German submarine U-535

<th colspan="2" >Service record

Part of:
Identification codes:
Commanders:
Operations:
Victories:

German submarine U-535 was a Type IXC/40 U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II. The submarine was laid down on 6 March 1942 at the Deutsche Werft yard at Hamburg, launched on 8 October 1942, and commissioned on 23 December 1942 under the command of Kapitänleutnant Helmut Ellmenreich. After training with 4th U-boat Flotilla in the Baltic Sea, U-535 was transferred to 10th U-boat Flotilla for front-line service. U-535 completed one patrol, but did not sink any ships.

Design

German Type IXC/40 submarines were slightly larger than the original Type IXCs. U-535 had a displacement of when at the surface and while submerged.Template:Sfn The U-boat had a total length of , a pressure hull length of , a beam of , a height of , and a draught of . The submarine was powered by two MAN M 9 V 40/46 supercharged four-stroke, nine-cylinder diesel engines producing a total of for use while surfaced, two Siemens-Schuckert 2 GU 345/34 double-acting electric motors producing a total of for use while submerged. She had two shafts and two propellers. The boat was capable of operating at depths of up to .Template:Sfn

The submarine had a maximum surface speed of and a maximum submerged speed of .Template:Sfn When submerged, the boat could operate for at ; when surfaced, she could travel at . U-535 was fitted with six torpedo tubes (four fitted at the bow and two at the stern), 22 torpedoes, one SK C/32 naval gun, 180 rounds, and a SK C/30 as well as a C/30 anti-aircraft gun. The boat had a complement of forty-eight.Template:Sfn

Service history

U-535 sailed from Kiel on 25 May 1943 on her first and only war patrol in the north Atlantic.

On 8 June at about 14:00, the U-boat was attacked with depth charges by a Hudson light bomber from No. 269 Squadron RAF, close to Convoy SC 132. A follow-up attack by another Hudson from the same squadron was aborted when the depth charges failed to release in two attack runs. The aircraft was damaged by the U-boat's flak, and the pilot warned an arriving United States Navy Catalina patrol bomber of Squadron VP-84 that the boat would stay up and fight, so the flying boat shadowed U-535 until it escaped at dusk.

Sinking

At 16:55 on 5 July 1943, a group of three inbound U-boats; Template:GS, U-535 and Template:GS were attacked by a British Liberator maritime reconnaissance aircraft of No. 53 Squadron RAF, north-east of Cape Finisterre, Spain. The U-boats evaded the first attack, and U-536 was strafed in the second. U-536 gave the signal to crash-dive, but for unknown reasons U-535 remained on the surface. Despite hitting the aircraft with her AA guns, the U-boat was straddled by eight depth charges and sank with all hands in position . Damaged and with one crewman wounded, the aircraft immediately left the area and returned to base.