this boat was awarded to the Blohm & Voss shipyard in Hamburg on October 24, 1939 . The keel was laid on April 27, 1940 and the launch on March 6, 1941. On May 1, 1941 U 568 was put into service. The commandant was Kapitänleutnant Joachim Preuss.
U 568 was a training boat of the 3rd U-Flotilla in Kiel until August 1, 1941 . Then it was assigned to the 3rd U-Flotilla in La Rochelle as a front boat until December 31, 1941 . Most recently it belonged to the 29th U-Flotilla in La Spezia . U 568 did not have an official tower coat of arms. Only the team wore a badge on their hats that represented a dog. The sponsored city of the boat was Meersburg .
First patrol
On August 3, 1941 was U 568 of Trondheim from his first mission trip. On August 12, 1941, it met convoy ON 4 south of Iceland . One of the torpedoes fired hit the British corvette HMS Picotee , which sank instantly with all 66 men on board. The other escort ships in the convoy attacked the submarine and prevented further sinking. After 39 days at sea, U 568 ended its mission in the French port of St. Nazaire .
Second patrol
On October 9, 1941, U 568 left the base in Saint-Nazaire for its second venture.
- On October 16, 1941, the boat attacked the convoy SC 48 and sank the British merchant steamer Empire Heron . The ship loaded with sulfur sank with the complete crew of 43 men. ( Location )
- The next day, U 568 shot down a fan of four torpedoes southwest of Iceland at the American destroyer USS Kearny, which was assigned to protect the convoy . One of the projectiles hit and the explosion killed eleven crew members. The Kearny had to break off the escort and run to Iceland for repairs.
After a period of 30 days, U 568 returned to Saint-Nazaire on November 7, 1941.
Third patrol
On December 1, 1941, U 568 ran from St. Nazaire on its third venture, which led to the Mediterranean. After crossing the Strait of Gibraltar , Commander Preuss began searching for enemy ships.
- On December 24th, the boat torpedoed the British corvette HMS Salvia ( Lage ), which had recently rescued survivors of the SS Shuntien prison ship sunk by U 559 . The hit caused the corvette to split in two. The entire 59-member crew of the Salvia as well as an unknown number of shipwrecked persons taken in, including 47 crew members of the Shuntia and possibly 100 Italian and German prisoners of war, lost their lives.
On January 19, 1942, U 568 was attacked by a British Sunderland flying boat off the North African coast , but was able to escape with minor damage due to an alarm dive. The longest patrol in the history of the boat with 45 days at sea ended on January 17, 1942 in the port of La Spezia in Italy .
Fourth patrol
In the spring of 1942, U 568 was in La Spezia. From there it left for its fourth venture on March 2nd. During the 29-day patrol that the submarine again led off the North African coast, there was no enemy contact. On March 30th, the boat returned to its northern Italian port.
Fifth patrol
On May 21, 1942, the boat left La Spezia on its eighth patrol. No ships were sunk during the mission. After nine days, U 568 was lost off the North African coast.
Sinking
On May 29, 1942, U 568 was pursued northeast of Tobruk by the British destroyers HMS Hero , HMS Eridge and HMS Hurworth with depth charges for 15 hours. The warships were escorted by convoy At 47 . Commander Preuss decided to show up around 3:30 a.m. and order his crew to leave the boat, which he then had self- scuttled. The submarine dropped to the position of 32 ° 42 ' N , 24 ° 53' O . There were no deaths among the crew of U 568 . All 47 crew members were taken on board by the three destroyers as prisoners of war . From the Eridge and Hurworth were boarding party sent to the submarine, which, however, fell before they reached it.
See also
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, p. 183. ISBN 3-8132-0490-1 .
- Rainer Busch, Hans-Joachim Röll: The submarine war 1939-1945. Volume 2: Submarine construction in German shipyards. ES Mittler and Son, Hamburg / Berlin / Bonn 1997, pp. 44, 223. ISBN 3-8132-0512-6 .
- Rainer Busch, Hans-Joachim Röll: The submarine war 1939-1945. Volume 3: The German submarine successes from September 1939 to May 1945. ES Mittler and Son, Hamburg / Berlin / Bonn 2008, p. 246. 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. 49. 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. 402, 438-440, 445, 751. ISBN 3-4531-2345-X .
- Eberhard Möller, Werner Brack: Encyclopedia of German U-Boats. From 1904 to the present. Motorbuch-Verlag, Stuttgart 2002, ISBN 3-613-02245-1 .
- Georg Högel: Emblems, coats of arms, Maling's German submarines 1939–1945. 4th edition. Koehler, Hamburg 2001, ISBN 3-7822-0826-9 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ 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. 44.
- ↑ 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. 371.
- ↑ Bodo Herzog: German U-Boats 1906–1966. Karl Müller, Erlangen 1996, ISBN 3-86070-036-7 , p. 84.
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