German submarine U-610 was a Type VIIC U-boat built for the Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine for service during World War II. She was laid down on 5 April 1941, launched on 24 December 1941 and commissioned on 19 February 1942. She was sunk on 8 October 1943, having sunk 4 ships and damaging another. Her commander was Kapitänleutnant Walter Freiherr von Freyberg-Eisenberg-Allmendingen.
Design German Type VIIC submarines were preceded by the shorter Type VIIB submarines. U-610 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-610 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-610 was built by Blohm & Voss, Hamburg as yard number 586. She was ordered on 22 May 1940 and the keel was laid down on 5 April 1941. U-601 was launched on 24 December 1941.
Wolfpacks U-610 took part in nine wolfpacks, namely: Luchs (27 September – 6 October 1942) Panther (6 – 20 October 1942) Draufgänger (29 November – 11 December 1942) Ungestüm (11 – 13 December 1942) Raufbold (13 – 18 December 1942) Dränger (14 – 20 March 1943) Seeteufel (23 – 30 March 1943) Meise (11 – 27 April 1943) Rossbach (24 September – 8 October 1943)
Fate On 8 October 1943, while in the North Atlantic Ocean, the U-601 was sunk by a Canadian Sunderland aircraft by depth charges, killing all 51 men on board.
Summary of raiding history DateShip NameNationalityTonnage(GRT)Fate29 September 1942Lifland2,254Sunk19 October 1942Steel Navigator5,718Sunk16 December 1942Bello6,125Sunk16 December 1942Regent Lion9,551Damaged29 March 1943William Pierce Frye7,176Sunk
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