| History | |
|---|---|
 Nazi Germany | |
| Name | U-557 |
| Ordered | 25 September 1939 |
| Builder | Blohm & Voss, Hamburg |
| Yard number | 533 |
| Laid down | 6 January 1940 |
| Launched | 22 December 1940 |
| Commissioned | 13 February 1941 |
| Fate | Sunk on 16 December 1941 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Type VIICsubmarine |
| Displacement | |
| Length |
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| Beam |
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| Height | 9.60 m (31 ft 6 in) |
| 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 | |
| Test depth |
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| Complement | 4 officers, 40–56 enlisted |
| Armament |
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| Service record | |
| Part of: |
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| Identification codes: | M 37 961 |
| Commanders: | |
| Operations: |
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| Victories: |
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German submarineU-557 was aType VIICU-boat built forNazi Germany'sKriegsmarine for service duringWorld War II. She waslaid down on 6 January 1940,launched on 22 December 1940 andcommissioned on 13 February 1941.Oberleutnant zur See Ottokar Arnold Paulssen was in command throughout her career. For her first three war patrols her 2nd Watch Officer wasHerbert Werner, who later wrote the memoir of U-boat service,Iron Coffins. She sank six merchant ships and one warship, a total of 31,729 gross register tons (GRT) and 5,220 tons over four patrols.[1]
She was rammed and sunk by mistake by an Italian torpedo boat on 16 December 1941 west ofCrete.
German Type VIIC submarines were preceded by the shorterType VIIB submarines.U-557 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-557 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]
U-557 commissioned on 13 February 1941, and was assigned to1st U-boat flotilla, then based atKiel. She spent the next four months atKönigsberg, working up in theBaltic. During this period she suffered a diving accident, during which one crewman died.[3] Werner describes this incident graphically in his book: He tells us that a routine dive in theBaltic turned into an emergency when the boat sank out of control. She hit the bottom stern-first with a thump. The depth gauge read 142 m (466 ft); the submarine was in severe difficulty, having taken on tons of water, poisonous chlorine gas was leaking from the batteries and there was the danger of an explosion.U-557 had also suffered her first death; a mechanic sustained fatal head injuries in the after torpedo room. A human chain of sailors was formed, passing buckets of sea water to each other, in an attempt to shift some of the weight from the stern to the bow. After many hour's toil, the boat pivoted so that the bow hit the bottom. But the sheer weight of water (about 40 tons) preventedU-557 from reaching the surface. The boat, having exhausted its supply of compressed air, stayed on the sea bed. The crew, under the direction of the Chief Engineer, rocked the boat by moving rapidly from stern to bow and back again. The submarine eventually worked herself free. After 20 hours,U-557 surfaced and sailed on to Kiel.[4]
U-557 departed from Kiel on 13 May 1941 to take up station in the Atlantic.[5]On 24 May her captain was directed to supportthe sortie by battleshipBismarck and join a five boat patrol line west of the French coast to form a trap for units of the BritishHome Fleet, which were in pursuit asBismarck fled towards the French coast.[6]
Despite their efforts the trap failed andBismarck was attacked and sunk on 27 May. The Home Fleet had been able totrack down and destroyBismarck without hindrance from the U-boat arm.[7]
The trap was dissolved andU-557 was directed to joinpatrol lineWest, searching for North Atlantic convoys.However theBismarck operation had disrupted U-boat operations and only two ships were sunk in the latter two weeks of May; one of these wasEmpire Storm, sunk byU-557 on 29 May.[8][9]
On 1 JuneU-557 re-fuelled from supply shipBelchen; later that same dayBelchen was caught and sunk by Royal Navy unitsengaged in hunting down the Operation Rheinübung supply train.[10]
On 3 JuneU-557 joined GroupWest, but the group had no success; this period following thecapture ofU-110 and the consequentpenetration of German Enigma code meant theAllies were able to re-route threatened convoys around areas of known U-boat activity and losses were kept to a minimum.[11]
U 557 abandoned her patrol after six relatively fruitless weeks, arriving atLorient on 10 July.[5]
U-557 sailed on her second war patrol on 13 August 1941, though she returned two days later (reason unknown), sailing again on 20 August to take position south of Iceland.[12] On 24 AugustU-557 found and reportedconvoy OS 4 and started shadowing it. As reinforcements arrived, Paulssen was permitted to attack; he made three approaches, sinking four ships in total.[13][14] Seven other U-boats joined the assault, but only one had any success.U-557 continued to shadow, but had no further success and on 28 August the attack was called off.On 28 AugustU-557 joined theBosemuller patrol line.[15] On 2 September this was reconfigured into patrol lineSeewolf.[16]Neither had any success and on 15 SeptemberU-557 was ordered to return, arriving at Lorient on 19 September.[12]
On 19 November 1941U-557 sailed from Lorient bound for theMediterranean.[17] Werner had been reassigned and had left the boat at this point.[18]On 25/26 November she successfully penetrated theStraits of Gibraltar, despite AlliedASW patrols, and on 2 December sank the freighterFjord offCape Estepona, Spain. This caused some controversy, as a subsequent investigation showed this attack had infringed Spanish neutrality, having taken place within Spanish territorial waters.[19]U-557 arrived atMessina on 7 December 1941.[17]
On 9 DecemberU-557 sailed again on her fourth and last patrol, into the eastern Mediterranean.[20] In company with theItalian submarine Dagabur, on the night of 14/15 December 1941 she encountered the British light cruiserHMS Galatea. Both submarines made attacks on the cruiser and she sank with the loss of more than half her crew.[21]U-557 has been credited with the sinking.[22]
News of this sinking even reached the Submarine Tracking Room in London.[23]
At 18:06 on 16 December,U-557 sent a short radio signal indicating that she was 18 hours from port. At 18:00 on the same day, the Italian torpedo boatOrione left the Cretan port ofSuda. The commander had no knowledge that a German U-boat was in the area ofCrete.
When the Italian commander saw a submarine at 21:44, heading in a northerly direction, he decided to ram it, supposing it to be British.U-557 sank immediately with all hands; the damaged Italian torpedo boat headed back to base. The position of the incident was given by the Italian commander as35°19′N23°11′E / 35.31°N 23.19°E /35.31; 23.19.[1][24]An investigation bySupermarina (Italian Naval Command) determined the collision was an accident, though they reserved judgement on whether the ramming was intended, or the result of a navigational error.[25] They also noted that German notification ofU-557's presence in the area did not arrive withSupermarina until 22:00, after the incident had taken place.[3]
U-557 took part in threewolfpacks, namely:
| Date | Ship Name | Nationality | Tonnage[Note 1] | Fate[26] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29 May 1941 | Empire Storm |  United Kingdom | 7,290 | Sunk |
| 27 August 1941 | Embassage | United Kingdom | 4,954 | Sunk |
| 27 August 1941 | Saugor | United Kingdom | 6,303 | Sunk |
| 27 August 1941 | Segundo |  Norway | 4,414 | Sunk |
| 27 August 1941 | Tremoda | United Kingdom | 4,736 | Sunk |
| 2 December 1941 | Fjord | Norway | 4,032 | Sunk |
| 15 December 1941 | HMS Galatea |  Royal Navy | 5,220 | Sunk |
