German submarine U-586

History
Nazi Germany
Name	U-586
Ordered	8 January 1940
Builder	Blohm & Voss, Hamburg
Yard number	562
Laid down	1 October 1940
Launched	10 July 1941
Commissioned	4 September 1941
Fate	Sunk in port near Toulon, France. She was bombed by USAAF B-24 Liberators (15th Air Force) on 5 July 1944 at position 43°07′N 05°55′E / 43.117°N 5.917°E.
General characteristics
Class and type	Type VIIC submarine
Displacement	769 tonnes (757 long tons) surfaced; 871 t (857 long tons) submerged;
Length	67.10 m (220 ft 2 in) o/a; 50.50 m (165 ft 8 in) pressure hull;
Beam	6.20 m (20 ft 4 in) o/a; 4.70 m (15 ft 5 in) pressure hull;
Height	9.60 m (31 ft 6 in)
Draught	4.74 m (15 ft 7 in)
Installed power	2,800–3,200 PS (2,100–2,400 kW; 2,800–3,200 bhp) (diesels); 750 PS (550 kW; 740 shp) (electric);
Propulsion	2 shafts; 2 × diesel engines; 2 × electric motors;
Speed	17.7 knots (32.8 km/h; 20.4 mph) surfaced; 7.6 knots (14.1 km/h; 8.7 mph) submerged;
Range	8,500 nmi (15,700 km; 9,800 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) surfaced; 80 nmi (150 km; 92 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph) submerged;
Test depth	230 m (750 ft); Crush depth: 250–295 m (820–968 ft);
Complement	4 officers, 40–56 enlisted
Armament	5 × 53.3 cm (21 in) torpedo tubes (four bow, one stern); 14 × torpedoes or 26 TMA mines; 1 × 8.8 cm (3.46 in) deck gun (220 rounds); 1 x 2 cm (0.79 in) C/30 AA gun;
Service record
Part of:	6th U-boat Flotilla; 4 September 1941 – 1 January 1942 - Training; 6th U-boat Flotilla; 1 January – 30 June 1942; 11th U-boat Flotilla; 1 July 1942 – 31 May 1943; 13th U-boat Flotilla; 1 June 1942 – 30 September 1943; 6th U-boat Flotilla; 1 October 1943 – 29 February 1944; 29th U-boat Flotilla; 1 March – 5 July 1944;
Commanders:	Kptlt. Dietrich von der Esch; 4 September 1941 – 30 September 1943; Oblt.z.S. Hans Götze; 1 October 1943 – 5 July 1944;
Operations:	1st patrol: 12 January – 12 February 1942; 2nd patrol: 14–22 March 1942; 3rd patrol: 10 May – 1 June 1942; 4th patrol: 25 July – 16 August 1942; 5th patrol: 11–12 October 1942; 6th patrol: 18 November – 1 December 1942; 7th patrol: 2–13 March 1943; 8th patrol: 29 March – 2 May 1943; 9th patrol: 5 June – 10 July 1943; 10th patrol: 21–31 July 1943; 11th patrol: 19 October – 3 December 1943; 12th patrol: 29 January – 22 February 1944; 13th patrol: 9 May – 21 June 1944;
Victories:	2 merchant ships sunk (12,716 GRT); 1 merchant ship damaged (9,057 GRT);

German submarine U-586 was a Type VIIC U-boat built for Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine for service during World War II. She was laid down on 1 October 1940 by Blohm & Voss in Hamburg as yard number 562, launched on 10 July 1941 and commissioned on 4 September 1941 under Kapitänleutnant Dietrich von der Esch.

Design

German Type VIIC submarines were preceded by the shorter Type VIIB submarines. U-586 had a displacement of 769 tonnes (757 long tons) when at the surface and 871 tonnes (857 long tons) while submerged.^[2] She had a total length of 67.10 m (220 ft 2 in), a pressure hull length of 50.50 m (165 ft 8 in), a beam of 6.20 m (20 ft 4 in), a height of 9.60 m (31 ft 6 in), and a draught of 4.74 m (15 ft 7 in). The submarine was powered by two Germaniawerft F46 four-stroke, six-cylinder supercharged diesel engines producing a total of 2,800 to 3,200 metric horsepower (2,060 to 2,350 kW; 2,760 to 3,160 shp) for use while surfaced, two Brown, Boveri & Cie GG UB 720/8 double-acting electric motors producing a total of 750 metric horsepower (550 kW; 740 shp) for use while submerged. She had two shafts and two 1.23 m (4 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 17.7 knots (32.8 km/h; 20.4 mph) and a maximum submerged speed of 7.6 knots (14.1 km/h; 8.7 mph).^[2] When submerged, the boat could operate for 80 nautical miles (150 km; 92 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph); when surfaced, she could travel 8,500 nautical miles (15,700 km; 9,800 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph). U-586 was fitted with five 53.3 cm (21 in) torpedo tubes (four fitted at the bow and one at the stern), fourteen torpedoes, one 8.8 cm (3.46 in) SK C/35 naval gun, 220 rounds, and a 2 cm (0.79 in) C/30 anti-aircraft gun. The boat had a complement of between forty-four and sixty.^[2]

Service history

The boat's service began on 4 September 1941 with training as part of the 6th U-boat Flotilla. She was transferred to the 11th flotilla on 1 July 1942 and then to the 13th flotilla on 1 June 1943. She returned to the 6th Flotilla a short while later on 1 October 1943, and then to her final assignment with 29th Flotilla in the Mediterranean.

In 13 patrols she sank two merchant ships for a total of 12,716 gross register tons (GRT), plus one merchant ship damaged.

Wolfpacks

She took part in ten wolfpacks, namely,

Robbe (15–24 January 1942)
Greif (14–29 May 1942)
Nebelkönig (27 July – 14 August 1942)
Boreas (19–26 November 1942)
Taifun (2–4 April 1943)
Jahn (31 October – 2 November 1943)
Tirpitz 3 (2–8 November 1943)
Eisenhart 5 (9–15 November 1943)
Schill 2 (17–22 November 1943)
Weddigen (22–25 November 1943)

Fate

She was sunk whilst alongside at Missiessy East Quay, Toulon, France, by a USAAF air raid by B-24 Liberator bombers of 15th Air Force.

Summary of raiding history

Date	Name	Nationality	Tonnage (GRT)	Fate^[3]
9 February 1942	Anna Knudsen	Norway	9,057	Damaged
2 November 1942	Empire Gilbert	United Kingdom	6,640	Sunk
9 March 1943	Puerto Rican	United States	6,076	Sunk

References

^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type VIIC boat U-586". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 29 April 2014.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Gröner 1991, pp. 43–46.
^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit by U-586". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 29 April 2014.

Bibliography

Busch, Rainer; Röll, Hans-Joachim (1999). German U-boat commanders of World War II : a biographical dictionary. Translated by Brooks, Geoffrey. London, Annapolis, Md: Greenhill Books, Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-186-6. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
Busch, Rainer; Röll, Hans-Joachim (1999). Deutsche U-Boot-Verluste von September 1939 bis Mai 1945 [German U-boat losses from September 1939 to May 1945] (in German). Vol. IV. Hamburg, Berlin, Bonn: Mittler. ISBN 3-8132-0514-2. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help); Invalid |ref=harv (help)
Gröner, Erich; Jung, Dieter; Maass, Martin (1991). U-boats and Mine Warfare Vessels. Vol. 2. Translated by Thomas, Keith; Magowan, Rachel. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-593-4. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |last-author-amp= (help)

External links

Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type VIIC boat U-586". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 29 December 2014.

[uboatnet-1] Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type VIIC boat U-586". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 29 April 2014.

[FOOTNOTEGröner199143–46-2] Gröner 1991, pp. 43–46.

[3] Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit by U-586". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 29 April 2014.

[1]

[2]

[3]

v t e Type VII submarines
Type VIIA	U-27 U-28 U-29 U-30 U-31 U-32 U-33 U-34 U-35 U-36
Type VIIB	U-45 U-46 U-47 U-48 U-49 U-50 U-51 U-52 U-53 U-54 U-55 U-73 U-74 U-75 U-76 U-83 U-84 U-85 U-86 U-87 U-99 U-100 U-101 U-102
Type VIIC	U-69 U-70 U-71 U-72 U-77 U-78 U-79 U-80 U-81 U-82 U-88 U-89 U-90 U-91 U-92 U-93 U-94 U-95 U-96 U-97 U-98 U-132 U-133 U-134 U-135 U-136 U-201 U-202 U-203 U-204 U-205 U-206 U-207 U-208 U-209 U-210 U-211 U-212 U-221 U-222 U-223 U-224 U-225 U-226 U-227 U-228 U-229 U-230 U-231 U-232 U-235 U-236 U-237 U-238 U-239 U-240 U-241 U-242 U-243 U-244 U-245 U-246 U-247 U-248 U-249 U-250 U-251 U-252 U-253 U-254 U-255 U-256 U-257 U-258 U-259 U-260 U-261 U-262 U-263 U-264 U-265 U-266 U-267 U-268 U-269 U-270 U-271 U-272 U-273 U-274 U-275 U-276 U-277 U-278 U-279 U-280 U-281 U-282 U-283 U-284 U-285 U-286 U-287 U-288 U-289 U-290 U-291 U-301 U-302 U-303 U-304 U-305 U-306 U-307 U-308 U-309 U-310 U-311 U-312 U-313 U-314 U-315 U-316 U-331 U-332 U-333 U-334 U-335 U-336 U-337 U-338 U-339 U-340 U-341 U-342 U-343 U-344 U-345 U-346 U-347 U-348 U-349 U-350 U-351 U-352 U-353 U-354 U-355 U-356 U-357 U-358 U-359 U-360 U-361 U-362 U-363 U-364 U-365 U-366 U-367 U-368 U-369 U-370 U-371 U-372 U-373 U-374 U-375 U-376 U-377 U-378 U-379 U-380 U-381 U-382 U-383 U-384 U-385 U-386 U-387 U-388 U-389 U-390 U-391 U-392 U-393 U-394 U-396 U-397 U-398 U-399 U-400 U-401 U-402 U-403 U-404 U-405 U-406 U-407 U-408 U-409 U-410 U-411 U-412 U-413 U-414 U-415 U-416 U-417 U-418 U-419 U-420 U-421 U-422 U-423 U-424 U-425 U-426 U-427 U-428 U-429 U-430 U-431 U-432 U-433 U-434 U-435 U-436 U-437 U-438 U-439 U-440 U-441 U-442 U-443 U-444 U-445 U-446 U-447 U-448 U-449 U-450 U-451 U-452 U-453 U-454 U-455 U-456 U-457 U-458 U-465 U-466 U-467 U-468 U-469 U-470 U-471 U-472 U-473 U-475 U-476 U-477 U-478 U-479 U-480 U-481 U-482 U-483 U-484 U-485 U-486 U-551 U-552 U-553 U-554 U-555 U-556 U-557 U-558 U-559 U-560 U-561 U-562 U-563 U-564 U-565 U-566 U-567 U-568 U-569 U-570 U-571 U-572 U-573 U-574 U-575 U-576 U-577 U-578 U-579 U-580 U-581 U-582 U-583 U-584 U-585 U-586 U-587 U-588 U-589 U-590 U-591 U-592 U-593 U-594 U-595 U-596 U-597 U-598 U-599 U-600 U-601 U-602 U-603 U-604 U-605 U-606 U-607 U-608 U-609 U-610 U-611 U-612 U-613 U-614 U-615 U-616 U-617 U-618 U-619 U-620 U-621 U-622 U-623 U-624 U-625 U-626 U-627 U-628 U-629 U-630 U-631 U-632 U-633 U-634 U-635 U-636 U-637 U-638 U-639 U-640 U-641 U-642 U-643 U-644 U-645 U-646 U-647 U-648 U-649 U-650 U-651 U-652 U-653 U-654 U-655 U-656 U-657 U-658 U-659 U-660 U-661 U-662 U-663 U-664 U-665 U-666 U-667 U-668 U-669 U-670 U-671 U-672 U-673 U-674 U-675 U-676 U-677 U-678 U-679 U-680 U-681 U-682 U-683 U-701 U-702 U-703 U-704 U-705 U-706 U-707 U-708 U-709 U-710 U-711 U-712 U-713 U-714 U-715 U-716 U-717 U-718 U-719 U-720 U-721 U-722 U-731 U-732 U-733 U-734 U-735 U-736 U-737 U-738 U-739 U-740 U-741 U-742 U-743 U-744 U-745 U-746 U-747 U-748 U-749 U-750 U-751 U-752 U-753 U-754 U-755 U-756 U-757 U-758 U-759 U-760 U-761 U-762 U-763 U-764 U-765 U-766 U-767 U-768 U-771 U-772 U-773 U-774 U-775 U-776 U-777 U-778 U-779 U-821 U-822 U-825 U-826 U-901 U-903 U-904 U-905 U-907 U-921 U-922 U-923 U-924 U-925 U-926 U-927 U-928 U-951 U-952 U-953 U-954 U-955 U-956 U-957 U-958 U-959 U-960 U-961 U-962 U-963 U-964 U-965 U-966 U-967 U-968 U-969 U-970 U-971 U-972 U-973 U-974 U-975 U-976 U-977 U-978 U-979 U-980 U-981 U-982 U-983 U-984 U-985 U-986 U-987 U-988 U-989 U-990 U-991 U-992 U-993 U-994 U-1051 U-1052 U-1053 U-1054 U-1055 U-1056 U-1057 U-1058 U-1101 U-1102 U-1131 U-1132 U-1161 U-1162 U-1191 U-1192 U-1193 U-1194 U-1195 U-1196 U-1197 U-1198 U-1199 U-1200 U-1201 U-1202 U-1203 U-1204 U-1205 U-1206 U-1207 U-1208 U-1209 U-1210
Type VIIC/41	U-292 U-293 U-294 U-295 U-296 U-297 U-298 U-299 U-300 U-317 U-318 U-319 U-320 U-321 U-322 U-323 U-324 U-325 U-326 U-327 U-328 U-691 U-827 U-828 U-929 U-930 U-995 U-997 U-998 U-999 U-1000 U-1001 U-1002 U-1003 U-1004 U-1005 U-1006 U-1007 U-1008 U-1009 U-1010 U-1011 U-1013 U-1014 U-1015 U-1016 U-1017 U-1018 U-1019 U-1020 U-1021 U-1022 U-1023 U-1024 U-1025 U-1063 U-1064 U-1065 U-1103 U-1104 U-1105 U-1106 U-1107 U-1108 U-1109 U-1110 U-1163 U-1164 U-1165 U-1166 U-1167 U-1168 U-1169 U-1170 U-1171 U-1172 U-1271 U-1272 U-1273 U-1274 U-1275 U-1276 U-1277 U-1278 U-1279 U-1301 U-1302 U-1303 U-1304 U-1305 U-1306 U-1307 U-1308
Type VIID	U-213 U-214 U-215 U-216 U-217 U-218
Type VIIF	U-1059 U-1060 U-1061 U-1062
Preceded by: Type II Followed by: Type IX List of U-boats of Germany

v t e Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in July 1944
Shipwrecks	2 Jul: Empire Broadsword, U-543 3 Jul: U-154, U-1191 4 Jul: I-10, USS S-28, Sarushima, V 208 R. Walther Darré, V 210 Hinrich Hey 5 Jul: Galatée, U-233, U-390, U-586, U-642, Usugumo 6 Jul: Hokaze 7 Jul: Saubadia, Tamanami, U-678 8 Jul: Perle, HMS Pylades, U-243 9 Jul: Shahzada, USS Swerve 10 Jul: Duilio, Giulio Cesare 11 Jul: U-1222 14 Jul: U-415 15 Jul: V 621 Mars, U-319 16 Jul: Niobe, Norjerv 17 Jul: E. A. Bryan, I-166, Quinault Victory, U-347, U-361 18 Jul: U-672, U-742 19 Jul: Ōi, Ro-48, Teiryu Maru 20 Jul: ORP Dragon, HMS Isis 21 Jul: U-212 23 Jul: Empire Bittern 24 Jul: U-239, U-1164, V 209 Dr. Rudolf Wahrendorff, William Gaston 26 Jul: I-29, USS Robalo, U-214, U-2323 27 Jul: V-1, No. 1 30 Jul: U-250 31 Jul: Fuso Maru, Yoshino Maru, U-333 Unknown date: I-55
Other incidents	4 Jul: V 209 Dr. Rudolf Wahrendorff 6 Jul: USS Sunfish, HMS Trollope 7 Jul: ORP Dragon 8 Jul: Empire Brutus 13 Jul: HMS Eskimo, V 203 Carl Röver 17 Jul: Port Chicago disaster 24 Jul: U-239 27 Jul: HMAS Fremantle, HMAS Wilcannia 28 Jul: U-1166 29 Jul: U-872, Z44
1943 1944 1945 June 1944 August 1944