German submarine U-558
Encyclopedia
The German submarine U-558 was a Type VIIC U-boat
in the service of the German
Kriegsmarine
during World War II
. She sank 19 shipping and military vessels totalling nearly 100,000 ton
s before being sunk by bombers in July 1943.
in Hamburg, Germany and launched on 23 December 1940. She was commissioned into service with the Kriegsmarine on 20 February 1941, with Oberleutnant zur See Günther Krech
in command.
and served ten patrols during World War II. On her first and second patrols, 1 June – 9 July and 28 July – 7 August 1941, she had no major encounters.
During U-558s third patrol, from 25 August – 16 September 1941, she came upon the British Convoy OS 4 about 330 miles northwest of Fastnet Rock
. She torpedoed and sank the Otaio, a 10,300-ton cargo ship, on 28 August.
Her fourth patrol, which began on 11 October 1941, first saw action off Ireland when she torpedoed and sank the unescorted Vancouver Island, a Canadian merchant ship of 9,472 tons, on 15 October. Two days later on 17 October, U-558 was involved in a devastating attack on Convoy SC 48
in the North Atlantic. During the battle, U-558 sank four ships: the 925-ton escort corvette , the 9,552-ton British merchant steamer W.C. Teagle, and the Norwegian merchant steamers Erviken and Rym, 6,595 and 1,369 tons respectively. U-558 took a hit from a depth charge
dropped by a Catalina
patrol flying boat, but did not sustain serious damage and continued to shadow the convoy. She returned to Brest on 25 October 1941, having sunk four ships during the 15 days of her fourth patrol.
U-558s fifth patrol began on 24 November 1941. On 2 December, a British aircraft spotted the sub attempting to cross the Strait of Gibraltar
to enter the Mediterranean 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 sunk nothing on her fifth patrol.
U-558 required significant repairs and remained in port until 10 February 1942, when she embarked on her sixth patrol. On 21 February Convoy ONS 67 was spotted, and U-558 moved into position along with 5 other u-boats. During the convoy's crossing, eight of its ships were sunk by the u-boats, with another two left damaged. On 24 February, U-558 torpedoed the 8,009-ton British tanker Anadara, which escaped. That same day she also torpedoed and sank the 9,432-ton Norwegian tanker Eidanger and the 5,578-ton British steamer Inverarder. U-558 returned to port at Brest on 11 March 1942, ending her sixth patrol with two ships sunk.
On 12 April 1942 U-558 departed Brest to begin her seventh patrol of the war. On 12 May, she sank the 913-ton British armed trawler off the coast of Ocracoke Island, North Carolina
, where the ship was assisting the United States Navy
with anti-submarine patrols. Six days later on 18 May, U-558 sank the 1,254-ton Dutch steamer Fauna. On 21 May she sank the 1,925-ton Canadian steamer Troisdoc in the Caribbean. Off Jamaica
on 23 May, U-558 torpedoed the 7,061-ton American merchant steamer William Boyce Thompson, but the tanker used evasive maneuvers and safely made it to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba for repairs. Still in the Caribbean on 25 May, U-558 next attacked the 3,451-ton American merchant steamer Beatrice. When her torpedo hit the Beatrice but failed to detonate, U-558 surfaced and trained her deck guns on the ship, which was quickly ordered abandoned, and subsequently sunk. Remaining in the Caribbean, U-558 next torpedoed and sank the 2,622-ton United States Army
transport Jack on 27 May. Her last target during the patrol was the 2,078-ton Dutch steamer Triton, which she shelled and sank on 2 June about 470 miles southeast of Bermuda
. U-558 returned to Brest to end her seventh patrol on 21 June 1942, having sunk six ships and damaged one.
U-558s eighth patrol began when she left Brest on 29 July 1942. On 25 August, she encountered the 1,987-ton British steamer Amakura, which had been travelling with Convoy WAT 15 but had fallen behind. U-558 torpedoed and sank her approximately 90 miles southeast of Port Morant
, Jamaica. U-558 encountered Convoy TAG 5 on 13 September; she torpedoed and sank the 7,241-ton British cargo ship Empire Lugard and the 7,915-ton Dutch steamer Suriname. The same day she also hit the convoy's 6,672-ton Norwegian tanker Vilja, whose crew quickly abandoned ship but were able to reboard after U-558 left the area. Vilja did not sink, but was later deemed a total loss. On 16 September U-558 torpedoed and sank the 2,606-ton American steamer Commercial Trader about 75 miles east of Trinidad
. U-558 returned to port on 16 October, having sunk four ships and damaged a fifth during her eighth patrol.
U-558 remained in port through the end of 1942, and embarked on her ninth war patrol on 9 January 1943. On 23 February, she torpedoed and sank her largest target, the 9,811-ton British steam tanker Empire Norseman, which had been travelling with Convoy UC 1 but was drifting unmanned after being torpedoed by and . 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 at many times during this patrol. At one point, she manoeuvred to attack a large eastbound convoy, but a destroyer harried her into retreat. Off Lisbon
on 14 July, a British Wellington
bomber from No. 169 Squadron RAF
dropped depth charges; U-558 was not hit, and damaged the plane with anti-aircraft fire. Three days later off Porto
on 17 July, a British Liberator
from No. 224 Squadron RAF
dropped 24 35-pound anti-submarine bombs, but U-558 was able to escape by crash-diving; the aircraft took damage from anti-aircraft fire and malfunctioning bombs.
on 20 July, an American Liberator from the 19th Bombardment Squadron, United States Army Air Forces
, dropped depth charges on U-558; the sub was undamaged, and returned fire, shooting down the bomber.
Later the same day, a second Liberator from the 19th Bombardment Squadron dropped depth charges on U-558. The sub was severely damaged and unable to dive. The Liberator, her port inner engine taken out by U-558s anti-aircraft guns, left the scene and was relieved by a Halifax bomber
from No. 58 Squadron RAF
, which finished off the sub with depth charges. Captain Krech and four of his crew were picked up on 24 July by the .
* damaged but not sunk
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...
in the service 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...
. She sank 19 shipping and military vessels totalling nearly 100,000 ton
Ton
The ton is a unit of measure. It has a long history and has acquired a number of meanings and uses over the years. It is used principally as a unit of weight, and as a unit of volume. It can also be used as a measure of energy, for truck classification, or as a colloquial term.It is derived from...
s before being sunk by bombers in July 1943.
Construction and commissioning
U-558 was laid down on 6 January 1940 at Blohm + VossBlohm + Voss
Blohm + Voss , is a German shipbuilding and engineering works. It is a subsidiary of ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems; there were plans to sell 80% of Blohm + Voss to Abu Dhabi Mar Group, but talks collapsed in July 2011.-History:It was founded on April 5, 1877, by Hermann Blohm and Ernst Voss as a...
in Hamburg, Germany and launched on 23 December 1940. She was commissioned into service with the Kriegsmarine on 20 February 1941, with Oberleutnant zur See Günther Krech
Günther Krech
Günther Krech was a German U-boat commander in World War II and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. As commander of he sank twenty ships, totalling 101,696 tons, and damaged two ships...
in command.
Patrols
U-558 operated out of Brest, FranceBrest, France
Brest is a city in the Finistère department in Brittany in northwestern France. Located in a sheltered position not far from the western tip of the Breton peninsula, and the western extremity of metropolitan France, Brest is an important harbour and the second French military port after Toulon...
and served ten patrols during World War II. On her first and second patrols, 1 June – 9 July and 28 July – 7 August 1941, she had no major encounters.
During U-558s third patrol, from 25 August – 16 September 1941, she came upon the British Convoy OS 4 about 330 miles northwest of Fastnet Rock
Fastnet Rock
Fastnet Rock is a small island in the Atlantic Ocean and the most southerly point of Ireland. It lies southwest of Cape Clear Island and from County Cork on the Irish mainland...
. She torpedoed and sank the Otaio, a 10,300-ton cargo ship, on 28 August.
Her fourth patrol, which began on 11 October 1941, first saw action off Ireland when she torpedoed and sank the unescorted Vancouver Island, a Canadian merchant ship of 9,472 tons, on 15 October. Two days later on 17 October, U-558 was involved in a devastating attack on Convoy SC 48
Convoy SC 48
SC 48 was a North Atlantic convoy of the SC series which ran during the battle of the Atlantic in World War II.It was notable for being the occasion of the Kearny incident, which brought the United States one step closer to war with Germany.-Prelude:...
in the North Atlantic. During the battle, U-558 sank four ships: the 925-ton escort corvette , the 9,552-ton British merchant steamer W.C. Teagle, and the Norwegian merchant steamers Erviken and Rym, 6,595 and 1,369 tons respectively. U-558 took a hit from a 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...
dropped by a Catalina
PBY Catalina
The Consolidated PBY Catalina was an American flying boat of the 1930s and 1940s produced by Consolidated Aircraft. It was one of the most widely used multi-role aircraft of World War II. PBYs served with every branch of the United States Armed Forces and in the air forces and navies of many other...
patrol flying boat, but did not sustain serious damage and continued to shadow the convoy. She returned to Brest on 25 October 1941, having sunk four ships during the 15 days of her fourth patrol.
U-558s fifth patrol began on 24 November 1941. On 2 December, a British aircraft spotted the sub attempting to cross the Strait of Gibraltar
Strait of Gibraltar
The Strait of Gibraltar is a narrow strait that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea and separates Spain in Europe from Morocco in Africa. The name comes from Gibraltar, which in turn originates from the Arabic Jebel Tariq , albeit the Arab name for the Strait is Bab el-Zakat or...
to enter the Mediterranean Sea
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
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 sunk nothing on her fifth patrol.
U-558 required significant repairs and remained in port until 10 February 1942, when she embarked on her sixth patrol. On 21 February Convoy ONS 67 was spotted, and U-558 moved into position along with 5 other u-boats. During the convoy's crossing, eight of its ships were sunk by the u-boats, with another two left damaged. On 24 February, U-558 torpedoed the 8,009-ton British tanker Anadara, which escaped. That same day she also torpedoed and sank the 9,432-ton Norwegian tanker Eidanger and the 5,578-ton British steamer Inverarder. U-558 returned to port at Brest on 11 March 1942, ending her sixth patrol with two ships sunk.
On 12 April 1942 U-558 departed Brest to begin her seventh patrol of the war. On 12 May, she sank the 913-ton British armed trawler off the coast of Ocracoke Island, North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
, where the ship was assisting the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
with anti-submarine patrols. Six days later on 18 May, U-558 sank the 1,254-ton Dutch steamer Fauna. On 21 May she sank the 1,925-ton Canadian steamer Troisdoc in the Caribbean. Off Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
on 23 May, U-558 torpedoed the 7,061-ton American merchant steamer William Boyce Thompson, but the tanker used evasive maneuvers and safely made it to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba for repairs. Still in the Caribbean on 25 May, U-558 next attacked the 3,451-ton American merchant steamer Beatrice. When her torpedo hit the Beatrice but failed to detonate, U-558 surfaced and trained her deck guns on the ship, which was quickly ordered abandoned, and subsequently sunk. Remaining in the Caribbean, U-558 next torpedoed and sank the 2,622-ton United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
transport Jack on 27 May. Her last target during the patrol was the 2,078-ton Dutch steamer Triton, which she shelled and sank on 2 June about 470 miles southeast of Bermuda
Bermuda
Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...
. U-558 returned to Brest to end her seventh patrol on 21 June 1942, having sunk six ships and damaged one.
U-558s eighth patrol began when she left Brest on 29 July 1942. On 25 August, she encountered the 1,987-ton British steamer Amakura, which had been travelling with Convoy WAT 15 but had fallen behind. U-558 torpedoed and sank her approximately 90 miles southeast of Port Morant
Port Morant
Port Morant is a town in southeastern Jamaica. It was, in the early years of European settlement, one of the island's chief ports, with export of bananas and production of rum being major industries....
, Jamaica. U-558 encountered Convoy TAG 5 on 13 September; she torpedoed and sank the 7,241-ton British cargo ship Empire Lugard and the 7,915-ton Dutch steamer Suriname. The same day she also hit the convoy's 6,672-ton Norwegian tanker Vilja, whose crew quickly abandoned ship but were able to reboard after U-558 left the area. Vilja did not sink, but was later deemed a total loss. On 16 September U-558 torpedoed and sank the 2,606-ton American steamer Commercial Trader about 75 miles east of Trinidad
Trinidad
Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands and numerous landforms which make up the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. It is the southernmost island in the Caribbean and lies just off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. With an area of it is also the fifth largest in...
. U-558 returned to port on 16 October, having sunk four ships and damaged a fifth during her eighth patrol.
U-558 remained in port through the end of 1942, and embarked on her ninth war patrol on 9 January 1943. On 23 February, she torpedoed and sank her largest target, the 9,811-ton British steam tanker Empire Norseman, which had been travelling with Convoy UC 1 but was drifting unmanned after being torpedoed by and . 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 at many times during this patrol. At one point, she manoeuvred to attack a large eastbound convoy, but a destroyer harried her into retreat. Off Lisbon
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
on 14 July, a British Wellington
Vickers Wellington
The Vickers Wellington was a British twin-engine, long range medium bomber designed in the mid-1930s at Brooklands in Weybridge, Surrey, by Vickers-Armstrongs' Chief Designer, R. K. Pierson. It was widely used as a night bomber in the early years of the Second World War, before being displaced as a...
bomber from No. 169 Squadron RAF
No. 169 Squadron RAF
No. 169 Squadron RAF was a tactical reconnaissance and later a night intruder squadron of the Royal Air Force during World War II-History:No. 169 squadron was formed on 15 June 1942 at RAF Twinwood Farm as a tactical reconnaissance squadron from 'B' flight of 613 Squadron, and took over their North...
dropped depth charges; U-558 was not hit, and damaged the plane with anti-aircraft fire. Three days later off Porto
Porto
Porto , also known as Oporto in English, is the second largest city in Portugal and one of the major urban areas in the Iberian Peninsula. Its administrative limits include a population of 237,559 inhabitants distributed within 15 civil parishes...
on 17 July, a British Liberator
B-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...
from No. 224 Squadron RAF
No. 224 Squadron RAF
No. 224 Squadron RAF was formed on 1 April 1918, at Alimini, Italy from part of No. 6 Wing RNAS, equipped with the De Havilland DH.4. In June 1918 it re-equipped with the De Havilland DH.9. The squadron moved to Taranto in December 1918, disbanding their in May 1919.On 1 February 1937, the squadron...
dropped 24 35-pound anti-submarine bombs, but U-558 was able to escape by crash-diving; the aircraft took damage from anti-aircraft fire and malfunctioning bombs.
Sinking
In the Bay of BiscayBay of Biscay
The Bay of Biscay is a gulf of the northeast Atlantic Ocean located south of the Celtic Sea. It lies along the western coast of France from Brest south to the Spanish border, and the northern coast of Spain west to Cape Ortegal, and is named in English after the province of Biscay, in the Spanish...
on 20 July, an American Liberator from the 19th Bombardment Squadron, United States Army Air Forces
United States Army Air Forces
The United States Army Air Forces was the military aviation arm of the United States of America during and immediately after World War II, and the direct predecessor of the United States Air Force....
, dropped depth charges on U-558; the sub was undamaged, and returned fire, shooting down the bomber.
Later the same day, a second Liberator from the 19th Bombardment Squadron dropped depth charges on U-558. The sub was severely damaged and unable to dive. The Liberator, her port inner engine taken out by U-558s anti-aircraft guns, left the scene and was relieved by a Halifax bomber
Handley Page Halifax
The Handley Page Halifax was one of the British front-line, four-engined heavy bombers of the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. A contemporary of the famous Avro Lancaster, the Halifax remained in service until the end of the war, performing a variety of duties in addition to bombing...
from No. 58 Squadron RAF
No. 58 Squadron RAF
No. 58 Squadron was a squadron of the Royal Air Force.- History :No. 58 Squadron was first formed at Cramlington, Northumberland, on 8 June 1916 as a squadron of the Royal Flying Corps....
, which finished off the sub with depth charges. Captain Krech and four of his crew were picked up on 24 July by the .
Ships sunk or damaged
| Date | Tonnage | Nationality | Name | Convoy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 28 August 1941 | 10,298 | British | Otaio | OS 4 |
| 15 October 1941 | 9,472 | Canadian | Vancouver Island | |
| 17 October 1941 | 6,595 | Norwegian | Erviken | SC 48 Convoy SC 48 SC 48 was a North Atlantic convoy of the SC series which ran during the battle of the Atlantic in World War II.It was notable for being the occasion of the Kearny incident, which brought the United States one step closer to war with Germany.-Prelude:... |
| 17 October 1941 | 925 | British | HMS Gladiolus HMS Gladiolus (K34) HMS Gladiolus was a Flower-class corvette of the Royal Navy, the first ship of her class.She was laid down at Smiths Dock Company on the River Tees on 19 October 1939, launched on 24 January 1940, and commissioned on 6 April 1940.... |
SC 48 |
| 17 October 1941 | 1,369 | Norwegian | Rym | SC 48 |
| 17 October 1941 | 9,552 | British | W.C. Teagle | SC 48 |
| 24 February 1942 | 8,009 | British | Anadara* | OS 67 |
| 24 February 1942 | 9,432 | Norwegian | Eidanger | OS 67 |
| 24 February 1942 | 5,578 | British | Inverarder | OS 67 |
| 12 May 1942 | 913 | British | HMT Bedfordshire HMT Bedfordshire HMT Bedfordshire was an armed anti-submarine trawler in the service of the Royal Navy during World War II. She was sunk by the Uboat U-558 on 11 May 1942 off the coast of Ocracoke Island on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, with the loss of all hands.... |
|
| 18 May 1942 | 1,254 | Dutch | Fauna | |
| 21 May 1942 | 1,925 | Canadian | Troisdoc | |
| 23 May 1942 | 7,061 | American | William Boyce Thompson* | |
| 25 May 1942 | 3,451 | American | Beatrice | |
| 27 May 1942 | 2,622 | American | USAT Jack | |
| 2 June 1942 | 2,078 | Norwegian | Triton | |
| 25 August 1942 | 1,987 | British | Amakura | WAT 15 |
| 13 September 1942 | 7,241 | British | Empire Lugard | TAG 5 |
| 13 September 1942 | 7,915 | Dutch | Suriname | TAG 5 |
| 13 September 1942 | 6,672 | Norwegian | Vilja* | TAG 5 |
| 16 September 1942 | 2,606 | American | Commercial Trader | |
| 23 February 1943 | 9,811 | British | Empire Norseman | UC 1 |