German submarine U-561

History
Nazi Germany
Name	U-561
Ordered	16 October 1939
Builder	Blohm & Voss, Hamburg
Yard number	537
Laid down	28 February 1940
Launched	23 January 1941
Commissioned	13 March 1941
Fate	Sunk by torpedoes fired from Royal Navy's HMS MTB-81 on 12 July 1943 at position 38°16′N 15°39′E / 38.267°N 15.650°E / 38.267; 15.650 in the Straits of Messina.
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[1]
Part of:	1st U-boat Flotilla 13 March – 31 January 1942 23rd U-boat Flotilla 1 February – 12 July 1943
Identification codes:	M 40 727
Commanders:	Kptlt. Robert Bartels 13 March 1941 – 5 September 1942 Kptlt. Heinz Schomburg 5 September 1942 – 18 June 1943 Oblt.z.S. Fritz Henning 19 June – 12 July 1943
Operations:	15 patrols: 1st patrol: 25 May – 1 August 1941 2nd patrol: 20 August – 20 September 1941 3rd patrol: 1 – 26 November 1941 4th patrol: 3 – 22 January 1942 5th patrol: 26 January – 20 February 1942 6th patrol: 4 April – 5 May 1942 7th patrol: 11 – 25 June 1942 8th patrol: a. 2 – 24 July 1942 b. 9 – 11 September 1942 9th patrol: 12 September – 4 October 1942 10th patrol: 7 – 14 November 1942 11th patrol: 25 November – 18 December 1942 12th patrol: 23 December 1942 – 15 January 1943 13th patrol: 11 – 28 March 1943 14th patrol: 22 April – 3 June 1943 15th patrol: 10 – 12 July 1943
Victories:	5 merchant ships sunk (17,146 GRT) 1 merchant ship total loss (5,062 GRT) 1 merchant ship damaged (4,043 GRT)

German submarine U-561 was a Type VIIC U-boat built for Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine for service during World War II. She was laid down on 28 February 1940 by Blohm & Voss in Hamburg as yard number 537, launched on 23 January 1941 and commissioned on 13 March 1941 under Kapitänleutnant Robert Bartels (German Cross in Gold).