German submarine U-563

Service record
Part of:	5th U-boat Flotilla; (27 September 1941–31 January 1942); 7th U-boat Flotilla; (1 February–30 June 1942); 11th U-boat Flotilla; (1 July–31 August 1942); 6th U-boat Flotilla; (1 September 1942–26 May 1943)
Commanders:	Oblt. Klaus Bargsten; (27 March 1941–15 March 1942); Kptlt. Gotz von Hartmann; (1 April 1942–16 May 1943); Oblt. Gustav Borchardt; (21–31 May 1943)
Operations:	1st patrol:; 31 July–10 September 1941; 2nd patrol:; 4 October–1 November 1941; 3rd patrol:; 29 November–3 December 1941; 4th patrol:; 21 January–3 February 1942; 5th patrol:; 1 October–6 November 1942; 6th patrol:; 9 December 1942–14 January 1943; 7th patrol; 20 March–18 April 1943; 8th patrol:; 29–31 May 1943
Victories:	Three ships sunk, total 14,689 GRT;; one warship sunk - 1,870 tons;; two ships damaged, total 16,266 GRT.

German submarine U-563
German submarine U-563
Name:	U-563
Ordered:	24 October 1939
Builder:	Blohm & Voss, Hamburg
Yard number:	539
Laid down:	30 March 1940
Launched:	15 February 1941
Commissioned:	27 March 1941
Fate:	Sunk in the Bay of Biscay by Allied aircraft, May 1943
General characteristics
Type:	Type VIIC submarine
Displacement:	769 tonnes (757 long tons) surfaced; 871 t (857 long tons) submerged
Length:	67.1 m (220 ft 2 in) o/a; 50.5 m (165 ft 8 in) pressure hull
Beam:	6.2 m (20 ft 4 in) o/a; 4.7 m (15 ft 5 in) pressure hull
Draft:	4.74 m (15 ft 7 in)
Propulsion:	2 × supercharged Germaniawerft 6-cylinder 4-stroke M6V 40/46 diesel engines, totalling 2,800–3,200 bhp (2,100–2,400 kW). Max rpm: 470-490; 2 × electric motors, totalling 750 shp (560 kW) and max rpm: 296.
Speed:	17.7 knots (20.4 mph; 32.8 km/h) surfaced; 7.6 knots (8.7 mph; 14.1 km/h) submerged
Range:	15,170 km (8,190 nmi) at 10 kn (19 km/h) surfaced; 150 km (81 nmi) at 4 kn (7.4 km/h) submerged
Test depth:	230 m (750 ft); Crush depth: 250–295 m (820–968 ft)
Complement:	44–52 officers and ratings
Armament:	• 5 × 533 mm (21 in) torpedo tubes (four bow, one stern); • 14 × G7e torpedoes or 26 TMA mines; • 1 × C35 88mm gun/L45 deck gun (220 rounds); • Various AA guns

German submarine U-563 was a Type VIIC U-boat of the Nazi German Kriegsmarine during World War II.

She carried out eight patrols. She sank three ships, total 14,689 GRT; and one warship of 1,870 tons. Two ships were damaged, totalling 16,266 GRT. She was a member of nine wolfpacks.

She was sunk by Allied aircraft in the Bay of Biscay, in May 1943.

Service history[]

The submarine was laid down on 30 March 1940 at Blohm & Voss, Hamburg as 'werk' 539, launched on 5 February 1941 and commissioned on 27 March under the command of Oberleutnant Klaus Bargsten.

She served with the 1st U-boat Flotilla from 27 March 1941 for training and stayed with that organization for operations.

1st patrol[]

U-432's first patrol was from Kiel in Germany, she headed for the Atlantic Ocean via the 'gap' separating the Faroe and Shetland Islands. She arrived at Brest in occupied France, on 10 September 1941.

2nd patrol[]

Having left Brest on 4 October 1941, U-563 was unsuccessfully attacked by a Bristol Blenheim a day later west of Brittany.

She then sank the British destroyer HMS Cossack west of Gibraltar on 24 October 1941, but was attacked by another British ship, the corvette HMS Heliotrope west of Cape St. Vincent^[3] on the 25th. Although forced to submerge, the boat did not sustain any damage.

3rd patrol[]

On 30 November 1941, U-563 was attacked by an Armstrong Whitworth Whitley of No. 502 Squadron RAF in the Bay of Biscay. The damage was serious enough that the submarine could not dive and the commander was wounded, obliging the boat to return to Germany for repairs.

4th and 5th patrols[]

For her fourth sortie, U-563 again put out into the Atlantic, sailing west of Ireland. She then turned northeast for the 'gap' between the Faroe and Shetland Islands. She arrived at Bergen in Norway on 3 February 1942.

Her fifth patrol, following short trips to Hamburg and Kiel, was in many respects, her fourth outing in reverse - starting in Kiel and finishing in Brest.

6th patrol[]

She departed Brest on 9 December 1942 and sank the Bretalda about 330 mi (530 km) west northwest of Cape Finisterre (northwest Spain)^[4] on the 18th. The boat returned to Brest on 14 January 1943.

7th patrol[]

U-563 was attacked by a Bristol Beaufighter on 22 March 1943 which caused only slight damage. The boat damaged the Sunoil with a torpedo on 5 April; this ship was subsequently sunk by U-530. U-563 was then attacked on the 7th by a B-24 Liberator of 86 Squadron. Damage was slight, but two men were lost when the submarine crash-dived.

On her most successful day, 12 April 1943, the boat sank the Pacific Grove and damaged the Fresno City southeast of Cape Farewell (Greenland). The Fresno City was sunk later that day by U-706. U-563 also sank the Dutch ship Ulysses in the same area.

8th patrol and loss[]

The boat left Brest for the last time on 29 May 1943. On the 31st, she was sunk by two British Handley Page Halifaxes of 58 Squadron and an Australian Sunderland flying boat of No. 228 Squadron RAF.

Forty-nine men died with U-563; there were no survivors.

Summary of raiding history[]

Date	Name	Nationality	Tonnage (GRT)	Fate^[5]
24 October 1941	HMS Cossack	United Kingdom	1,870	Sunk
18 December 1942	Bretwalda	United Kingdom	4,906	Sunk
5 April 1943	Sunoil	USA	9,005	Damaged
12 April 1943	Fresno City	United Kingdom	7,261	Damaged
12 April 1943	Pacific Grove	United Kingdom	7,117	Sunk
12 April 1943	Ulysses	Netherlands	2,666	Sunk

References[]

Notes

↑ Kemp, Paul: U-Boats Destroyed - German Submarine Losses in the World Wars, 1997, Arms & Armour, ISBN 1-85409-515-3, p. 122
↑ "The Type VIIC boat U-563 - German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net". www.uboat.net. http://www.uboat.net/boats/u563.htm. Retrieved 6 October 2012.
↑ The Times Atlas of the World - Third edition, revised 1995, ISBN 0 7230 0809 4, p. 15
↑ The Times Atlas of the World, p. 15
↑ http://uboat.net/boats/successes/u563/html

Bibliography

Service record^[2]
Part of:	5th U-boat Flotilla (27 September 1941–31 January 1942) 7th U-boat Flotilla (1 February–30 June 1942) 11th U-boat Flotilla (1 July–31 August 1942) 6th U-boat Flotilla (1 September 1942–26 May 1943)
Commanders:	Oblt. Klaus Bargsten (27 March 1941–15 March 1942) Kptlt. Gotz von Hartmann (1 April 1942–16 May 1943) Oblt. Gustav Borchardt (21–31 May 1943)
Operations:	1st patrol: 31 July–10 September 1941 2nd patrol: 4 October–1 November 1941 3rd patrol: 29 November–3 December 1941 4th patrol: 21 January–3 February 1942 5th patrol: 1 October–6 November 1942 6th patrol: 9 December 1942–14 January 1943 7th patrol 20 March–18 April 1943 8th patrol: 29–31 May 1943
Victories:	Three ships sunk, total 14,689 GRT; one warship sunk - 1,870 tons; two ships damaged, total 16,266 GRT.