German submarine U-513

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.

  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.