German submarine U-593 was a Type VIIC U-boat built for Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine for service during World War II. She was laid down on 17 December 1940 by Blohm & Voss in Hamburg as yard number 569, launched on 3 September 1941 and commissioned on 23 October under Kapitänleutnant Gerd Kelbling.
The boat's service began on 23 October 1941 with training as part of the 8th U-boat Flotilla. She was transferred to the 7th flotilla on 1 March 1942 and moved on to the 29th flotilla on 1 November.
Design German Type VIIC submarines were preceded by the shorter Type VIIB submarines. U-593 had a displacement of when at the surface and while submerged. She had a total length of , a pressure hull length of , a beam of , a height of , and a draught of . The submarine was powered by two Germaniawerft F46 four-stroke, six-cylinder supercharged diesel engines producing a total of for use while surfaced, two BBC GG UB 720/8 double-acting electric motors producing a total of for use while submerged. She had two shafts and two propellers. The boat was capable of operating at depths of up to .
The submarine had a maximum surface speed of and a maximum submerged speed of . When submerged, the boat could operate for at ; when surfaced, she could travel at . U-593 was fitted with five torpedo tubes (four fitted at the bow and one at the stern), fourteen torpedoes, one SK C/35 naval gun, 220 rounds, and a C/30 anti-aircraft gun. The boat had a complement of between forty-four and sixty.
Service history U-593 made 16 patrols between March 1942 and December 1943, and sank 13 ships, for a total of 38,290 GRT and 2,954 tons. She made three patrols in the Atlantic from her base in Germany and from St Nazaire in occupied France, and sank three ships. She briefly clashed with British forces on their way to the St Nazaire Raid in March 1942. In October U-593 transferred to the Mediterranean and from various bases there made a further 13 patrols, sinking 8 merchant ships and 4 naval vessels, before being sunk in December 1943.U-593: war patrols at uboat.net; retrieved 20 January 2021
Fate U-593 departed Toulon on 1 December 1943 for her 16th war patrol. On 12 December she intercepted convoy KMS 34, outbound from Gibraltar, off the coast of Algeria. Making an attack she hit the escorting destroyer , but was pursued by other escorts who engaged in a Swamp operation. During the 32 hour hunt U-593 torpedoed , one of her pursuers, but was caught by the destroyers and off Bougie, Algeria. In the afternoon of 13 December she was forced to the surface with depth charges and abandoned. All her crew escaped, and were picked up by the Allied ships.Blair p.457Kemp p.161Niestle p.73The position of her sinking is given variously as (Kemp) and (Niestle)
Wolfpacks In addition she took part in three wolfpacks, namely: Steinbrinck (3 – 11 August 1942) Lohs (11 – 17 August 1942) Tümmler (3 – 11 October 1942)
Summary of raiding history DateShip NameNationalityTonnageMerchant ship tonnages are in gross register tons. Military vessels are listed by tons displacement.Fate14 May 1942Stavros4,853Damaged25 May 1942Persephone8,426Total loss5 August 1942Spar3,616Sunk12 November 1942Browning5,332Sunk18 March 1943Dafila1,940Sunk18 March 1943Kaying2,626Sunk27 March 1943City of Guildford5,157Sunk11 April 1943Runo1,858Sunk22 June 1943USS LST-3331,625Total loss22 June 1943USS LST-3871,625Damaged5 July 1943Devis6,054Sunk5 July 1943HMS LCM-1123Being carried by Devis.52Sunk5 July 1943HMS LCM-112952Damaged21 September 1943William W. Gerhard7,176Sunk7 September 1943815Sunk3 November 1943Mont Viso4,531Sunk12 December 19431,000Sunk12 December 19431,087Sunk
See also Mediterranean U-boat Campaign (World War II)
References
Notes
Citations
Bibliography
External links