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German submarine U-513

Coordinates: 27°17′S 47°32′W / 27.283°S 47.533°W / -27.283; -47.533
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U-505, a typical Type IXC boat
History
Nazi Germany
NameU-513
Ordered14 February 1940
BuilderDeutsche Werft, Hamburg
Yard number309
Laid down26 April 1941
Launched29 October 1941
Commissioned10 January 1942
FateSunk by aircraft on 19 July 1943[1]
General characteristics
Class and typeType IXC submarine
Displacement
  • 1,120 t (1,100 long tons) surfaced
  • 1,232 t (1,213 long tons) submerged
Length
Beam
  • 6.76 m (22 ft 2 in) o/a
  • 4.40 m (14 ft 5 in) pressure hull
Height9.60 m (31 ft 6 in)
Draught4.70 m (15 ft 5 in)
Installed power
  • 4,400 PS (3,200 kW; 4,300 bhp) (diesels)
  • 1,000 PS (740 kW; 990 shp) (electric)
Propulsion
Speed
  • 18.3 knots (33.9 km/h; 21.1 mph) surfaced
  • 7.7 knots (14.3 km/h; 8.9 mph) submerged
Range
  • 13,450 nmi (24,910 km; 15,480 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) surfaced
  • 64 nmi (119 km; 74 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph) submerged
Test depth230 m (750 ft)
Complement4 officers, 44 enlisted
Armament
Service record[2][3]
Part of:
Identification codes: M 47 994
Commanders:
Operations:
  • 4 patrols:
  • 1st patrol:
  • 7 August – 22 October 1942
  • 2nd patrol:
  • 21 November – 18 December 1942
  • 3rd patrol:
  • 20 February – 14 April 1943
  • 4th patrol:
  • 18 May – 19 July 1943
Victories:
  • 6 merchant ships sunk
    (29,940 GRT)
  • 2 merchant ships damaged
    (13,177 GRT)

German submarine U-513 was a type IXC U-boat built for service in Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II.

She was laid down on 26 April 1941 by the naval construction firm Deutsche Werft AG in Hamburg as yard number 309, and commissioned on 10 January 1942. Her commanders were Korvettenkapitän Rolf Rüggeberg (10 January 1942 until 14 May 1943) and Kapitänleutnant Friedrich Guggenberger (15 May until 19 July 1943). Her training period was from 10 January 1942 to 31 August, as part of the 4th U-boat Flotilla. She was then assigned to the 10th U-boat Flotilla for operations.

She sank six ships with a total tonnage of 29,940 gross register tons (GRT) and damaged two more with a total tonnage of 13,177 GRT. The boat was a member of two wolfpacks. She was sunk by depth charges from a U.S. Martin PBM Mariner amphibious aircraft in the South Atlantic Ocean on 19 July 1943.

In 2011 after nine years research and two years of seagoing searches, the expedition led by the explorers of Schurmann Family located U-513, 85 km (46 nmi) east of their hometown of Florianópolis. The find was announced worldwide on 17 June 2011, when the Schürmanns produced images of a Side-scanning sonar. A dive was made in 2012, where photos and video images were recorded.

Design

[edit]

German Type IXC submarines were slightly larger than the original Type IXBs. U-513 had a displacement of 1,120 tonnes (1,100 long tons) when at the surface and 1,232 tonnes (1,213 long tons) while submerged.[4] The U-boat had a total length of 76.76 m (251 ft 10 in), a pressure hull length of 58.75 m (192 ft 9 in), a beam of 6.76 m (22 ft 2 in), a height of 9.60 m (31 ft 6 in), and a draught of 4.70 m (15 ft 5 in). The submarine was powered by two MAN M 9 V 40/46 supercharged four-stroke, nine-cylinder diesel engines producing a total of 4,400 metric horsepower (3,240 kW; 4,340 shp) for use while surfaced, two Siemens-Schuckert 2 GU 345/34 double-acting electric motors producing a total of 1,000 shaft horsepower (1,010 PS; 750 kW) for use while submerged. She had two shafts and two 1.92 m (6 ft) propellers. The boat was capable of operating at depths of up to 230 metres (750 ft).[4]

The submarine had a maximum surface speed of 18.3 knots (33.9 km/h; 21.1 mph) and a maximum submerged speed of 7.3 knots (13.5 km/h; 8.4 mph).[4] When submerged, the boat could operate for 63 nautical miles (117 km; 72 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph); when surfaced, she could travel 13,450 nautical miles (24,910 km; 15,480 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph). U-513 was fitted with six 53.3 cm (21 in) torpedo tubes (four fitted at the bow and two at the stern), 22 torpedoes, one 10.5 cm (4.13 in) SK C/32 naval gun, 180 rounds, and a 3.7 cm (1.5 in) SK C/30 as well as a 2 cm (0.79 in) C/30 anti-aircraft gun. The boat had a complement of forty-eight.[4]

Service history

[edit]

First patrol

[edit]

U-513's first patrol began when she departed Kiel on 7 August 1942 and headed for the Atlantic by way of the gap between Iceland and the Faeroe Islands. Her first two successes came in Conception Bay near Bell Island, Newfoundland on 5 September. She arrived in Lorient, in occupied France on 22 October.

Second and third patrols

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The second and third sorties took her into the mid-Atlantic, but she returned to her French base empty-handed. Her last sortie ended in April 1943. Thereafter her captain, Rolf Rüggeberg, was replaced with the young captain Friedrich Guggenberger who in January 1943 had been awarded the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves.

Fourth patrol

[edit]

Her fourth and last foray began 18 May 1943 and saw her close to the Brazilian coast. After five attacks resulting in four ships sunk and one damaged, she was sunk southeast of São Francisco do Sul, Santa Catarina state on 19 July 1943 by a US Navy Mariner, nicknamed "The Nickel Boat", led by Lt. (jg) Roy S. Whitcomb, from Patrol Squadron VP-74. 46 men died; there were seven survivors, including her captain, Friedrich Guggenberger.

Wolfpacks

[edit]

U-513 took part in two wolfpacks, namely:

  • Unverzagt (12 – 19 March 1943)
  • Seeräuber (25 – 30 March 1943)

Summary of raiding history

[edit]
Date Ship Name Nationality Tonnage
(GRT) 		Deaths Fate[5]
5 September 1942 Lord Strathcona  Canada 7,335 0 Sunk
5 September 1942 Saganaga  United Kingdom 5,454 30 Sunk
29 September 1942 Ocean Vagabond  United Kingdom 7,174 1 Damaged
21 June 1943 Venezia  Sweden 1,673 0 Sunk
25 June 1943 Eagle  United States 6,003 0 Damaged
1 July 1943 Tutoya  Brazil 1,125 7 Sunk
3 July 1943 Elihu B. Washburne  United States 7,176 0 Sunk
16 July 1943 Richard Caswell  United States 7,177 9 Sunk

Discovery

[edit]

The wreck was found on 14 July 2011, at a depth of 130 m (430 ft), by Brazilian underwater archeologists from the Instituto Kat Schurmann, the Universidade do Vale do Itajaí (Univali) and geophysicists of the Coastal Planning and Engineering Company. The search for U-513 was conducted with a sail boat and took two years. Another 10 German submarines remained to be discovered in Brazilian coastal waters.

U-513 Found/Underwater Footage

[edit]

A Brazilian project searched Brazilian waters for the sunken U-513.[6] She was finally found in 2011, and the first underwater videos of the boat were released in March 2012.

In 2014, a one-hour TV documentary on the history of this voyage featuring film from the era and the submarine's final resting place titled: The Ghost of U-513 was released and has been shown on the Smithsonian Channel. It includes details from the life of captain Friedrich Guggenberger who survived the sinking and the war.[7]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Kemp 1999, pp. 132–133.
  2. ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type IXC boat U-513". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 16 July 2011.
  3. ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "War Patrols by German U-boat U-513". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 16 July 2011.
  4. ^ a b c d Gröner 1991, p. 68.
  5. ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit by U-513". Allied Ships hit by U-boats - uboat.net. Retrieved 3 October 2014.
  6. ^ "U-513". Archived from the original on 2012-08-20. Retrieved 2019-12-27.
  7. ^ Smithsonian Channel-Secrets of the Third Reich

Bibliography

[edit]
  • 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.
  • 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]. Der U-Boot-Krieg (in German). Vol. IV. Hamburg, Berlin, Bonn: Mittler. ISBN 3-8132-0514-2.
  • Gröner, Erich; Jung, Dieter; Maass, Martin (1991). U-boats and Mine Warfare Vessels. German Warships 1815–1945. Vol. 2. Translated by Thomas, Keith; Magowan, Rachel. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-593-4.
  • Kemp, Paul (1999). U-Boats Destroyed - German Submarine Losses in the World Wars. London: Arms & Armour. ISBN 1-85409-515-3.
[edit]
  • Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type IXC boat U-513". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 16 July 2011.
  • Hofmann, Markus. "U 513". Deutsche U-Boote 1935-1945 - u-boot-archiv.de (in German). Retrieved 1 February 2015.

27°17′S 47°32′W / 27.283°S 47.533°W / -27.283; -47.533

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