Patrol info for U-566
| Departure | Arrival / Fate | Duration | ||
| 18 Oct 1943 | Brest | 24 Oct 1943 | Lost | 7 days |
Commander | Officers * |
 Kptlt. Hans Hornkohl |
1WO Ltn. Kurt Ahlers |
Daily positions, sinkings and allied attacks during the patrol of U-566
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indicates an Allied attack on the boat.
shows the loss of the U-boat.
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We have daily positions for all 7 days on this patrol.
Departure from Brest on 18 Oct 1943.
19 Oct 1943 - 20 Oct 1943 - 21 Oct 1943 - 22 Oct 1943 - 23 Oct 1943 -
Sunk on 24 Oct 1943.
Ships hit by U-566 during this patrol
No entries found.
General Events during this patrol
We have no events listed for this patrol.
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Attacks on U-566 during this patrol
24 Oct 1943
The sinking of U-566
At 01.27 hours, the boat was attacked by the Leigh Light equipped Wellington HF132 (179 Sqn RAF/A, pilot Sgt Donald Mervin Conrish, RCAF) after being located by radar west of Leixoes. AA fire caused slight damage to the tail of the aircraft (misidentified by the Germans as Catalina), but it dropped six depth charges that detonated on both sides of the stern. The explosion destroyed the rudder and bent the driving shaft, disabling the U-boat and leaving her unable to dive. The aircraft circled the area for three hours until it was low on fuel and had to leave. Hornkohl then ordered the crew to abandon ship in rubber dinghies and scuttled U-566 at 04.30 hours. After five hours all 49 men were picked up by the Spanish trawler Fina about 30 nautical miles from the coast and landed in Corunna later that day. On 28 October, the Germans were allowed to leave Spain in civilian clothes by train and arrived back in Brest after three days. The crew later took over U-1007 and most of them survived the war, meeting the crew of the aircraft that had sunk U-566 in 1970. The pilot had received an immediate DFM for his attack.
(Sources: Franks, Ritschel)About this data
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* These are officers that later became commanders themselves.
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