German submarine U-596

German Type VIIC submarines were preceded by the shorter Type VIIB submarines. U-596 had a displacement of {{convert|769|t|LT}} when at the surface and {{convert|871|t|LT}} while submerged.{{sfn|Gröner|1991|pp=43–46}} She had a total length of {{convert|67.10|m|ftin|abbr=on}}, a pressure hull length of {{convert|50.50|m|ftin|abbr=on}}, a beam of {{convert|6.20|m|ftin|abbr=on}}, a height of {{convert|9.60|m|ftin|abbr=on}}, and a draught of {{convert|4.74|m|ftin|abbr=on}}. The submarine was powered by two Germaniawerft F46 four-stroke, six-cylinder supercharged diesel engines producing a total of {{convert|2800 to 3200|PS|kW shp|-1}} for use while surfaced, two Brown, Boveri & Cie GG UB 720/8 double-acting electric motors producing a total of {{convert|750|PS|kW shp}} for use while submerged. She had two shafts and two {{convert|1.23|m|ft|abbr=on|0}} propellers. The boat was capable of operating at depths of up to {{convert|230|m}}.{{sfn|Gröner|1991|pp=43–46}}

The submarine had a maximum surface speed of {{convert|17.7|kn}} and a maximum submerged speed of {{convert|7.6|kn}}.{{sfn|Gröner|1991|pp=43–46}} When submerged, the boat could operate for {{convert|80|nmi}} at {{convert|4|kn}}; when surfaced, she could travel {{convert|8500|nmi}} at {{convert|10|kn}}. U-596 was fitted with five {{convert|53.3|cm|in|0|abbr=on}} torpedo tubes (four fitted at the bow and one at the stern), fourteen torpedoes, one 8.8 cm SK C/35 naval gun, 220 rounds, and a 2 cm FlaK 30 anti-aircraft gun. The boat had a complement of between forty-four and sixty.{{sfn|Gröner|1991|pp=43–46}}

In twelve patrols, she sank twelve ships, including one warship for a total of {{GRT|41,411}}.

Her initial sortie from Kiel was cut short by a battery explosion on 28 June 1942. She was obliged to put into Bergen in Norway.

Her first patrol saw her depart Bergen on 8 August 1942, cross the North Sea and move through the gap between Iceland and the Faroe Islands into the Atlantic. There she sank the Suecia with a torpedo on 16 August, having first checked the ships' papers. She also sank the Empire Hartebeeste on 20 September, but was attacked by {{HNoMS|Potentilla|K214|6}} and {{HMS|Viscount|D92|6}} on 24 August. No damage was sustained. U-596 lost a man overboard on 30 August in mid-Atlantic. The boat then docked at St. Nazaire in occupied France on 3 October.

Her next foray from St. Nazaire took the U-boat as part of group 'Delphin' to La Spezia in northern Italy. Her route involved passing the heavily defended Strait of Gibraltar, which she successfully accomplished in the darkness during the period of the new moon from 8–10 November 1942.Paterson, Lawrence - U-Boats in the Mediterranean 1941-1944, 2007, Chatham Publishing, {{ISBN|9781861762900}}, p. 92.

U-596{{'}}s third patrol took her past the Balearic Islands to the Algerian coast near Oran. It was unsuccessful.

Her fourth foray yielded some reward. Between Algiers and Oran, she damaged Fort Norman and Empire Standard, both on 9 March 1943.

Her fifth outing, in the same area as her third and fourth patrols, was rewarded with the sinking of the Fort a la Corne west of Algiers on 30 March 1943.

Her home port was moved from La Spezia to Pola in Croatia; she sailed from there on her sixth patrol, but it was uneventful.

Patrol number seven was marked by the sinking of several Egyptian, a Palestinian and British-registered sailing ships off the Lebanon coast with her deck gun in August and September 1943.

During her eighth patrol, she sank Marit off the Libyan coast on 4 October, but was attacked by the British corvette {{HMS|Gloxina|K 22|6}}. Although slightly damaged, the U-boat escaped.

U-596 departed Pola on 30 November but it was not until many days later that she sank the Troop Transport Cap Padaran off Cape Spartivento in Italy on 9 December. She returned to Pola on 28 December 1943.

Another unsuccessful patrol passed between 12 February and 11 March 1944.

The boat barely left the Adriatic for patrol number eleven.

What turned out to be the last complete patrol by a U-boat in the MediterraneanPaterson, p. 175 began with U-596{{'}}s departure from Pola on 29 July 1944. Her route was to the Gulf of Sirte on the Libyan coast. Her arrival at Salamis in Greece was followed by the USAAF (United States Army Air Forces) bombing the port on 29 September (USAAF records say the 25th). The boat was sufficiently damaged that the crew was forced to abandon her and join the general retreat through Athens.Paterson, p. 178

The submarine was scuttled on 30 September 1944 in Skaramanga Bay, near Salamis in position {{coord|37|59|N|23|34|E|scale:20000000|display=inline, title}}. One person died; the number of survivors is unknown.

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{{Refbegin}}

• {{cite book | last1 = Busch | first1 = Rainer | last2 = Röll | first2 = Hans-Joachim | translator-last = Brooks | translator-first = Geoffrey | title = German U-boat commanders of World War II : a biographical dictionary | publisher = Greenhill Books, Naval Institute Press | location = London, Annapolis, Md | year = 1999 | isbn = 1-55750-186-6 }}
• {{cite book |last1=Busch |first1=Rainer |last2=Röll |first2=Hans-Joachim |title=Der U-Boot-Krieg, 1939-1945: Deutsche U-Boot-Verluste von September 1939 bis Mai 1945|trans-title=German U-boat losses from September 1939 to May 1945 |date=1999|volume=IV |publisher=Mittler|location=Hamburg, Berlin, Bonn |isbn=3-8132-0514-2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vXKwAAAAIAAJ |language=de}}
• {{cite book |last1=Gröner |first1=Eric |last2=Jung |first2=Dieter |last3=Maass |first3=Martin |translator-last1=Thomas|translator-first1=Keith|translator-last2=Magowan|translator-first2=Rachel |title=German Warships 1815-1945: U-boats and Mine Warfare Vessels |date=1991 |publisher=Conway Maritime Press |location=London |volume=2 |isbn=0-85177-593-4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Udg-0AEACAAJ|ref=CITEREFGröner1991}}

{{Refend}}

• {{Cite web

|url=http://uboat.net/boats/u596.html

|title=The Type VIIC boat U-596

|last=Helgason

|first=Guðmundur

|website=German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net

|access-date=29 December 2014

}}

{{German Type VII submarines}}

{{September 1944 shipwrecks}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:U0596}}

Category:German Type VIIC submarines

Category:U-boats commissioned in 1941

Category:U-boats scuttled in 1944

Category:World War II submarines of Germany

Category:World War II shipwrecks in the Mediterranean Sea

Category:1941 ships

Category:Ships built in Hamburg

Category:Maritime incidents in September 1944