 U-511 asRo-500 in 1943 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 Nazi Germany | |
| Name | U-511 |
| Ordered | 20 October 1939 |
| Builder | Deutsche Werft,Hamburg |
| Yard number | 307 |
| Laid down | 21 February 1941 |
| Launched | 22 September 1941 |
| Commissioned | 8 December 1941 |
| Fate | Sold to Japan on 16 September 1943 |
 Empire of Japan | |
| Name | Ro-500 |
| Acquired | 16 September 1943 |
| Fate |
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| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Type IXCsubmarine |
| Displacement | |
| Length |
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| Beam |
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| Height | 9.60 m (31 ft 6 in) |
| Draught | 4.70 m (15 ft 5 in) |
| Installed power |
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| Propulsion |
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| Speed |
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| Range |
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| Test depth | 230 m (750 ft) |
| Complement | 4 officers, 44 enlisted |
| Armament |
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| Service record (Kriegsmarine)[1][2] | |
| Part of: |
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| Identification codes: | M 42 792 |
| Commanders: |
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| Operations: |
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| Victories: | |
| Service record (IJN)[3] | |
| Part of: |
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| Commanders: |
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| Operations: | None |
| Victories: | None |
German submarineU-511 was aType IXCU-boat ofNazi Germany'sKriegsmarine duringWorld War II. The submarine waslaid down on 21 February 1941 at theDeutsche Werft yard inHamburg as yard number 307,launched on 22 September 1941 andcommissioned on 8 December 1941 under the command ofKapitänleutnant Friedrich Steinhoff.[1]
After training with the4th U-boat Flotilla, from May 1942,U-511 was used for testing the possibility of launchingWurfkörper 42 30 cm (12 in) artillery rockets from U-boats. In cooperation with the commanding officer's brotherErnst Steinhoff of thePeenemünde Army Research Center, a rack of six rockets were mounted on deck, and were successfully launched while on the surface and while submerged up to a depth of 12 metres (39 ft). However, the rockets were not particularly accurate and the racks on the deck had a negative effect on the U-boat's underwater handling and performance, so the project was abandoned.[1]
The U-boat was attached to the10th U-boat Flotilla for front-line service on 1 August 1942. In that role she carried out four war patrols, two commanded byKptlt. Steinhoff, and two byKptlt. Fritz Schneewind, sinking five ships totalling 41,373 gross register tons (GRT) and damaging one of 8,773 GRT.[1]
The U-boat was transferred toJapan on 16 September 1943 and served in theImperial Japanese Navy as submarineRo-500 (呂500), spending its career as a training ship inJapanese home waters, until August 1945 when she surrendered to the Allies.[1][4]
German Type IXC submarines were slightly larger than the originalType IXBs.U-511 had a displacement of 1,120 tonnes (1,100 long tons) when at the surface and 1,232 tonnes (1,213 long tons) while submerged.[5] The U-boat had a total length of 76.76 m (251 ft 10 in), apressure hull length of 58.75 m (192 ft 9 in), abeam of 6.76 m (22 ft 2 in), a height of 9.60 m (31 ft 6 in), and adraught of 4.70 m (15 ft 5 in). The submarine was powered by twoMAN M 9 V 40/46supercharged four-stroke, nine-cylinderdiesel engines producing a total of 4,400 metric horsepower (3,240 kW; 4,340 shp) for use while surfaced, twoSiemens-Schuckert 2 GU 345/34double-acting electric motors producing a total of 1,000 shaft horsepower (1,010 PS; 750 kW) for use while submerged. She had two shafts and two 1.92 m (6 ft)propellers. The boat was capable of operating at depths of up to 230 metres (750 ft).[5]
The submarine had a maximum surface speed of 18.3 knots (33.9 km/h; 21.1 mph) and a maximum submerged speed of 7.3 knots (13.5 km/h; 8.4 mph).[5] When submerged, the boat could operate for 63 nautical miles (117 km; 72 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph); when surfaced, she could travel 13,450 nautical miles (24,910 km; 15,480 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph).U-511 was fitted with six 53.3 cm (21 in)torpedo tubes (four fitted at the bow and two at the stern), 22torpedoes, one10.5 cm (4.13 in) SK C/32 naval gun, 180 rounds, and a3.7 cm (1.5 in) SK C/30 as well as a2 cm (0.79 in) C/30 anti-aircraft gun. The boat had acomplement of forty-eight.[5]
On 16 July 1942U-511 sailed from Kiel and across the Atlantic to theCaribbean Sea.
At 06:29 on 27 August,U-511 fired a spread of four torpedoes at Convoy TAW-15, en route fromTrinidad toKey West, about 120 nautical miles (220 km; 140 mi) south-south-east ofGuantánamo Bay in Cuba, sinking two ships and damaging another.[6] The 13,031 GRT BritishtankerSan Fabian, loaded with 18,000 tons of fuel oil, was hit and sunk. The master, 31 crewmen and one gunner were picked up by the destroyerUSS Lea and the patrol craftPC-38, 23 crew members and three gunners were lost.[7] The 8,968 GRT Dutch tankerRotterdam, carrying 11,364 tons ofgasoline was struck and immediately began to settle by the stern. The 37 survivors of her crew of 47 abandoned the ship in lifeboats and were picked up byUSS SC-522.[8] The 8,773 GRT AmericantankerEsso Aruba, loaded with 104,170 barrels (16,562 m3) ofdiesel fuel and serving as the flagship of the convoy commodore, was hit by a single torpedo on the port side which badly damaged the ship, but left the engines and steering gear still operating. This allowed the ship, in danger of breaking in two, to proceed under her own power to Guantánamo Bay, arriving the next day. The ship was beached and her cargo unloaded. After temporary repairs the ship proceeded toGalveston, Texas, and was returned to service in February 1943.[9]
The U-boat arrived at her new home port ofLorient in occupied France, on 29 September after a voyage lasting 76 days.[2]
U-511 sailed from Lorient on 24 October 1942, and patrolled the waters off the coast of north-west Africa before returning to base after 36 days, on 28 November, having had no successes.[10]
U-511, now under the command ofOberleutnant zur See Fritz Schneewind, left Lorient once more on 31 December 1942 to patrol the waters between Spain, theCanary Islands and theAzores.[11] At 21:42 on 9 January 1943 she had her only success, sinking the 5,004 GRT British merchant shipWilliam Wilberforce, loaded with 5,054 tons of West African produce, includingpalm kernels,palm oil andrubber en route fromLagos toLiverpool. The unescorted ship was torpedoed west of the Canary Islands, with the loss of three crewmen. The master, 41 crewmen, six gunners and 12 passengers were later picked up by the Spanish merchant shipMonte Arnabal.[12]
U-511 returned to Lorient on 8 March after 68 days at sea.[2]
U-511's final patrol took her all the way to Japan, as part of the ongoingprogramme of technological exchange. She had aboard additional personnel, includingErnst Woermann, the Germanambassador to the pro-JapaneseWang Jingwei regime inChina, Vice AdmiralNaokuni Nomura, the Japanesenavalattaché inBerlin, and German scientists and engineers. Leaving Lorient on 10 May 1943 under the command of the nowKapitänleutnant Fritz Schneewind, she sailed through the Atlantic and around theCape of Good Hope into theIndian Ocean where she made two kills.[13][14]
The first attack was made at 09:42 on 27 June, when she hit the unescorted 7,194 GRT AmericanLiberty shipSebastian Cermeno with two torpedoes, disabling the engines and killing an officer and two men. The survivors abandoned ship in five lifeboats. Ten minutes after being hit, the ship sank. The U-boat surfaced and questioned the survivors before leaving. The lifeboats lost contact with each other, but all were eventually rescued by Allied ships, apart from one boat which made its own way toMadagascar.[15] Her second success came on 9 July when she torpedoed the 7,176 GRT American Liberty shipSamuel Heintzelman, loaded with 5,644 tons of ammunition and general cargo. The U-boat dived after firing and did not directly observe the results, but heard underwater explosions. On surfacing they saw no trace of the ship, only floating debris. There were no survivors from the 75 men on board. The ship was reported missing, and was at first believed to have been sunk by a Japanese surface raider. On 30 September, wreckage from the ship was discovered off theMaldives.[16]
The U-boat arrived atKure on 7 August after a voyage lasting 90 days[2] and was handed over to Japan on 16 September.[1]
After being commissioned in theImperial Japanese Navy asRo-500, in September 1943 it was examined by a team of Japanese naval engineers. Several elements of the Type IXC design were later incorporated into theI-201-class. The boat's German crew trained Japanese personnel in its handling, then departed forPenang in late September. Starting in November 1943,Ro-500 was assigned to the Naval Submarine School atŌtake as a training ship.[4]
In May 1944,Ro-500 was assigned to Submarine Division 33 along withRo-62,Ro-63, andRo-64. That monthRo-500 participated in testinganti-submarine warfare equipment with dive bombers from the634th Naval Air Group. From July 1944 to May 1945, it was used for training purposes in the Kure Naval District, before being reassigned to the 51st Squadron along withRo-68 and sent from Kure to theMaizuru naval base.[17] For the rest of the war,Ro-500 was at Maizuru to help train air crews in anti-submarine warfare by simulating an American submarine. After Japan's surrender, the crew ofRo-500, led byLieutenant Yasuhisa Yamamoto, joined the rebels that wanted to continuethe war against the Soviets. They departed from Maizuru on 18 August 1945, but the6th Fleet headquarters contacted the crew, and the same dayRo-500 returned to Maizuru.[4]
Ro-500 wasscuttled in the Gulf ofMaizuru along with the Japanese submarinesI-121 andRo-68 by the United States Navy on 30 April 1946.[1][14]
In 2018, an expedition led by theSociety La Plongee for Deep Sea Technology discovered the wrecks ofRo-500 andI-121 inWakasa Bay off the coast ofKyoto Prefecture.[18]
| Date | Ship Name | Nationality | Tonnage (GRT) | Fate[19] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 27 August 1942 | Esso Aruba |  United States | 8,773 | Damaged |
| 27 August 1942 | Rotterdam |  Netherlands | 8,968 | Sunk |
| 27 August 1942 | San Fabian |  United Kingdom | 13,031 | Sunk |
| 9 January 1943 | William Wilberforce | United Kingdom | 5,004 | Sunk |
| 27 June 1943 | Sebastin Cermeno | United States | 7,194 | Sunk |
| 9 July 1943 | Samuel Heintzelman | United States | 7,176 | Sunk |
