U 57 (Navy)

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U 57 (Kriegsmarine)
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Type : II C
Field Post Number : M-21 938
Shipyard: German works , Kiel
Construction contract: June 17, 1937
Build number: 255
Keel laying: September 14, 1937
Launch: September 3, 1938
Commissioning: December 29, 1938
Commanders:
Calls: 10 activities
Sinkings:

13 ships (66,484 GRT)

Whereabouts: self-sunk on May 3, 1945

U 57 was a German submarine of type II C , which in World War II by the German navy was used.

history

The order for the boat was awarded to Deutsche Werke , Kiel on June 17, 1937 . The keel was laid on September 14, 1937, the launch on September 3, 1938, and the commissioning under Oberleutnant zur See Claus Korth finally took place on December 29, 1938.

The boat belonged from the commissioning on December 31, 1938 to December 31, 1939 as a training and front boat for the U-Flotilla "Wegener" in Kiel . After the reorganization of the flotillas, U 57 belonged to the 1st U-Flotilla in Kiel from January 1, 1940 to September 3, 1940 . On September 3, 1940, the boat collided with the Norwegian steamer Rona in Brunsbüttel and sank. Six crew members of U 57 died here . In the following days, the submarine was lifted. After repair and return to service, the boat came on January 11, 1941 as a school boat to the 22nd flotilla in Gotenhafen and from July 1, 1944 to May 3, 1945 to the 19th U-Flotilla in Pillau and Kiel.

U 57 took ten during his service patrols on which it 13 ships with a total tonnage of 66,484 GRT could sink.

Use statistics

First venture

The boat left Neustadt (Holstein) on August 15, 1939 in order to monitor the access to the Baltic Sea during the attack on Poland , as Polish warships wanted to flee to Great Britain. It arrived in Kiel on September 18, 1939. During this venture, which took place in several stages, no sinkings had been achieved. U 57 arrived in Memel on August 26, 1939 at 2:07 p.m. and left again at 9:32 p.m., entered Memel again on September 2, 1939 at 6.15 p.m. and left again on September 3 at 9:00 a.m. On September 5, 1939 at 2.05 a.m., the boat entered Kiel for a new equipment and left it at 2.35 p.m. on the same day. No ships were sunk or damaged on this 26-day expedition in the Baltic Sea and Skagerrak .

Second venture

The boat left Kiel on October 25, 1939 at 2:08 a.m. and returned there on November 5, 1939 at 9:59 a.m. In these twelve-day and 1065.5 nm across and 126.9 nm long under water company in the North Sea in the area around the North Hinder Lightship , no ships were sunk or damaged.

Third company

The boat left Kiel on November 12, 1939 at 2:30 a.m. and returned there on November 23, 1939 at 9:00 p.m. On this twelve-day trip to the North Sea and the British east coast, two ships with 2,949 GRT were sunk.

  • November 17, 1939: sinking of the Lithuanian steamer Kaunas with 1,566 GRT. The steamer was sunk by a G7e torpedo . He was in ballast and was on his way from Ghent to Hartlepool . There was one dead.
  • 19 November 1939: sinking of the British steamer Stanbrook with 1,283 GRT. The steamer was sunk by a G7a torpedo. He drove in ballast and was on the way from Antwerp to Blyth . It was a total loss with 19 dead.

Fourth venture

The boat left Kiel on December 5, 1939 at 1.00 a.m. and returned there on December 16, 1939 at 8.30 p.m. On this ten-day expedition to the North Sea and the British east coast, a ship with 1,173 GRT was sunk.

  • December 13, 1939: sinking of the Soviet steamer Mina with 1,173 GRT. The steamer was sunk by a G7e torpedo. He was ballasted and on his way from London to Hull . It was a total loss with 17 dead.

Fifth venture

The boat was launched on January 16, 1940 at 22:07 from Kiel, and expired on January 25, 1940 at 14:49 in Wilhelmshaven one. On this nine-day mining operation in the Cromarty Firth , nine TMB mines were laid and two ships of 9,568 GRT were sunk.

  • January 20, 1940: sinking of the Swedish steamer Foxen ( Lage ) with 1,304 GRT. The steamer was sunk by a G7e torpedo. He had loaded coal and coke and was on the way from Liverpool / Garsten to Gothenburg . There were eight dead and one survivor.
  • January 26, 1940: sinking of the British steamer Durham Castle with 8,217 GRT. The steamer was sunk by a mine hit. It was a Royal Navy living and supply ship .

Sixth venture

The boat left Wilhelmshaven on February 8, 1940 at 12:20 p.m., and returned there on February 25, 1940 at 10:40 a.m. On this 16-day and approximately 1,700 nm over and 249 nm underwater expedition into the North Sea and near the Shetland Islands , a ship with 10,191 GRT was sunk and a ship with 4,996 GRT was damaged.

  • February 14, 1940: Sinking of the British tanker Gretafield ( Lage ) with 10,191 GRT. The tanker was sunk by two G7a torpedoes. The tanker was still drifting ashore, but broke in two on February 19, 1940. The ship could no longer be saved. It had loaded 13,000 tons of heating oil and was on its way from Curaçao via Halifax to Invergordon . The ship was a straggler of the HX-18 convoys with 43 ships. There were eleven dead and 30 survivors.
  • February 21, 1940: Damage to the British steamer Loch Maddy with 4,996 GRT. The steamer was commanded by Captain William Park and had joined the HX convoy HX 19 , which had left Halifax on February 7, heading for Liverpool . The ship was a straggler and had 2,000 tons of wheat and 6,000 tons of timber loaded. The Lochmaddy was on February 21, at six o'clock in the morning damaged by a torpedo G7e. There were four dead among the crew of the engine room. The 39 survivors left the ship, which floated rudderlessly until the next day. At around 1 a.m., Loch Maddy was torpedoed again, this time by U 23 under the command of Otto Kretschmer . The ship broke into two parts, the front of which sank rapidly, while the stern, which had a lot of buoyancy due to the timber cargo, swam on. The remains of Loch Maddy were towed by HMS St Mellons and brought to Inganess Bay . The cargo was unloaded there.

Seventh venture

The boat left Wilhelmshaven on March 14, 1940 at 2:25 p.m. and returned there on March 29, 1940 at 8:38 a.m. During this 15-day and approx. 1,700 nm above and 223 nm underwater expedition into the North Sea and the British east coast, a ship with 5,742 GRT was sunk.

  • March 25, 1940: Sinking of the British tanker Daghestan ( Lage ) with 5,742 GRT. The tanker was sunk by a G7e torpedo. He had loaded 7,600 tons of crude oil and was on the way from Scapa Flow to Sullom Voe . There were three dead and 29 survivors.

Eighth venture

The boat left on April 4, 1940 at 3:12 p.m. for the Weser Exercise company in Wilhelmshaven, and arrived in Kiel on May 7, 1940 at 4:16 p.m. No ships were sunk or damaged on this 34-day and approximately 3,200 nm over and 579 nm underwater undertaking off Norway and the Pentland Firth .

Ninth venture

The boat was launched on 11 July 1940 at 18.00 from Kiel, and expired on August 7, 1940 at 19:16 in Lorient one. The boat entered Bergen on July 20, 1940, and left there on July 22, 1940 at 8:00 p.m. On this 27-day and approx. 3,810 nm above and 271 nm underwater expedition into the North Atlantic , the North Canal and the North Minch , three ships with a total of 12,773 GRT were sunk.

  • July 17, 1940: sinking of the Swedish steamer OA Brodin ( Lage ) with 1,960 GRT. The ship was sunk by a G7e torpedo. He had loaded 2,665 tons of wood and pulp and was on the way from Burlington to Kirkwall . There were three dead and 21 survivors.
  • July 17, 1940: sinking of the British steamer Manipur ( Lage ) with 8,652 GRT. The steamer was sunk by two torpedoes. He had loaded iron , steel , copper and zinc plates and was on his way from Baltimore to London via Halifax . The ship belonged to convoy HX-55A with 23 ships. There were 14 dead and 65 survivors.
  • August 3, 1940: sinking of the Swedish steamer Atos with 2,161 GRT. The steamer was sunk by a torpedo. He had 1,700 tons of cargo and six passengers on board and was on the way from Liverpool to Petsamo . There was one dead and 27 survivors.

Tenth venture

The boat left Lorient on August 14, 1940 at 9:00 p.m. During this 20-day and approximately 2,300 nm above and 110 nm underwater expedition into the North Atlantic, the North Canal, the Hebrides and the North Sea, three ships with 24,088 GRT were sunk and one ship with 5,407 GRT was damaged.

  • August 24, 1940: sinking of the British steamer Cumberland ( Lage ) with 10,939 GRT. The steamer was sunk by a torpedo. He had loaded 9,000 tons of metal and freight and was on the way from Glasgow via Liverpool to Curaçao and Port Chalmers ( New Zealand ). The ship belonged to convoy OB-202 with 32 ships. There were four dead and 54 survivors.
  • August 24, 1940: sinking of the British steamer Saint Dunstan ( Lage ) with 5,681 GRT. The steamer was sunk by a torpedo. He drove in ballast and was on his way from Glasgow to Baltimore . The ship belonged to convoy OB-202. There were 14 dead and 49 survivors.
  • August 24, 1940: Damage to the British steamer Havildar with 5,407 GRT. The steamer was damaged by a torpedo. He had loaded 4,000 tons of general cargo and was on the way from Glasgow and Liverpool to Durban and Rangoon . The ship belonged to convoy OB-202. There were no losses.
  • August 25, 1940: sinking of the British tanker Pecten ( Lage ) with 7,468 GRT. The tanker was sunk by two torpedoes. He had loaded 9,546 tons of heating oil and was on his way from Trinidad to Clyde. The ship was a straggler of convoy HX-65 with 51 ships. There were 49 dead and eight survivors.

On its return, on September 3, 1940, the boat was rammed in the Brunsbüttel lock by the Norwegian steamer Rona and sank.

Whereabouts

After decommissioning on September 16, 1940 and repairs, the U 57 was put back into service on January 11, 1941 as a school boat for the 22nd U-Flotilla.

On April 30, 1945, the boat was decommissioned, the following nights heavily damaged by bombing and then on May 3, 1945 in Kiel, according to the long-standing Rainbow command of his crew scuttled and abandoned after the war.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Ian M. Malcolm: "Shipping Company Losses of the Second World War. Book II", Moira Brown, Dundee 2020, ISBN 978-1-65661-255-7 , page 102
  2. ↑ http://www.u-boote-online.de/dieboote/u0057.html