Type | VIIC | |||||||||||||
| Ordered | 24 Oct 1939 | |||||||||||||
| Laid down | 8 Jun 1940 | Blohm & Voss, Hamburg (werk 549) | ||||||||||||
| Launched | 17 Apr 1941 | |||||||||||||
| Commissioned | 5 Jun 1941 | Kptlt. Heinrich Heinsohn | ||||||||||||
| Commanders |
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| Career 4 patrols |
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| Successes | 1 ship sunk, total tonnage 5,289 GRT | |||||||||||||
| Fate | On 1 May, 1942, badly damaged by depth charges from a British Hudson aircraft (Sqdn. 233/M) in the Mediterranean north-west of Tenes in approx. position 37.00N, 01.00E. Interned at Cartagena, Spain on 2 May 1942. Sold to Spain on 2 Aug, 1942. Became the Spanish submarine G 7. In service until May 1970. 1 dead and 43 survivors. | |||||||||||||
Wolfpack operations
U-573 operated with the following Wolfpacks during its career:
Mordbrenner (16 Oct 1941 - 3 Nov 1941)
Attacks on this boat
1 May 1942
At 15.56 hours, the boat was attacked by the Hudson AM735 (233 Sqn RAF/M, pilot Sgt Brent) from Gibraltar with a stick of three 250lb depth charges about 40 miles north-west of Ténès, Algeria. Two were seen to explode very close on the starboard side aft, lifting the stern of the crash-diving boat out of the water. The U-boat was seen to resurface close to a large patch of oil with about ten men standing on the bridge and raising their hands to surrender. The pilot felt it not justified to strafe the U-boat as the Germans did not man the AA guns, but the assessment of the Coastal Command states that he should have machine gunned the crew because no surface vessels were nearby to accept the surrender. The aircraft circled the area until it was low on fuel and had to return to base at 16.20 hours.
U-573 was seriously damaged by the attack with one electrical and both diesel engines out of order, both batteries damaged, leaks in the diving and ballast tanks on the starboard side and a big dent in the pressure hull at the stern. After hearing of the distress, the FdU ordered the nearby U-74 and U-375 to assist and also the Italian submarines Emo and Mocenigo joined the rescue operation. The Allies sent other aircraft from Gibraltar and detached HMS Wishart and HMS Wrestler from a group of five destroyers on A/S patrol east of Gibraltar to intercept the crippled U-boat. The commander of U-573 initially thought that he had to scuttle the disabled boat, but the engineers managed to restart one of the electrical engines and so they slowly headed northwards, but were for some time unable to send radio messages and could not report the current position so they were not found by the other U-boats during the night. The next morning, the SKL ordered U-573 to head for the harbor of Cartagena in neutral Spain, where they arrived at 11.36 hours on 2 May. However, the Allied forces searching for this U-boat located and sank U-74 during the afternoon.
(Sources: Norman Franks, ADM 199/1782)1 recorded attack on this boat.
General notes on this boat
1 May 1942.
On 1 May, 1942, U-573 was bombed and seriously damaged by a Hudson aircraft north-west of Ténès, Algeria. The SKL ordered the U-boat to head for the neutral Spain. The next day, U-573 arrived at Cartagena and the Spanish authorities conceded a three months period for repairs. This was a very irregular concession because this long period was not allowed by international regulations and for this reason the British embassy in Madrid sent several strong protests to the Spanish foreign affairs ministry.
Finally, after several talks the Kriegsmarine sold U-573 without torpedoes to the Armada (Spanish Navy) for 1.5 million Reichsmark. At 10.00 hours on 2 August, 1942, the Spanish Navy took over the boat as G 7 and the Spanish flag was put on in a very simple ceremony only one day before the conceded period ended.
S-01 in Cartagena's slipway number 2 during regular maintenance
This was a very good solution for everyone because it was not possible to repair the boat during the period established. After repairs were completed it entered service in 1947 and was renamed S-01 on 25 Jun, 1961. In May 1970, the boat was decommissioned and auctioned for 3,334,751 Peseta (about $26,500). Despite efforts to save and preserve it as a museum, the former U-573 was finally broken up.
* The crewmen of U-573 were repatriated from Spain in small groups during January and February 1943. Kptlt. Heinsohn returned with the last group to Germany in March 1943, where he took over U-438 on which he perished with his crew on 6 May, 1943.
See also U-boats Interned in Spain.
2 May 1970. On 2 May 1970 the Spanish submarine S-01 (G-7 until June 15 1961), ex U-573, is decomissioned, being to that date the last World War U-boat in service. Besides her service in the Spanish Navy, she had been used for several film productions with Navy permission.
Men lost from U-boats
Unlike many other U-boats, which during their service lost men due to accidents and various other causes, U-573 did not suffer any casualties (we know of) until the time of her loss.
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