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German submarine U-531
Career (Nazi Germany) War Ensign of Germany 1938-1945
Name: U-531
Ordered: 15 August 1940
Builder: Deutsche Werft AG, Hamburg
Laid down: 22 December 1941
Launched: 12 August 1942
Commissioned: 28 October 1942
Fate: Sunk 6 May 1943 in the North Atlantic.[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) overall
58.7 m (192 ft 7 in) pressure hull
Beam: 6.9 m (22 ft 8 in) overall
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 (3,300 kW)
2 × SSW GU345/34 double-acting electric motors, 1,000 hp (740 kW)
Speed: 19 knots (35 km/h; 22 mph) surfaced
7.3 knots (13.5 km/h; 8.4 mph) submerged
Range: 25,620 nmi (47,450 km) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) surfaced
117 nmi (217 km) at 4 kn (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph) submerged
Test depth: 230 m (750 ft)
Complement: 48 to 56
Armament: 6 × 55 cm (22 in) torpedo tubes (four bow, two stern)
22 × torpedoes
1 × Utof 105 mm (4.1 in)/45 deck gun with 110 rounds
Service record
Commanders: Oblt. Herbert Neckel
Victories: None

German submarine U-531 was a Type IXC/40 U-boat of the Nazi German Kriegsmarine built for service during World War II. She was laid down at Deutsche Werft in Hamburg as 'werk' 346 on 22 December 1941, launched on 12 August 1942 and commissioned on 28 October with Oberleutnant Herbert Neckel in command.

Her service began with training as part of the 4th U-boat Flotilla; she then joined the 2nd flotilla for operations on 1 April 1943.

Operational career[]

U-531's operational career commenced with her departure from Kiel on 13 April 1943. Heading for the Atlantic, her route took her between Iceland and the Faeroe Islands. On 22 April, in the afternoon, she was attacked southeast of Iceland by a Catalina flying boat of 120 Squadron RAF. That evening, she was attacked again, this time by a British Flying Fortress of 206 Squadron.[2]

On 6 May, the boat was attacked northeast of Newfoundland by depth charges from HMS Vidette and sunk with all hands (54).

Previously recorded fate[]

The destruction of U-531 had been attributed to the destroyer HMS Oribi and the corvette HMS Snowflake.

References[]

  1. Kemp, Paul: U-Boats Destroyed - German Submarine Losses in the World Wars, 1997, Arms & Armour, ISBN 1-85409-515-3, p. 114.
  2. http://uboat.net/boats/u531htm

Coordinates: 52°48′00″N 45°18′00″W / 52.800°N 45.300°W / 52.800; -45.300


All or a portion of this article consists of text from Wikipedia, and is therefore Creative Commons Licensed under GFDL.
The original article can be found at German submarine U-531 and the edit history here.
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