_na_p%25C3%25B3%25C5%2582nocnych_wodach_USA_(2-2547).jpg) U-558 in June 1942 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 Nazi Germany | |
| Name | U-558 |
| Ordered | 25 September 1939 |
| Builder | Blohm & Voss, Hamburg |
| Yard number | 534 |
| Laid down | 6 January 1940 |
| Launched | 23 December 1940 |
| Commissioned | 20 February 1941 |
| Fate | Sunk on 20 July 1943 |
| 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 36 167 |
| Commanders: |
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| Operations: |
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| Victories: | |
German submarineU-558 was aType VIICU-boat in the service ofNazi Germany'sKriegsmarine duringWorld War II. She sank 18 ships totalling 94,099 GRT before being sunk by bomber aircraft on 20 July 1943.
U-558 waslaid down on 6 January 1940 atBlohm & Voss inHamburg, Germany as yard number 534 andlaunched on 23 December 1940. She wascommissioned on 20 February 1941, withOberleutnant zur SeeGünther Krech in command.
Her service began with the1st U-boat Flotilla where she conducted training before moving on to operations, also with the first flotilla, on 1 May 1941.
German Type VIIC submarines were preceded by the shorterType VIIB submarines.U-558 had a displacement of 769 tonnes (757 long tons) when at the surface and 871 tonnes (857 long tons) while submerged.[1] 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).[1]
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).[1] 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-558 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.[1]
U-558 departedKiel on 1 June 1941 and entered the Atlantic via theNorth Sea and thegap betweenIceland and theFaroe Islands with no major encounters, arriving at her new home port ofBrest in occupied France on the 28th.
Her second patrol was also relatively uneventful.
The submarine's third patrol, from 25 August to 16 September 1941, became interesting when she came upon the BritishConvoy OS 4 about 330 miles (530 km) northwest ofFastnet Rock. She torpedoed and sank theOtaio, a 10,298 GRT cargo ship, on 28 August.[2]
Her fourth patrol, which began on 11 October 1941, first saw action off Ireland when she torpedoed and sank the unescortedVancouver Island, a Canadian merchant ship of 9,472 GRT, on 15 October.[3] Two days later on 17 October,U-558 was involved in a devastating attack onConvoy SC 48 in the North Atlantic. During the battle,U-558 sank three ships: the 9,552 GRT British merchant steamerW.C. Teagle, and the Norwegian merchant steamersErviken (which broke in two and sank in three minutes) andRym, 6,595 and 1,369 GRT respectively[4][5][6][7]U-558 took a hit from adepth charge dropped by aCatalina flying boat, but did not sustain serious damage and continued to shadow the convoy.[8] She returned to Brest on 25 October 1941, having sunk four ships in the 15 days of her fourth patrol.
U-558's fifth patrol began on 24 November 1941. On 2 December, a British aircraft spotted the U-boat attempting to enter theMediterranean Sea and called for surface support.U-558 took serious damage from depth charges dropped by the two ships that responded. She was able to escape, but had to return to Brest for repairs, arriving 7 December 1941 after only 14 days at sea, having had no success.[8]
U-558 required significant repairs and remained in port until 10 February 1942, when she embarked on her sixth patrol. On 21 FebruaryConvoy ON 67 was spotted, so she moved into position along with five other submarines. Eight of its ships were sunk by the U-boats, another two were left damaged. On 24 February,U-558 torpedoed the 8,009 GRT British tankerAnadara, which escaped.[9] That same day she also torpedoed and sank the 9,432 GRT Norwegian tankerEidanger and the 5,578 GRT British steamerInverarder.[10][11] She returned to Brest on 11 March 1942.
U-558 departed Brest to begin her seventh patrol of the war on 12 April 1942 . On 12 May, she sank the 913 GRT Britisharmed trawlerHMT Bedfordshire off the coast ofOcracoke Island,North Carolina, where the ship had been assisting theUnited States Navy with anti-submarine patrols.[12] Six days later on 18 May, she sank the 1,254 GRT Dutch steamerFauna.[13] On 21 May she sank the 1,925 GRT Canadian steamerTroisdoc in the Caribbean.[14] OffJamaica on 23 May,U-558 torpedoed the 7,061 GRT American merchant steamerWilliam Boyce Thompson, but the tanker used evasive maneuvers and reached the safety ofGuantanamo Bay, Cuba for repairs.[15] Still in the Caribbean on 25 May,U-558 next attacked the 3,451 GRT American merchant steamerBeatrice. When her torpedo hit the ship but failed to detonate,U-558 surfaced and trained her deck guns on the vessel, which was quickly ordered abandoned, and subsequently sunk.[16] Remaining in the Caribbean,U-558 next torpedoed and sank the 2,622 GRTUnited States Army transportUSATJack on 27 May.[17] Her last target during the patrol was the 2,078 GRT Dutch steamerTriton, which she shelled and sank on 2 June about 470 miles (760 km) southeast ofBermuda.[18]U-558 returned to Brest to end her seventh patrol on 21 June 1942, having sunk six ships and damaged one.
U-558's eighth patrol began when she left Brest on 29 July 1942. On 25 August, she encountered the 1,987 GRT British steamerAmakura, which had been travelling withConvoy WAT 15 but had fallen behind.U-558 torpedoed and sank her approximately 90 miles (140 km) southeast ofPort Morant, Jamaica.[19]U-558 encounteredConvoy TAG 5 on 13 September; she torpedoed and sank the 7,241 GRT British cargo shipEmpire Lugard and the 7,915 GRT Dutch steamerSuriname.[20] The same day she also hit the convoy's 6,672 GRT Norwegian tankerVilja, whose crew quickly abandoned ship but were able to reboard afterU-558 left the area.Vilja did not sink, but was later deemed a total loss.[21][22] On 16 SeptemberU-558 torpedoed and sank the 2,606 GRT American steamerCommercial Trader about 75 miles (121 km) east ofTrinidad.[23]U-558 returned to port on 16 October, having sunk four ships and damaged a fifth.
U-558 remained in port until the end of 1942, and embarked on her ninth war patrol on 9 January 1943. In January she met with theU-109 in order to transfer an officer to their crew, since the commander ofU-109 had fallen out with a nervous breakdown.[24] On 23 February, she torpedoed and sank the 9,811 GRT British steam tankerEmpire Norseman south of theAzores, which had been travelling withConvoy UC 1 but was drifting unmanned after being torpedoed byU-382 andU-202.[25] She found no other targets during her ninth patrol, which ended when she returned to Brest on 29 March 1943.
Her tenth—and ultimately last—patrol began on 8 May 1943.U-558 ran into difficulty many times during this patrol. At one point, she manoeuvred to attack a large eastbound convoy, but a destroyer harried her into retreat.[26] OffLisbon on 14 July, a BritishWellington bomber fromNo. 179 Squadron RAF dropped depth charges;U-558 was not hit, and damaged the plane with anti-aircraft fire. Three days later offPorto on 17 July, a BritishLiberator from224 Squadron dropped 24 35-pound anti-submarine bombs, butU-558 was able to escape by crash-diving; the plane took damage from anti-aircraft fire and its own malfunctioning bombs.
In theBay of Biscay on 20 July, an AmericanB-24 Liberator from the19th Antisubmarine Squadron,United States Army Air Forces, called the Sea Hawk dropped depth charges onU-558; the boat was undamaged, and returned fire, shooting down the bomber.[8]
Later the same day, a second Liberator from the 19th Antisubmarine Squadron,479th Antisubmarine Group, piloted by Charles F. Gallmeier, dropped 7 depth charges onU-558. The sub was severely damaged and unable to dive. The Liberator, her port inner engine taken out byU-558's anti-aircraft flak guns, left the scene and was relieved by aHalifax bomber from58 Squadron, piloted by Geoffrey R. Sawtell. Although the U-boat was devastated by the previous attack, and the Germans were attempting to scuttle and to abandon the ship, the Halifax attacked U-558 with 8 depth charges. Captain Krech, badly wounded in the spine, and four of his crew miraculously escaped in a raft, and were picked up on 24 July byHMCS Athabaskan.[8]". All other 41 men perished.[27][28]She sank at position45°10′N09°42′W / 45.167°N 9.700°W /45.167; -9.700 north-west of Spain in the Bay of Biscay.
U-558 took part in ninewolfpacks, namely:
| Date | Ship Name | Nationality | Tonnage (GRT) | Fate[29] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 28 August 1941 | Otaio |  United Kingdom | 10,298 | Sunk |
| 15 October 1941 | Vancouver Island |  Canada | 9,472 | Sunk |
| 17 October 1941 | Erviken |  Norway | 6,595 | Sunk |
| 17 October 1941 | Rym | Norway | 1,369 | Sunk |
| 17 October 1941 | W.C. Teagle | United Kingdom | 9,552 | Sunk |
| 24 February 1942 | Anadara | United Kingdom | 8,009 | Damaged |
| 24 February 1942 | Eidanger | Norway | 9,432 | Sunk |
| 24 February 1942 | Inverarder | United Kingdom | 5,578 | Sunk |
| 12 May 1942 | HMT Bedfordshire |  Royal Navy | 913 | Sunk |
| 18 May 1942 | Fauna |  Netherlands | 1,254 | Sunk |
| 21 May 1942 | Troisdoc | Canada | 1,925 | Sunk |
| 23 May 1942 | William Boyce Thompson |  United States | 7,061 | Damaged |
| 25 May 1942 | Beatrice | United States | 3,451 | Sunk |
| 27 May 1942 | USAT Jack | United States Army | 2,622 | Sunk |
| 2 June 1942 | Triton | Netherlands | 2,078 | Sunk |
| 25 August 1942 | Amakura | United Kingdom | 1,987 | Sunk |
| 13 September 1942 | Empire Lugard | United Kingdom | 7,241 | Sunk |
| 13 September 1942 | Suriname | Netherlands | 7,915 | Sunk |
| 13 September 1942 | Vilja | Norway | 6,672 | Total loss |
| 16 September 1942 | Commercial Trader | United States | 2,606 | Sunk |
| 23 February 1943 | Empire Norseman | United Kingdom | 9,811 | Sunk |
