German submarine U-596 was a Type VIIC U-boat built for Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine for service during World War II.She was laid down on 4 January 1941 by Blohm & Voss in Hamburg as yard number 572, launched on 17 September 1941 and commissioned on 13 November under Kapitänleutnant Gunter Jahn. He was replaced on 28 July 1943 by Oberleutnant zur See Victor-Whilhelm Nonn who was superseded by Oblt.z.S. Hans Kolbus in July 1944.
The boat's service began on 13 November 1941 with training as part of the 8th U-boat Flotilla. She was transferred to the 3rd flotilla on 1 July 1942 and moved on to the 29th flotilla on 19 November.
German Type VIIC submarines were preceded by the shorter Type VIIB submarines. U-596 had a displacement of 769t when at the surface and 871t while submerged. She had a total length of 67.1m (220.1feet), a pressure hull length of 50.5m (165.7feet), a beam of 6.2m (20.3feet), a height of 9.6m (31.5feet), and a draught of 4.74m (15.55feet). The submarine was powered by two Germaniawerft F46 four-stroke, six-cylinder supercharged diesel engines producing a total of NaNPS for use while surfaced, two Brown, Boveri & Cie GG UB 720/8 double-acting electric motors producing a total of 750PS for use while submerged. She had two shafts and two 1.23abbr=onNaNabbr=on propellers. The boat was capable of operating at depths of up to .
The submarine had a maximum surface speed of and a maximum submerged speed of . When submerged, the boat could operate for at ; when surfaced, she could travel at . U-596 was fitted with five 53.30NaN0 torpedo tubes (four fitted at the bow and one at the stern), fourteen torpedoes, one 8.82NaN2 SK C/35 naval gun, 220 rounds, and a 2sp=usNaNsp=us C/30 anti-aircraft gun. The boat had a complement of between forty-four and sixty.
In twelve patrols, she sank twelve ships, including one warship for a total of .
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 and 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.[1]
U-596s 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 . 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 Mediterranean[2] began with U-596s 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.[3]
The submarine was scuttled on 30 September 1944 in Skaramanga Bay, near Salamis in position 37.9833°N 57°W. One person died; the number of survivors is unknown.
| Date | Ship Name | Nationality | Tonnage[4] | Fate[5] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 August 1942 | Suecia |  Sweden | 4,966 | Sunk | |
| 20 September 1942 | Empire Hartebeeste |  United Kingdom | 5,676 | Sunk | |
| 7 February 1943 | HMS LCI (L) 162 | 246 | Sunk | ||
| 9 March 1943 | Empire Standard | United Kingdom | 7,047 | Damaged | |
| 30 March 1943 | Fort Norman | United Kingdom | 7,133 | Damaged | |
| 30 March 1943 | Fort a la Corne | United Kingdom | 7,133 | Sunk | |
| 30 March 1943 | Hallanger |  Norway | 9,551 | Sunk | |
| 20 August 1943 | El Sayeda |  Egypt | 68 | Sunk | |
| 21 August 1943 | Lily | 132 | Sunk | ||
| 21 August 1943 | Namaz | United Kingdom | 50 | Sunk | |
| 21 August 1943 | Panikos | United Kingdom | 21 | Sunk | |
| 30 August 1943 | Nagwa | Egypt | 183 | Sunk | |
| 7 September 1943 | Hamidieh | Egypt | 80 | Sunk | |
| 4 October 1943 | Marit | Norway | 5,542 | Sunk | |
| 9 December 1943 | Cap Padaran | United Kingdom | 8,009 | Sunk |