German submarine ''U-577'' was a

Type VIIC Type VII U-boats were the most common type of German World War II U-boat. 703 boats were built by the end of the war. The lone surviving example, , is on display at the Laboe Naval Memorial located in Laboe, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. Conc ...

U-boat built for Nazi Germany's ''

Kriegsmarine The (, ) was the navy of Germany from 1935 to 1945. It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic. The was one of three official branches, along with the a ...

'' for service during World War II. She was laid down on 1 August 1940 by

Blohm & Voss Blohm+Voss (B+V), also written historically as Blohm & Voss, Blohm und Voß etc., is a German shipbuilding and engineering company. Founded in Hamburg in 1877 to specialise in steel-hulled ships, its most famous product was the World War II battle ...

, Hamburg as yard number 553, launched on 15 May 1941 and commissioned on 3 July 1941 under '' Kapitänleutnant'' Herbert Schauenburg.

Design

German Type VIIC submarines were preceded by the shorter Type VIIB submarines. ''U-577'' 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 In an internal combustion engine, a supercharger compresses the intake gas, forcing more air into the engine in order to produce more power for a given displacement. The current categorisation is that a supercharger is a form of forced induct ...

diesel engines producing a total of for use while surfaced, two Brown, Boveri & Cie GG UB 720/8 double-acting electric motors producing a total of for use while submerged. She had two shafts and two

propeller A propeller (colloquially often called a screw if on a ship or an airscrew if on an aircraft) is a device with a rotating hub and radiating blades that are set at a pitch to form a helical spiral which, when rotated, exerts linear thrust upon ...

s. 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-577'' 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

The boat's career began with training at 7th U-boat Flotilla on 3 July 1941, followed by active service on 1 October 1941 as part of the

1st Flotilla The First Flotilla was a naval formation of the British Royal Navy commanded by the Flag Officer, First Flotilla from 1971 to 1990. The Western Fleet and Far East Fleet were merged into the single Commander-in-Chief Fleet in 1971. Within this new ...

. On 1 January 1942, she transferred to operations in the Mediterranean with 29th Flotilla, and was sunk just two weeks later. In 3 patrols she sank no ships.

Wolfpacks

''U-577'' took part in three wolfpacks, namely: * Stosstrupp (30 October – 1 November 1941) * Raubritter (1 – 8 November 1941) * Störtebecker (17 – 22 November 1941)

Fate

''U-577'' was sunk on 15 January 1942 in the Mediterranean NW of Mersa Matruh, in position , by depth charges from RN

Swordfish Swordfish (''Xiphias gladius''), also known as broadbills in some countries, are large, highly migratory predatory fish characterized by a long, flat, pointed bill. They are a popular sport fish of the billfish category, though elusive. Swordfis ...

from 815 Squadron. All hands were lost.

References

Bibliography

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:U0577 German Type VIIC submarines 1941 ships U-boats commissioned in 1941 Submarines lost with all hands U-boats sunk in 1942 U-boats sunk by depth charges U-boats sunk by British aircraft World War II shipwrecks in the Mediterranean Sea World War II submarines of Germany Ships built in Hamburg Maritime incidents in January 1942