German submarine U-506
Encyclopedia
German submarine U-506 was a Type IXC U-boat
U-boat
U-boat is the anglicized version of the German word U-Boot , itself an abbreviation of Unterseeboot , and refers to military submarines operated by Germany, particularly in World War I and World War II...
of the German
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
Kriegsmarine
Kriegsmarine
The Kriegsmarine was the name of the German Navy during the Nazi regime . It superseded the Kaiserliche Marine of World War I and the post-war Reichsmarine. The Kriegsmarine was one of three official branches of the Wehrmacht, the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany.The Kriegsmarine grew rapidly...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. The submarine was laid down on 11 July 1940 at the Deutsche Werft
Deutsche Werft
Deutsche Werft was a German shipbuilding company, located in Hamburg, Germany. It was founded in 1918 on initiative by Albert Ballin and with Gutehoffnungshütte , Allgemeine Elektricitäts-Gesellschaft and Hamburg Amerikanische Packetfahrt Actien Gesellschaft as investors.During World War II...
yard at Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
, launched on 20 June 1941, and commissioned on 15 September 1941 under the command of Kapitänleutnant Erich Würdemann
Erich Würdemann
Erich Würdemann was a German U-boat commander in World War II and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross . The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership.-Career:Würdemann joined the Kriegsmarine in April 1933...
. After completing her training with 4th U-boat Flotilla based at Stettin
Szczecin
Szczecin , is the capital city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in Poland. It is the country's seventh-largest city and the largest seaport in Poland on the Baltic Sea. As of June 2009 the population was 406,427....
, U-506 was transferred to 10th U-boat Flotilla for front-line service on 1 February 1942.
1st patrol
U-506 first departed Hamburg on 2 March 1942 and sailed to HeligolandHeligoland
Heligoland is a small German archipelago in the North Sea.Formerly Danish and British possessions, the islands are located in the Heligoland Bight in the south-eastern corner of the North Sea...
, leaving there on 9 March for her first patrol, which took her around the British Isles
British Isles
The British Isles are a group of islands off the northwest coast of continental Europe that include the islands of Great Britain and Ireland and over six thousand smaller isles. There are two sovereign states located on the islands: the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and...
to Lorient
Lorient
Lorient, or L'Orient, is a commune and a seaport in the Morbihan department in Brittany in north-western France.-History:At the beginning of the 17th century, merchants who were trading with India had established warehouses in Port-Louis...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, by 25 March.
2nd patrol
The U-boat sailed from Lorient on 6 April 1942, crossed the Atlantic, and entered the Gulf of MexicoGulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In...
to operate off the Mississippi River Delta
Mississippi River Delta
The Mississippi River Delta is the modern area of land built up by alluvium deposited by the Mississippi River as it slows down and enters the Gulf of Mexico...
against the crucial oil trade. En route she sank a Nicaragua
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
n merchant ship off the southern tip of Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
. Between 10 and 20 May she sank three American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
oil tankers and a banana boat
Banana boat (ship)
A banana boat is a ship that carries bananas as a primary cargo, or is otherwise engaged in the banana trade. As the main produce of the West indies was bananas they were also used as a form of cheap transportation and the English cricket team that toured the West Indies in 1959–60 used banana...
, and damaged four other oil tankers, one so badly it was declared a total loss. On the return journey she sank two British merchant ships off the Bahamas, finally returning to Lorient on 15 June.
3rd patrol
U-506 sailed from Lorient once again on 28 July 1942 and headed south to the coast of West Africa, operating against ships sailing from FreetownFreetown
Freetown is the capital and largest city of Sierra Leone, a country in West Africa. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean located in the Western Area of the country, and had a city proper population of 772,873 at the 2004 census. The city is the economic, financial, and cultural center of...
, Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone , officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea to the north and east, Liberia to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west and southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of and has an estimated population between 5.4 and 6.4...
. There she sank five more merchant ships, four British, one Swedish. On the return journey the U-boat took part in the rescue operations after the sinking of the RMS Laconia
Laconia incident
The Laconia incident was an abortive naval rescue attempt in the Atlantic Ocean during World War II. On 12 September 1942, , carrying some 80 civilians, 268 British Army soldiers, about 1,800 Italian prisoners of war, and 160 Polish soldiers , was struck and sunk by a torpedo from Kriegsmarine...
, before returning to Lorient on 7 November after 103 days at sea.
4th patrol
The U-boat sailed from Lorient on 14 December 1942 and again headed south, this time to the coast of South AfricaUnion of South Africa
The Union of South Africa is the historic predecessor to the present-day Republic of South Africa. It came into being on 31 May 1910 with the unification of the previously separate colonies of the Cape, Natal, Transvaal and the Orange Free State...
, where she sank two merchant ships, one British, the other Norwegian, before returning to base on 8 May.
5th patrol
U-506s final voyage began on 6 July 1943. On 12 July the U-boat was attacked by a USAAF B-24 LiberatorB-24 Liberator
The Consolidated B-24 Liberator was an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and a small number of early models were sold under the name LB-30, for Land Bomber...
bomber of the 1st Anti-Submarine Squadron in the North Atlantic west of Vigo
Vigo
Vigo is a city and municipality in north-west Spain, in Galicia, situated on the ria of the same name on the Atlantic Ocean.-Population:...
, Spain, in position 42°30′N 16°30′W. The U-boat was located by the aircraft's SC137 10 cm radar
Radar
Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...
, which the Germans could not detect, and was attacked with seven depth charge
Depth charge
A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare weapon intended to destroy or cripple a target submarine by the shock of exploding near it. Most use explosives and a fuze set to go off at a preselected depth in the ocean. Depth charges can be dropped by either surface ships, patrol aircraft, or from...
s. The U-boat broke in two, and about 15 men were seen in the water by the pilot, who dropped a liferaft and a smoke flare. Only six men were rescued by a British destroyer three days later.
External links
See also
- List of German U-boats