| History | |
|---|---|
 Nazi Germany | |
| Name | U-571 |
| Ordered | 24 October 1939 |
| Builder | Blohm & Voss, Hamburg |
| Yard number | 547 |
| Laid down | 8 June 1940 |
| Launched | 4 April 1941 |
| Commissioned | 22 May 1941 |
| Fate | Sunk on 28 January 1944 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Type VIICsubmarine |
| Displacement | |
| Length |
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| Beam |
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| Draught | 4.74 m (15 ft 7 in) |
| Installed power |
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| Propulsion |
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| Speed |
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| Range |
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| Test depth | 220 m (720 ft) |
| Complement | 4 officers, 40–52 enlisted |
| Armament |
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| Service record[1] | |
| Part of |
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| Identification codes | M 42 483 |
| Commanders | |
| Operations |
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| Victories | |
German submarineU-571 was aType VIICU-boat built for theKriegsmarine ofNazi Germany for service duringWorld War II.U-571 conducted eleven war patrols, sinking five ships totalling 33,511 gross register tons (GRT), and damaging one other for 11,394 GRT. On 28 January 1944 she was attacked by an Australian-crewedSunderland aircraft fromNo. 461 Squadron RAAF west of Ireland and was destroyed bydepth charges. All hands were lost.
The fictional 2000 U.S. war filmU-571 has no relation to this U-boat, but is very loosely based on the British capture ofU-110 and herEnigma and cipherkeys.
German Type VIIC submarines were preceded by the shorterType VIIB submarines.U-571 had a displacement of 769 tonnes (757 long tons) when at the surface and 871 tonnes (857 long tons) while submerged.[2] She had a total length of 67.10 m (220 ft 2 in), apressure hull length of 50.50 m (165 ft 8 in), abeam of 6.20 m (20 ft 4 in), a height of 9.60 m (31 ft 6 in), and adraught of 4.74 m (15 ft 7 in). The submarine was powered by twoGermaniawerft F46 four-stroke, six-cylindersuperchargeddiesel engines producing a total of 2,800 to 3,200 metric horsepower (2,060 to 2,350 kW; 2,760 to 3,160 shp) for use while surfaced, twoBrown, Boveri & Cie GG UB 720/8double-acting electric motors producing a total of 750 metric horsepower (550 kW; 740 shp) for use while submerged. She had two shafts and two 1.23 m (4 ft)propellers. The boat was capable of operating at depths of up to 230 metres (750 ft).[2]
The submarine had a maximum surface speed of 17.7 knots (32.8 km/h; 20.4 mph) and a maximum submerged speed of 7.6 knots (14.1 km/h; 8.7 mph).[2] When submerged, the boat could operate for 80 nautical miles (150 km; 92 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph); when surfaced, she could travel 8,500 nautical miles (15,700 km; 9,800 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph).U-571 was fitted with five 53.3 cm (21 in)torpedo tubes (four fitted at the bow and one at the stern), fourteentorpedoes, one8.8 cm (3.46 in) SK C/35 naval gun, 220 rounds, and a2 cm (0.79 in) C/30 anti-aircraft gun. The boat had acomplement of between forty-four and sixty.[2]
Her keel waslaid down on 8 June 1940 byBlohm & Voss ofHamburg. She wascommissioned on 22 May 1941 withKapitänleutnantHelmut Möhlmann in command. Under his commandU-571 had nine successful patrols in the Arctic and in the North and Central Atlantic. In August and September 1941,U-571 operated against Allied and Soviet forces, damaging the Soviet passenger vesselMarija Uljanova on 26 August.
In 1942,U-571 operated off the east coast of the United States, sinking the British cargo shipHertford on 29 March, theNorwegiantanker M/T Koll on 6 April offCape Hatteras, and theAmerican freighterMargaret on April 14 after the ship leftSan Juan, Puerto Rico. AlthoughU-571’s log mentions that some of the 8 officers and 21 men managed to get into a lifeboat and onto rafts, none ofMargaret’s crew was ever seen again. In July 1942 the submarine operated in the Caribbean and torpedoed four ships: theBritish freighterUmtata on 7 July, the American tanker,J. A. Moffett, Jr. on 8 July, theHonduran freighterNicholas Cuneo on 9 July and on 15 July the American tanker,Pennsylvania Sun.
The whole crew ofJ. A. Moffett, Jr. (35merchant marine and 5 Naval Armed Guard) abandoned ship into two lifeboats and three rafts, except for the master who was killed. TheUnited States Coast Guard vesselsMary Jean andSouthbound picked up the 39 survivors and brought them toFlorida. WhenPennsylvania Sun was torpedoed, two of the merchant crew died in the resulting explosion, but the rest of the 40 merchant marine crew and the 17 members of the Naval Armed Guard aboard survived after being rescued byUSS Dahlgren.Pennsylvania Sun was later salvaged and returned to service, while the other three ships attacked in July were sunk.
On 22 March 1943,U-571 was attacked by an aircraft in the North Atlantic and was damaged and had to return to base. In April 1943, Möhlmann claimed that he sank three additional ships but these could not be matched with records of Allied losses. On 22 April 1943, she had to return to base because the commander was badly injured in an accident on the conning tower. On 2 May 1943, Möhlmann was relieved byOberleutnant zur See Gustav Lüssow.U-571 patrolled off the west coast of Africa in July before returning to base on 1 September. Between September and December,U-571 was probably being overhauled in a drydock as no mention of the boat for that time period appears in war diary kept by the German Commander in Chief, Submarines, AdmiralKarl Dönitz.[speculation?]
On 18 January 1944, Lüssow reported to his submarine command that he attacked and sank an unknowndestroyer. This could not, however, be identified with any known Allied losses duringWorld War II.
On 28 January 1944 she was attacked by an Australian captainedSunderland aircraft fromNo. 461 Squadron RAAF west of Ireland and was destroyed bydepth charges.[3] The aircraft's captain, Flight Lieutenant R. D. Lucas, reported that most of the crew successfully abandoned ship, but soon died fromhypothermia. A dinghy was dropped but failed to open.U-571 sank with all hands – 52 dead – at52°41′N14°27′W / 52.683°N 14.450°W /52.683; -14.450. She had not, until her loss, suffered any casualties to her crew during her entire career. The plane,EK577 (callsign "D for Dog"), was crewed partly byRoyal Air Force (RAF) personnel and was based atRAF Pembroke Dock, inWales. The crew was Lucas, Sergeant (Sgt) J. R. Brannan (RAF, a Canadian), Flight Sergeant (F/Sgt) W. J. Darcey, Sgt D. Musson (RAF), F/Sgt S. T. Burnett, Sgt D. McWalker (RAF), Flying Officer (F/O) H. D. Roberts, F/Sgt G. H. Simmonds (RAF), F/O R. H. Prentice, and F/Sgt C. D. Bremner.
U-571 took part in 14wolfpacks, namely:
| Date | Ship Name | Nationality | Tonnage (GRT) | Fate[4] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26 August 1941 | Marija Uljanova |  Soviet Navy | 3,870 | Total loss |
| 29 March 1942 | Hertford |  United Kingdom | 10,923 | Sunk |
| 6 April 1942 | Koll |  Norway | 10,044 | Sunk |
| 14 April 1942 | Margaret |  United States | 3,352 | Sunk |
| 7 July 1942 | Umtata | United Kingdom | 8,141 | Sunk |
| 8 July 1942 | J. A. Moffett, Jr. | United States | 9,788 | Total loss |
| 9 July 1942 | Nicholas Cuneo |  Honduras | 1,051 | Sunk |
| 15 July 1942 | Pennsylvania Sun | United States | 11,394 | damaged |
Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in January 1944 | |
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| Shipwrecks |
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| Other incidents | |
