- Unterseeboot 557
Unterseeboot 557 (U-557) was a Type VIIC
submarine of theKriegsmarine . She was ordered on25 September 1939 , from Blohm + Voss ofHamburg . She was commissioned13 February 1941 , with "Oberleutnant zur See" Ottokar Paulssen in command. Paulssen commanded her for her entire career.Career
"U-557" carried out five patrols between May 1941 and her loss in December 1941. In that time she sank 6 ships, of GRT|31,729, and one warship, the light cruiser
"Galatea", of 5,220 tons standard displacement.Fate
At 1806hrs on
16 December , "U-557" sent a short radio signal indicating that she was 18 hours from port. At 1800hrs on the same day, the Italian torpedo boat "Orion" left the Cretan port ofSuda . The commander had no knowledge that a GermanU-boat was in the area ofCrete .When the Italian commander saw a submarine at 2144hrs, heading in a northerly direction, he decided to ram it, supposing it to be British. "U-557" sank immediately with all hands; the damaged Italian torpedo boat headed back to base. The position of the incident was given by the Italian commander as coord|35.31|N|23.19|E|.
External links
* http://www.uboat.net/boats/u557.htm
* http://www.ubootwaffe.net/ops/boat.cgi
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