| German submarine U-527 | |
|---|---|
| Career (Nazi Germany) |  |
| Name: | U-527 |
| Ordered: | 15 August 1940 |
| Builder: | Deutsche Werft, Hamburg |
| Yard number: | 342 |
| Laid down: | 28 October 1941 |
| Launched: | 17 June 1942 |
| Commissioned: | 12 August 1942 |
| Fate: | Sunk by US aircraft south of the Azores, July 1943[1] |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Type IXC/40 submarine |
| Displacement: |
1,120 t (1,100 long tons) surfaced 1,232 t (1,213 long tons) submerged |
| Length: |
76.8 m (252 ft 0 in) o/a 58.7 m (192 ft 7 in) pressure hull |
| Beam: |
6.9 m (22 ft 8 in) o/a 4.4 m (14 ft 5 in) pressure hull |
| Height: | 9.6 m (31 ft 6 in) |
| Draft: | 4.7 m (15 ft 5 in) |
| Propulsion: |
2 × MAN M9V40/46 supercharged 9-cylinder diesel engines, 4,400 hp (3,281 kW) 2 × SSW GU345/34 double-acting electric motors, 1,000 hp (746 kW) |
| Speed: |
19 knots (35 km/h) surfaced 7.3 knots (13.5 km/h) submerged |
| Range: |
25,620 nmi (47,450 km) at 10 knots (19 km/h) surfaced 117 nmi (217 km) at 4 kn (7.4 km/h) submerged |
| Test depth: | 230 m (750 ft) |
| Complement: | 48 to 56 |
| Armament: |
• 6 × torpedo tubes (four bow, two stern) • 22 × 533 mm (21 in) torpedoes • 1 × Utof 105 mm/45 deck gun (110 rounds) • AA guns |
| Service record | |
|---|---|
| Part of: |
4th U-boat Flotilla (2 September–31 January 1943) 10th U-boat Flotilla (1 February–23 July 1943) |
| Commanders: |
Kptlt. Herbert Uhlig (2 September 1942–23 July 1943) |
| Operations: |
1st patrol: 9 February–12 April 1943 2nd patrol: 10 May–23 July 1943 |
| Victories: |
One ship sunk, 5,242 GRT; one warship sunk, (lost aboard a transport), 291 tons; one ship damaged, 5,848 GRT. |
German submarine U-527 was a Type IXC U-boat of the Nazi German Kriegsmarine during World War II.
She was laid down at the Deutsche Werft (yard) in Hamburg as 'werk' 342 on 28 October 1941, launched on 17 June 1942 and commissioned on 2 September with Kapitänleutnant Herbert Uhlig in command.
U-527 began her service career with training as part of the 4th U-boat Flotilla from 2 September 1942. She was re-assigned to the 10th flotilla for operations on 1 February 1943.
She carried out two patrols and sank one ship. She also sank one warship and damaged one commercial vessel. She was a member of four wolfpacks. She was sunk by US aircraft south of the Azores, in July 1943[2]
Operational career[]
1st patrol[]
The boat departed Kiel on 9 February 1943, moved through the North Sea, negotiated the 'gap' between Iceland and the Faroe Islands and entered the Atlantic Ocean. There, southeast of Cape Farewell (Greenland), she sank the Fort Lamy on 8 March. HMS LCT-2480 was also lost.
She damaged the Mathew Luckenbach on 19 March. U-523 came across the drifting wreck and finished her off.
U-527 was attacked by a Sunderland flying boat on the 20th - damage was slight.
She entered Lorient, on the French Atlantic coast, on 12 April 1943.
2nd patrol and loss[]
Having left Lorient on 10 May 1943, she was in the middle of "attacking a large ship under tow, when a corvette was summoned, which dropped 15 depth charges", damage sustained was minimal. Her sortie continued as far as the Gulf of Mexico.
On the return leg, she was sunk south of the Azores by Avenger aircraft from the American carrier USS Bogue.
Forty men went down with the U-boat; there were 13 survivors.
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The original article can be found at German submarine U-527 and the edit history here.