German submarine U-524

Last updated

U-505chicago.jpg
U-505, a typical Type IXC boat
History
War ensign of Germany (1938-1945).svg Nazi Germany
NameU-524
Ordered14 February 1940
BuilderDeutsche Werft, Hamburg
Yard number339
Laid down7 August 1941
Launched30 April 1942
Commissioned8 July 1942
FateSunk on 22 March 1943 [1]
General characteristics
Class & type Type IXC submarine
Displacement
  • 1,120  t (1,100 long tons) surfaced
  • 1,232 t (1,213 long tons) submerged
Length
Beam
  • 6.76 m (22 ft 2 in) o/a
  • 4.40 m (14 ft 5 in) pressure hull
Height9.60 m (31 ft 6 in)
Draught4.70 m (15 ft 5 in)
Installed power
  • 4,400 PS (3,200 kW; 4,300 bhp) (diesels)
  • 1,000 PS (740 kW; 990 shp) (electric)
Propulsion
Speed
  • 18.2 knots (33.7 km/h; 20.9 mph) surfaced
  • 7.3 knots (13.5 km/h; 8.4 mph) submerged
Range
  • 13,450  nmi (24,910 km; 15,480 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) surfaced
  • 64 nmi (119 km; 74 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph) submerged
Test depth230 m (750 ft)
Complement4 officers, 44 enlisted
Armament
Service record
Part of
Commanders
  • Kptlt. Walter Freiherr von Steinaecker
  • 8 July 1942 – 22 March 1943
Operations
  • 2 patrols:
  • 1st patrol:
  • 14 November 1942 – 9 January 1943
  • 2nd patrol:
  • 3 – 22 March 1943
Victories2 merchant ships sunk
(16,256  GRT)

German submarine U-524 was a Type IXC U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II.

Contents

She was laid down at the Deutsche Werft (yard) in Hamburg as yard number 339 on 7 August 1941, launched on 30 April 1942 and commissioned on 8 July with Kapitänleutnant Walter Freiherr von Steinaecker in command.

U-524 began her service career with training as part of the 4th U-boat Flotilla from 8 July 1942. She was reassigned to the 10th flotilla for operations on 1 December 1942.

She carried out two patrols and sank two ships. She was a member of three wolfpacks.

She was sunk on 22 March 1943 in south of Madeira by an American aircraft. [1]

Design and construction

German Type IXC submarines were slightly larger than the original Type IXBs. U-524 had a displacement of 1,120 tonnes (1,100 long tons) when at the surface and 1,232 tonnes (1,213 long tons) while submerged. [2] The U-boat had a total length of 76.76 m (251 ft 10 in), a pressure hull length of 58.75 m (192 ft 9 in), a beam of 6.76 m (22 ft 2 in), a height of 9.60 m (31 ft 6 in), and a draught of 4.70 m (15 ft 5 in). The submarine was powered by two MAN M 9 V 40/46 supercharged four-stroke, nine-cylinder diesel engines producing a total of 4,400 metric horsepower (3,240 kW; 4,340 shp) for use while surfaced, two Siemens-Schuckert 2 GU 345/34 double-acting electric motors producing a total of 1,000 shaft horsepower (1,010 PS; 750 kW) for use while submerged. She had two shafts and two 1.92 m (6 ft) propellers. The boat was capable of operating at depths of up to 230 metres (750 ft). [2]

The submarine had a maximum surface speed of 18.3 knots (33.9 km/h; 21.1 mph) and a maximum submerged speed of 7.3 knots (13.5 km/h; 8.4 mph). [2] When submerged, the boat could operate for 63 nautical miles (117 km; 72 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph); when surfaced, she could travel 13,450 nautical miles (24,910 km; 15,480 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph). U-524 was fitted with six 53.3 cm (21 in) torpedo tubes (four fitted at the bow and two at the stern), 22 torpedoes, one 10.5 cm (4.13 in) SK C/32 naval gun, 180 rounds, and a 3.7 cm (1.5 in) SK C/30 as well as a 2 cm (0.79 in) C/30 anti-aircraft gun. The boat had a complement of forty-eight. [2]

U-524 was one of twelve Type IXC submarines ordered from Deutsche Werft on 14 February 1940. [3] The submarine was laid down at Deutsche Werft's Hamburg shipyard on 7 August 1941, [4] as yard number 339. [3] She was launched on 30 April 1942 and commissioned on 8 July 1942. [4]

Service history

On commissioning, U-524 joined the 4th U-boat Flotilla based at Stettin, Prussia (now Szczecin, Poland) for crew training. On completion of training, she joined the operational 10th U-boat Flotilla. [4]

First patrol

On 10 November 1942, U-542 left Kiel, arriving at Marviken (Kristiansand) in Norway on 12 November 1942, and left there on her first operational patrol on 14 November 1942. [4] She was carrying VHF direction finding gear and a team of specialist operators to help locate convoys by their radio transmissions. [4] The submarine moved through the North Sea, negotiated the gap between Iceland and the Faroe Islands and entered the Atlantic Ocean. [5]

On 29 November 1942, U-524 joined patrol group Panzer. On 4 December, the submarine picked up radio transmissions from a convoy and as a result, Panzer group was ordered to intercept. [4] U-524 made contact with eastbound convoy HX 217 south of Greenland on 7 December, and homed in more U-boats of group Panzer, while a second patrol group, Draufgänger, was ordered to join the attack on the convoy. U-524 attacked the convoy on the night of 7/8 December southeast of Cape Farewell, Greenland, firing nine torpedoes in multiple attacks, sinking the British oil tanker Empire Spenser and near missing the destroyer HMS Fame. [6] Attacks on the convoy continued until 10 December, but despite 22 U-boats being directed against the convoy, a strong defence by the convoy's escort and long-range aircraft from Iceland meant that only one more ship was sunk, Charles L. D., by U-553, while two U-boats were lost, one (U-254) by collision with U-221, and one (U-611 by air attack. [7]

On 13 December 1942, U-524 was ordered to join a new patrol group, Ungestüm, operating south of Iceland. The group was sent against east-bound Convoy HX 218 and westbound Convoy ONS 152, but U-524 had no success, and after operations against ONS 152 were abandoned on 22 December, she headed for her new base in France, arriving at Lorient, on 9 January 1943. [4]

Second patrol and loss

U-524 left Lorient on her second patrol on 3 March 1943, proceeding to a patrol area south of the Azores. [4] On 13 March, she was ordered to join the new patrol group Unverzagt to be deployed against Convoy UGS 6, en-route from New York to Gibraltar. [4] [8] On 15 March, U-524 attacked the convoy, torpedoing the French freighter Wyoming NNW of the Azores, before being driven off by the destroyer Hobby. U-524 attacked the convoy again on 16 March, but her torpedoes missed their targets. The submarine continued to chase after the convoy until 19 March when U-boat control ordered that operations against the convoy be abandoned, but managed no more attacks against it. [4] [9]

On 22 March 1943, U-524 was spotted on the surface south of Madeira by a USAAF B-24 Liberator called Tidewater Tillie. [1] [10] [a] The B-24 attacked with four depth charges, sinking U-524. [1] [10] While the B-24s crew spotted some of U-524s crew on a raft, none survived to be rescued. [10] Fifty-two men died; there were no survivors. [12]

Wolfpacks

U-524 took part in three wolfpacks, namely:

Summary of raiding history

DateShip NameNationalityTonnage
(GRT)		Fate [13]
8 December 1942 Empire Spenser Civil Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom 8,194Sunk
15 March 1943 Wyoming Flag of Free France (1940-1944).svg Free France 8,062Sunk

Notes

  1. ↑ Kemp [1] and Wynn [4] state that the B-24 was from the 1st Antisubmarine Squadron, while Blair [10] and Niestlé [11] say it was from the 2d Antisubmarine Squadron.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Kemp 1999, p. 107.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Gröner 1991, p. 68.
  3. 1 2 Niestlé 2014, p. 22.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Wynn 1998, p. 13.
  5. ↑ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Patrol of German U-boat U-524 from 14 Nov 1942 to 9 Jan 1943". uboat.net. Retrieved 20 December 2025.
  6. ↑ Blair 2000, p. 124.
  7. ↑ Blair 2000, pp. 124–128.
  8. ↑ Blair 2000, pp. 201–202.
  9. ↑ Blair 2000, p. 202.
  10. 1 2 3 4 Blair 2000, p. 203.
  11. ↑ Niestlé 2014.
  12. ↑ Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type IXC boat U-524". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 7 December 2014.
  13. ↑ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit by U-524". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 30 January 2014.

Bibliography

30°15′N18°13′W / 30.250°N 18.217°W / 30.250; -18.217

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.