German submarine U-596

Career (Nazi Germany)
Name:	U-596
Builder:	Blohm & Voss, Hamburg
Laid down:	4 January 1941
Commissioned:	13 November 1941
Fate:	Scuttled on 24 September 1944 in the Mediterranean in Skaramanga Bay, near Salamis in position 37°59′N 23°34′E, after being damaged by US bombs
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 & ratings
Armament:	• 5 × 533 mm (21 in) torpedo tubes (4 bow, 1 stern) • 14 × torpedoes or 26 TMA mines • 1 × C35 88mm gun/L45 deck gun (220 rounds) • Various AA guns

German submarine U-596 was a Type VIIC U-boat built for the German Kriegsmarine for service during World War II. She was laid down on 4 January 1941 by Blohm & Voss, Hamburg and commissioned on 13 November 1941.

Career

In 12 patrols she sank 12 ships including one warship for a total of 41.411 GRT.

Fate

She was scuttled on 24 September 1944 in the Mediterranean in Skaramanga Bay, near Salamis in position 37°59′N 23°34′E, after being damaged by US bombs. 1 person died; number of survivors is unknown.

• At 13:47 on 4 October 1943, U-596 sank the Norwegian steam tanker Marit near Derna, Libya.

Raiding career

Date	Ship	Nationality	Convoy	Tonnage	Fate
16 August 1942	Suecia	Swedish	SC-95	4,966	Sunk
20 September 1942	Empire Hartebeeste	British	SC-100	5,676	Sunk
9 March 1943	Empire Standard	British	KMS-10	7,047	Damaged
9 March 1943	Fort Norman	British	KMS-10	7,133	Damaged
30 March 1943	Fort a la Corne	British	ET-16	7,133	Sunk
30 March 1943	Hallanger	Norwegian	ET-16	9,551	Sunk
20 August 1943	El Sayeda	Egyptian		68	Sunk
21 August 1943	Lily	Palastinian		132	Sunk
21 August 1943	Namaz	British		50	Sunk
21 August 1943	Panikos	British		21	Sunk
30 August 1943	Nagwa	Egyptian		183	Sunk
7 September 1943	Hamidieh	Egyptian		80	Sunk
4 October 1943	Marit	Norwegian	XT-4	5,542	Sunk
9 December 1943	Cap Padaran	British	HA-11	8,009	Sunk

Sources

• U-boat.net webpage for U-596

See also: List of U-boats