German submarine U-593

History
Nazi Germany
Name	U-593
Ordered	16 January 1940
Builder	Blohm & Voss, Hamburg
Yard number	569
Laid down	17 December 1940
Launched	3 September 1941
Commissioned	23 October 1941
Fate	Sunk on 13 December 1943 at position 37°38′N 05°58′E / 37.633°N 5.967°E / 37.633; 5.967 by US & Royal Navy.
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:	8th U-boat Flotilla 23 October 1941 – 28 February 1942 7th U-boat Flotilla 1 March – 31 October 1942 29th U-boat Flotilla 1 November 1942 – 13 December 1943
Identification codes:	M 38 214
Commanders:	Kptlt. Gerd Kelbling 23 October 1941 – 13 December 1943
Operations:	16 patrols: 1st patrol: 2 – 28 March 1942 2nd patrol: 20 April – 18 June 1942 3rd patrol: 22 July – 19 August 1942 4th patrol: 3 – 15 October 1942 5th patrol: 2 – 16 November 1942 6th patrol: 29 November – 31 December 1942 7th patrol: 6 February – 8 March 1943 8th patrol: 13 – 21 March 1943 9th patrol: 25 March – 4 April 1943 10th patrol: a. 8 – 23 April 1943 b. 24 – 28 April 1943 11th patrol: 13 June – 11 July 1943 12th patrol: 27 July – 8 August 1943 13th patrol: 15 September – 5 October 1943 14th patrol: 26 October – 7 November 1943 15th patrol: 25 – 29 November 1943 16th patrol: 1 – 13 December 1943
Victories:	9 merchant ships sunk (38,290 GRT) 4 warships sunk (2,954 tons) 1 merchant ship total loss (8,426 GRT) 1 warship total loss (1,625 tons) 1 merchant ship damaged (4,853 GRT) 2 warship damaged (1,677 tons)

German submarine U-593 was a Type VIIC U-boat built for Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine for service during World War II. She was laid down on 17 December 1940 by Blohm & Voss in Hamburg as yard number 569, launched on 3 September 1941 and commissioned on 23 October under Kapitänleutnant Gerd Kelbling.

The boat's service began on 23 October 1941 with training as part of the 8th U-boat Flotilla. She was transferred to the 7th flotilla on 1 March 1942 and moved on to the 29th flotilla on 1 November.