View source for German submarine U-559

{{Short description|German World War II submarine}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2020}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=
|Ship caption=
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=
|Ship country=[[Nazi Germany]]
|Ship flag={{Shipboxflag|Nazi Germany|naval}}
|Ship name=''U-559''
|Ship ordered=16 October 1939
|Ship builder=[[Blohm & Voss]], [[Hamburg]]
|Ship yard number=535
|Ship laid down=1 February 1940
|Ship launched=8 January 1941
|Ship commissioned=27 February 1941
|Ship homeport=
|Ship motto=
|Ship nickname=
|Ship fate=Sunk by depth charges on 30 October 1942{{sfn|Kemp|1999|p=94}}
|Ship notes=
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=
|Ship class=[[Type VIIC]] [[submarine]]
|Ship displacement=
*{{convert|769|t|LT|0|lk=on}} surfaced
*{{convert|871|t|LT|0|abbr=on}} submerged
|Ship length=
*{{convert|67.10|m|ftin|abbr=on}} [[o/a]]
*{{convert|50.50|m|ftin|abbr=on}} [[pressure hull]]
|Ship beam=
*{{convert|6.20|m|ftin|abbr=on}} o/a
*{{convert|4.70|m|ftin|abbr=on}} pressure hull
|Ship height={{convert|9.60|m|ftin|abbr=on}}
|Ship draught={{convert|4.74|m|ftin|abbr=on}}
|Ship power=
*{{convert|2800|–|3200|PS|kW bhp|abbr=on}} (diesels)
*{{convert|750|PS|kW shp|abbr=on}} (electric)
|Ship propulsion=
*2 shafts
*2 × [[diesel engine]]s
*2 × [[Motor-generator|electric motors]]
|Ship speed=
*{{convert|17.7|kn|lk=in}} surfaced
*{{convert|7.6|kn}} submerged
|Ship range=
*{{convert|8500|nmi|abbr=on|lk=on}} at {{convert|10|kn}} surfaced
*{{convert|80|nmi|abbr=on}} at {{convert|4|kn}} submerged
|Ship test depth=
*{{convert|230|m|ft|abbr=on}}
*[[Submarine depth ratings|Crush depth]]: {{convert|250|–|295|m|ft|abbr=on}}
|Ship complement=4 officers, 40–56 enlisted
|Ship sensors=
|Ship EW=
|Ship armament=
*5 × {{convert|53.3|cm|in|0|abbr=on}} [[torpedo tube]]s (four bow, one stern)
*14 × [[torpedo]]es ''or'' 26 TMA [[Naval mine|mine]]s
*1 × [[8.8&nbsp;cm SK C/35 naval gun|{{convert|8.8|cm|in|2|abbr=on}} deck gun]] (220 rounds)
*1 x [[2 cm FlaK 30|{{convert|2|cm|in|sp=us|abbr=on}} C/30]] AA gun
|Ship notes=
}}
{{Infobox service record
|is_ship=yes
|label=Service record<ref name="uboatnet">{{cite web
 |url=http://uboat.net/boats/u559.htm
 |title=The Type VIIC boat U-559
 |last=Helgason
 |first=Guðmundur
 |website=German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net
 |access-date=2009-08-26
}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
 |url=http://uboat.net/boats/patrols/u559.html
 |title=War Patrols by German U-boat U-559
 |last=Helgason
 |first=Guðmundur
 |website=German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net
 |access-date=2009-08-26
}}</ref>
|partof=
*[[1st U-boat Flotilla]]
*27 February – 31 October 1941
*[[23rd U-boat Flotilla]]
*1 November 1941 – 14 April 1942
*[[29th U-boat Flotilla]]
*15 April – 30 October 1942
|codes=M 38 782
|commanders=
*''[[Kptlt.]]'' [[Hans Heidtmann]]
*27 February 1941 – 30 October 1942
|operations=*10 patrols:
*1st patrol:
*4 June – 5 July 1941
*2nd patrol:
*26 July – 22 August 1941
*3rd patrol:
*20 September – 20 October 1941
*4th patrol:
*24 November – 4 December 1941
*5th patrol:
*8 – 31 December 1941
*6th patrol:
*16 – 26 February 1942
*7th patrol:
*a. 4 – 21 March 1942
*b. 24 – 27 March 1942
*c. 10 – 12 May 1942
*8th patrol:
*a. 18 May – 22 June 1942
*b. 15 – 21 August 1942
*9th patrol:
*29 August – 21 September 1942
*10th patrol:
*29 September – 30 October 1942
|victories=
*4 merchant ships sunk <br/>({{GRT|11,811}})
*1 warship sunk <br/>(1,060 tons)
*2 merchant ships total loss <br/>({{GRT|6,117}})
}}
|}

'''German submarine ''U-559''''' was a [[Type VIIC]] [[U-boat]] built for [[Nazi Germany]]'s ''[[Kriegsmarine]]'' for service during [[World War II]].

[[Keel laying|Laid down]] on 1 February 1940 at the [[Blohm & Voss]] shipyards in [[Hamburg]] as "Baunummer 535" ("Yard number 535"), she was [[Ceremonial ship launching|launched]] on 8 January 1941 and [[Ship commissioning|commissioned]] on 27 February under ''[[Kapitänleutnant]]'' [[Hans Heidtmann]].

She began her service career with the [[1st U-boat Flotilla]], undergoing training before being declared operational on 1 June 1941. She moved to the [[29th U-boat Flotilla]] on 15 April 1942. She sank five ships but is perhaps best remembered for an incident during her sinking in the [[Mediterranean Sea]] in 1942, in which [[Great Britain|British]] sailors seized [[cryptology|cryptographic]] material from her. This material was extremely valuable in breaking the U-boat [[Enigma machine]] cipher.

==Design==
[[German Type VII submarine#Type VIIC|German Type VIIC submarines]] were preceded by the shorter [[German Type VII submarine#Type VIIB|Type VIIB submarines]]. ''U-559'' had a displacement of {{convert|769|t|LT}} when at the surface and {{convert|871|t|LT}} while submerged.{{sfn|Gröner|1991|pp=43–46}} She had a total length of {{convert|67.10|m|ftin|abbr=on}}, a [[pressure hull]] length of {{convert|50.50|m|ftin|abbr=on}}, a [[beam (nautical)|beam]] of {{convert|6.20|m|ftin|abbr=on}}, a height of {{convert|9.60|m|ftin|abbr=on}}, and a [[draught (ship)|draught]] of {{convert|4.74|m|ftin|abbr=on}}. The submarine was powered by two [[Germaniawerft]] F46 four-stroke, six-cylinder [[supercharged]] [[diesel engine]]s producing a total of {{convert|2800 to 3200|PS|kW shp|-1}} for use while surfaced, two [[Brown, Boveri & Cie]] GG UB 720/8 [[Motor–generator|double-acting electric motors]] producing a total of {{convert|750|PS|kW shp}} for use while submerged. She had two shafts and two {{convert|1.23|m|ft|abbr=on|0}} [[propeller]]s. The boat was capable of operating at depths of up to {{convert|230|m}}.{{sfn|Gröner|1991|pp=43–46}}

The submarine had a maximum surface speed of {{convert|17.7|kn}} and a maximum submerged speed of {{convert|7.6|kn}}.{{sfn|Gröner|1991|pp=43–46}} When submerged, the boat could operate for {{convert|80|nmi}} at {{convert|4|kn}}; when surfaced, she could travel {{convert|8500|nmi}} at {{convert|10|kn}}. ''U-559'' was fitted with five {{convert|53.3|cm|in|0|abbr=on}} [[torpedo tube]]s (four fitted at the bow and one at the stern), fourteen [[torpedo]]es, one [[8.8&nbsp;cm SK C/35 naval gun|{{convert|8.8|cm|in|2|abbr=on}} SK C/35 naval gun]], 220 rounds, and a [[2 cm FlaK 30|{{convert|2|cm|in|sp=us|abbr=on}} C/30]] anti-aircraft gun. The boat had a [[Ship's company|complement]] of between forty-four and sixty.{{sfn|Gröner|1991|pp=43–46}}

==Service history==
''U-559'' was originally intended to serve as an [[Atlantic Ocean|Atlantic]] U-boat during the [[Battle of the Atlantic]] against [[Allies of World War II|Allied]] convoys in the [[Western Approaches]].

===First and second patrols===
Her first patrol took her from [[Kiel]] on 4 June 1941, across the [[North Sea]] and through the [[GIUK gap|gap]] between [[Greenland]] and [[Iceland]]. She arrived at [[St. Nazaire]] in occupied France on 5 July.

Her second sortie met with success when she torpedoed and sank the ''Alva'' about {{convert|600|nmi}} west of [[Ushant]]. She returned to her French base on 22 August 1941.

===Third patrol===
For her third patrol, beginning on 20 September, she was assigned to the 'Goeben' group, which were the first U-boats to enter the Mediterranean in [[World War II]] through the heavily defended [[Strait of Gibraltar]]. She reached [[Salamis Island|Salamis]] in Greece, after having first investigated the [[Libya]]n/[[Egypt]]ian border.

===Fourth patrol===
On her fourth patrol, she torpedoed and sank the Australian sloop {{HMAS|Parramatta|U44|6}} off the Libyan coast; although most survivors were picked up by other ships, three men managed to reach dry land where they were rescued by advancing British troops.<ref>Paterson, Lawrence - ''U-Boats in the Mediterranean 1941-1944'', 2007, Chatham Publishing, {{ISBN|9781861762900}}, p. 43.</ref>

===Fifth, sixth and seventh patrols===
On her fifth patrol, which began on 8 December 1941, the boat sank {{SS|Shuntien|1934|2}} on the 23rd. ''Shuntien'' carried 850 – 1,100 German and Italian prisoners of war. Between 800 and 1,000 people were killed, including at least 700 PoWs.<ref>{{cite web
 |url=http://uboat.net/boats/successes/u559.html
 |title=Ships hit by U-559
 |last=Helgason
 |first=Guðmundur
 |website=German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net
 |access-date=28 December 2014
}}</ref>

Her sixth and seventh patrols were both from Salamis to the area of the Libyan coast. They were without success.

===Eighth and ninth patrols===
Having moved to [[Pula]] in [[Croatia]] in March 1942, she then sortied on 18 May, and sank the tanker ''Athene'' and damaged the oiler ''Brambleleaf'' in a convoy attack on 10 June.

Her ninth patrol, however, was without success.

===Wolfpacks===
''U-559'' took part in one [[Wolfpack (naval tactic)|wolfpack]], Goeben (20 September – 5 October 1941).
==Fate==
It was her own demise that made her most famous. At about 05:00 on 30 October 1942, ''U-559'' was spotted by a [[Royal Air Force]] [[Short Sunderland|Sunderland]], ''W'' from [[No. 201 Squadron RAF|201 Squadron]] in position {{coord|31|47|N|33|24|E}}, 70 miles north of the [[Nile Delta]]. The [[destroyer]] {{HMS|Hero|H99|6}} was alerted by radio and steamed to intercept her, while the destroyers {{HMS|Petard|G56|6}}, {{HMS|Pakenham|G06|2}}, {{HMS|Dulverton|L63|2}} and {{HMS|Hurworth|L28|2}} sailed from [[Port Said]], [[Egypt]]. At about 12:34 a [[Vickers Wellesley|Wellesley]] [[patrol aircraft]], ''F'' from [[No. 47 Squadron RAF|47 Squadron]], spotted the periscope of the submerged ''U-559'' and attacked with depth charges.{{sfn|Busch|Röll|1999|pp=63–64}}<ref name="uboatnet"/><ref>{{Harvnb|Shores|Massimello|Guest|Olynyk|2012|pages=612–613}}</ref>

The destroyer group hunted for the U-boat for 16 hours, constantly depth charging. After dark, ''U-559'', with a cracked pressure hull, unable to maintain level trim and four of her crew dead from explosions and flooding, was forced to the surface. She was close to ''Petard'', which immediately opened fire with her [[Oerlikon 20 mm cannon]].{{sfn|Kemp|1999|p=94}}<ref>{{cite book |last1=West |first1=Nigel |title=GCHQ : The Secret Wireless War 1900-1986 |edition=1987 |year=1986 |publisher=Coronet |isbn=0-340-41197-X |pages=270–271}}</ref>

The German crew hurriedly scrambled overboard without destroying their codebooks or Enigma machine and, crucially, having failed to open all the sea-water vents to scuttle the U-boat properly. Three Royal Navy sailors, Lieutenant [[Francis Anthony Blair Fasson|Anthony Fasson]], Able Seaman [[Colin Grazier]] and [[NAAFI]] canteen assistant [[Tommy Brown (GM)|Tommy Brown]], then boarded the abandoned submarine. There are differing reports as to how the three British men boarded the U-boat. Some accounts (such as that of Kahn) say that they "swam naked" to ''U-559'', which was sinking, but slowly.<ref>Kahn, David ''Seizing The Enigma: The Race to Break The German U-boat Codes, 1939-1943''. 1991. p. 224. Souvenir Press {{ISBN|0-285-63066-0}}</ref> Sebag-Montefiore states that they either leapt from ''Petard'' or, in Brown's case, from a [[Whaleboat|whaler]]. They retrieved the U-boat's Enigma key setting sheets with all current settings for the U-boat Enigma network. Two German crew members, rescued from the sea, watched this material being loaded into ''Petard'''s whaler but were dissuaded from interfering by an armed guard. Grazier and Fasson were inside the U-boat, attempting to get out, when it [[Shipwrecking|foundered]]; both drowned.<ref>{{cite book|last=Sebag-Montefiore|first=Hugh|title=Enigma; the battle for the Code|pages=259–262|year=2001|publisher=Phoenix|location=London|isbn=0-7538-1130-8|author-link=Hugh Sebag-Montefiore}}</ref>

==Aftermath==
Grazier and Fasson were awarded the [[George Cross]] posthumously, Brown was awarded the [[George Medal]]. The [[Victoria Cross]] was considered but not awarded, for the ostensible reason that their bravery was not "in the face of the enemy".<ref>Kahn, p. 226.</ref> Another consideration may have been that a Victoria Cross would have drawn unwanted attention to the U-boat's capture from German intelligence. It was also discovered that Brown had lied about his age in order to enlist, and was only 16 years old, making him one of the youngest [[List of recipients of the George Medal#1940s|recipients of the George Medal]]. He was discharged and returned home to [[North Shields]], only to die two years later attempting to rescue his younger sister from a house fire.<ref>{{cite book |last1=West |first1=Nigel |title=GCHQ : The Secret Wireless War 1900-1986 |edition=1987 |year=1986 |publisher=Coronet |isbn=0-340-41197-X |page=272}}</ref>

The code-book material they retrieved was immensely valuable to the code-breakers at [[Bletchley Park]], who had been unable to read the 4-rotor U-boat Enigma for ten months since its introduction by the German Kriegsmarine at the beginning of 1942. This captured material allowed them to read the cyphers for several weeks, and to break U-boat Enigma thereafter right through to the end of the war.

The recovery was one of several such events (e.g., the earlier capture of {{GS|U-110|1940|2}}), that inspired the fictional account of the submarine capture in the 2000 film ''[[U-571 (film)|U-571]]''.

==Summary of raiding history==
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Date
! Ship Name
! Nationality
! Tonnage<ref group=Note name=tonnage>Merchant ship tonnages are in [[gross register tons]]. Military vessels are listed by tons [[displacement (ship)|displacement]].</ref>
! Fate<ref>{{cite web
 |url=http://uboat.net/boats/successes/u559.html
 |title=Ships hit by U-559
 |last=Helgason
 |first=Guðmundur
 |website=German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net
 |access-date=30 October 2020
}}</ref>
|-
| align="right"|19 August 1941
| align="left" |''[[List of shipwrecks in August 1941#19 August|Alva]]''
| align="left" |{{flag|United Kingdom|civil}}
| align="right"|1,584
| Sunk
|-
| align="right"|27 November 1941
| align="left" |{{HMAS|Parramatta|U44|6}}
| align="left" |{{navy|Australia}}
| align="right"|1,060
| Sunk
|-
| align="right"|23 December 1941
| align="left" |{{SS|Shuntien|1934|2}}
| align="left" |{{flag|United Kingdom|civil}}
| align="right"|3,059
| Sunk
|-
| align="right"|26 December 1941
| align="left" |''[[List of shipwrecks in December 1941#26 December|Warszawa]]''
| align="left" |{{flag|Poland}}
| align="right"|2,487
| Sunk
|-
| align="right"|10 June 1942
| align="left" |''[[List of shipwrecks in June 1942#10 June|Athene]]''
| align="left" |{{flag|Norway}}
| align="right"|4,681
| Sunk
|-
| align="right"|10 June 1942
| align="left" |''[[List of shipwrecks in June 1942#10 June|Brambleleaf]]''
| align="left" |{{flag|United Kingdom|civil}}
| align="right"|5,917
| Total loss
|-
| align="right"|12 October 1942
| align="left"|''[[List of shipwrecks in October 1942#12 October|Bringhi]]''
| align="left"|{{flag|Egypt|1922}}
| align="right"|200
| Total loss
|}

==See also==
* [[Mediterranean U-boat Campaign (World War II)]]
* [[German submarine U-505|German submarine ''U-505'']]
* [[German submarine U-110 (1940)|German submarine ''U-110'']]

==References==

===Notes===
{{Reflist|group=Note}}

===Citations===
{{reflist}}

==Bibliography==
{{Refbegin}}
*{{cite book | last1 = Busch | first1 = Rainer | last2 = Röll | first2 = Hans-Joachim | translator-last = Brooks | translator-first = Geoffrey | title = German U-boat commanders of World War II: a biographical dictionary | publisher = Greenhill Books, Naval Institute Press | location = London, Annapolis, Md | year = 1999 | isbn = 1-55750-186-6 |ref=none }}
*{{cite book
|last1=Busch
|first1=Rainer
|last2=Röll
|first2=Hans-Joachim
|title=Deutsche U-Boot-Verluste von September 1939 bis Mai 1945
|trans-title=German U-boat losses from September 1939 to May 1945
|series=Der U-Boot-Krieg
|volume=IV
|publisher=Mittler
|location=Hamburg, Berlin, Bonn
|year=1999
|isbn=3-8132-0514-2
|language=de
}}
*{{cite book|author=Stephen Harper|title=Capturing Enigma: How HMS Petard Seized the German Naval Codes|url=https://archive.org/details/capturingenigmah0000harp|url-access=registration|year=1999|publisher=Sutton|isbn=978-0-7509-2316-3}}
*{{cite book
|last1=Gröner
|first1=Erich
|last2=Jung
|first2=Dieter
|last3=Maass
|first3=Martin
|translator-last1=Thomas
|translator-first1=Keith
|translator-last2=Magowan
|translator-first2=Rachel
|year=1991
|title=German Warships 1815–1945, U-boats and Mine Warfare Vessels
|volume=2
|location=London
|publisher=Conway Maritime Press
|isbn=0-85177-593-4
|ref=CITEREFGröner1991
}}
* Kahn, David; ''Seizing the Enigma: The Race to Break the German U-Boats Codes, 1939-1943'', (1991)
*{{cite book
|last=Kemp
|first=Paul
|title=U-Boats Destroyed - German Submarine Losses in the World Wars
|location=London
|year=1999
|publisher=Arms & Armour
|isbn=1-85409-515-3
}}
*{{cite book
|last=Sharpe
|first=Peter
|title=U-Boat Fact File
|publisher=Midland Publishing
|location=Great Britain
|year=1998
|isbn=1-85780-072-9
}}
*{{cite book
|last1=Shores
|first1=Christopher
|last2=Massimello
|first2=Giovanni
|last3=Guest
|first3=Russell
|last4=Olynyk
|first4=Frank
|last5=Bock
|first5=Winfried
|title=A History of the Mediterranean Air War 1940–1945: Volume Two: North African Desert February 1952 – March 1943
|year=2012
|publisher=Grub Street
|location=London
|isbn=978-1-909166-12-7
}}

{{Refend}}

==External links==
*{{Cite web
 |url=http://uboat.net/boats/u559.html
 |title=The Type VIIC boat U-559
 |last=Helgason
 |first=Guðmundur
 |website=German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net
 |access-date=28 December 2014
}}
* [http://www.ellsbury.com/ultrafassongrazier.htm Memorial page for Fasson and Grazier] {reference only}

{{German Type VII submarines}}
{{October 1942 shipwrecks}}

{{coord|32|30|N|33|0|E|display=title}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:U0559}}
[[Category:Enigma machine]]
[[Category:German Type VIIC submarines]]
[[Category:World War II submarines of Germany]]
[[Category:World War II shipwrecks in the Mediterranean Sea]]
[[Category:U-boats commissioned in 1941]]
[[Category:1941 ships]]
[[Category:U-boats sunk in 1942]]
[[Category:Ships built in Hamburg]]
[[Category:U-boats sunk by depth charges]]
[[Category:U-boats sunk by British warships]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in October 1942]]
[[Category:Captured U-boats]]