German submarine U-553 (2024)

German submarine U-553
Career (Nazi Germany)
Name:	U-553
Ordered:	25 September 1939
Builder:	Blohm & Voss, Hamburg
Yard number:	529
Laid down:	21 November 1939
Launched:	7 November 1940
Commissioned:	23 December 1940
Fate:	Missing, presumed sunk, in the mid North Atlantic on 20 January 1943. All hands lost[1]
General characteristics
Type:	Type VIIC submarine
Displacement:	769 tonnes (757 long tons) surfaced 871t (857 long tons) submerged
Length:	67.1m (220ft 2in) o/a 50.5m (165ft 8in) pressure hull
Beam:	6.2m (20ft 4in) o/a 4.7m (15ft 5in) pressure hull
Draft:	4.74m (15ft 7in)
Propulsion:	2 × supercharged Germaniawerft 6-cylinder 4-stroke M6V 40/46 diesel engines, totalling 2,800–3,200bhp (2,100–2,400kW). Max rpm: 470-490 2 × electric motors, totalling 750shp (560kW) and max rpm: 296
Speed:	17.7 knots (20.4mph; 32.8km/h) surfaced 7.6 knots (8.7mph; 14.1km/h) submerged
Range:	15,170km (8,190nmi) at 10kn (19km/h) surfaced 150km (81nmi) at 4kn (7.4km/h) submerged
Test depth:	230m (750ft) Crush depth: 250–295m (820–968ft)
Complement:	44–52 officers & ratings
Armament:	5 × 53.3cm (21in) torpedo tubes (four bow, one stern) • 14 × G7e torpedoes or 26 TMA mines • 1 × 8.8cm (3.46in) deck gun (220 rounds) • Various AA guns

German submarine U-553 was a Type VIIC U-boat built for the Nazi German Kriegsmarine for service during World War II.

History[]

Her keel was laid down 21 November 1939, by Blohm + Voss in Hamburg as 'werk' 529. She was launched on 7 November 1940 and commissioned on 23 December, with Kapitänleutnant Karl Thurmann in command. He was captain for her entire career.

Her service began with training under the 7th U-boat Flotilla and moved on to operations on 1 April 1941. She then transferred to the 3rd flotilla on 1 December 1942. She was a member of 10 wolfpacks. She moved from Kiel in Germany to Bergen in Norway in April 1941.

1st patrol[]

The boat departed Bergen on 19 April 1941 and headed for the Atlantic via the gap between the Faeroe and Shetland Islands. She arrived at her new base of St. Nazaire in occupied France on 2 May 1941 after suffering serious engine trouble.

2nd patrol[]

Departing St. Nazaire on 7 June, she achieved success north of the Azores, by sinking the Susan Maersk (she went down in 90 seconds)^[2] and the Ranella (she broke in two)^[3] both on 12 June 1941.

3rd, 4th and 5th patrols[]

Her next three sorties met with mixed fortune; her third patrol saw no success, despite ranging far and wide over the north Atlantic.

U-553's next foray saw her attack merchantmen such as the Silvercedar, (sunk on 15 October 1941)^[4] and HMS Gladiolus (sunk on 17 October).^[5]

The boat's fifth patrol took her toward the eastern Canadian/US coast where she succeeded in damaging the Diala on 15 January 1942^[6] and sinking the Innerøy on 22 January.^[7]

6th and 7th patrols[]

The boat's sixth patrol took her from St. Nazaire as far north as the Faeroe Islands. It was unsuccessful.

Outing number seven saw the submarine penetrate the Gulf of St. Lawrence where she sank two ships; the Leto^[8] and the Nicoya.^[9] The Mattawin^[10] was sent to the bottom of the Atlantic.

8th patrol[]

The boat's eighth patrol began with her departure from St. Nazaire on 19 July and to which she returned on 17 September after 61 days at sea, her longest. In that time, she damaged the Belgian Soldier off Newfoundland^[11] and attacked three other ships near Cuba.^[12][13] one of which, the Empire Bede, was sunk by gunfire from HMSPimpernel.^[14]

9th patrol[]

Her last full patrol commenced on 23 November 1942; she sank the Charles L D on 9 December 1942. She returned to France, but this time La Pallice on 18 December.^[15]

Loss[]

Her tenth and final sortie began with her departure from La Pallice on 16 January 1943. On the 20th, she sent a radio message: "Sehrohr unklar" (periscope unready for action), and was never heard from again. She had suffered no casualties to her crew until lost with all hands. She most probably sank because of technical problems and was officially declared missing on 28 January 1943.^[16]

Raiding history[]

Date	Ship	Nationality	Tonnage	Fate[17]
12 June 1941	Ranella	Norway	5,590	Sunk
12 June 1941	Susan Maersk	United Kingdom	2,355	Sunk
15 October 1941	Ila	Norway	1,583	Sunk
15 October 1941	Silvercedar	United Kingdom	4,354	Sunk
17 October 1941	HMS Gladiolus	United Kingdom	925	Sunk
15 January 1942	Diala	United Kingdom	8,106	Damaged
22 January 1942	Innerøy	Norway	8,260	Sunk
12 May 1942	Leto	Netherlands	4,712	Sunk
12 May 1942	Nicoya	United Kingdom	5,364	Sunk
2 June 1942	Matawin	United Kingdom	6,919	Sunk
3 August 1942	Belgian Soldier	Belgium	7,167	Damaged
18 August 1942	Blankaholm	Sweden	2,845	Sunk
18 August 1942	Empire Bede	United Kingdom	6,959	Sunk
18 August 1942	John Hanco*ck	United States	7,176	Sunk
9 December 1942	Charles L D	United Kingdom	5,273	Sunk

U-553 in fiction[]

Neal Stephenson's novel Cryptonomicon includes a fictitious U-553 which runs aground about ten miles north of Qwghlm, a fictional pair of islands, Inner Qwghlm and Outer Qwghlm, off the northwestern coast of Great Britain.

See also[]

• List of U-boats

References[]

Sources[]