German submarine U-532

German Type IXC/40 submarines were slightly larger than the original Type IXCs. U-532 had a displacement of 1,144 tonnes (1,126 long tons) when at the surface and 1,257 tonnes (1,237 long tons) while submerged.^[1] The U-boat had a total length of 76.76 m (251 ft 10 in), a pressure hull length of 58.75 m (192 ft 9 in), a beam of 6.86 m (22 ft 6 in), a height of 9.60 m (31 ft 6 in), and a draught of 4.67 m (15 ft 4 in). The submarine was powered by two MAN M 9 V 40/46 supercharged four-stroke, nine-cylinder diesel engines producing a total of 4,400 metric horsepower (3,240 kW; 4,340 shp) for use while surfaced, two Siemens-Schuckert 2 GU 345/34 double-acting electric motors producing a total of 1,000 shaft horsepower (1,010 PS; 750 kW) for use while submerged. She had two shafts and two 1.92 m (6 ft) propellers. The boat was capable of operating at depths of up to 230 metres (750 ft).^[1]

The submarine had a maximum surface speed of 18.3 knots (33.9 km/h; 21.1 mph) and a maximum submerged speed of 7.3 knots (13.5 km/h; 8.4 mph).^[1] When submerged, the boat could operate for 63 nautical miles (117 km; 72 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph); when surfaced, she could travel 13,850 nautical miles (25,650 km; 15,940 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph). U-532 was fitted with six 53.3 cm (21 in) torpedo tubes (four fitted at the bow and two at the stern), 22 torpedoes, one 10.5 cm (4.13 in) SK C/32 naval gun, 180 rounds, and a 3.7 cm (1.5 in) SK C/30 as well as a 2 cm (0.79 in) C/30 anti-aircraft gun. The boat had a complement of forty-eight.^[1]

The boat departed Kiel on 25 March 1943, moved through the North Sea, negotiated the gap between Iceland and the Faroe Islands and entered the Atlantic Ocean. There, east of Greenland, she was intercepted by the escorts of Convoy ONS 5 and damaged in a 15-hour engagement.

She entered Lorient on the French Atlantic coast on 15 May 1943.

Her second foray involved a move to the Far East. Departing Lorient on 3 July 1943, she had rounded Africa by the 27th and entered the Indian Ocean. On 19 September she sank Fort Longueuil southwest of the Chagos Archipelago (south southwest of the Indian mainland).^[2] Two Indian crewmen, the only survivors, came ashore on a raft in Sumatra, after spending 134 days adrift; they became prisoners of the Japanese on 1 February 1944.

U-532 went on to sink other ships, such as the Tashina, (using the deck gun) on 1 October 1943, northeast of the Maldive Islands.^[3] She also damaged British Purpose south of Mangalore^[3] on the 20th. This ship fell out of line in her convoy after being hit; the following vessel in the line, the California Standard, struck her a glancing blow but the damage was slight.

The submarine docked in Penang, in Malaya (now Malaysia) on 30 October 1943. She was in the first wave of U-boats in the newly formed Monsun Gruppe operating out of Japanese-occupied Penang.

The pickings continued to be rich; amongst other victims, she sank Tulagi northeast of Cape Comorin in southern India^[3] on 27 March 1944. The ship capsized and sank in less than 30 seconds.^[4]

U-532 moved from Penang to Singapore in May 1944 and on to Batavia (now Jakarta in Indonesia) in December.

For her fourth sortie, the boat sank Baron Jedburgh on 10 March 1945 and the Oklahoma on the 28th. She returned to Europe in May following the German capitulation.

 

The submarine docked at Liverpool on 10 May 1945 before moving to Loch Eriboll and to Loch Ryan (both in Scotland) on the 17th, for Operation Deadlight. She then arrived at Barrow in Furness on 25 May 1945 under the escort of HMS Grindall, departing again on 7 June 1945 escorted by HMS Gardiner.^[5]

She was sunk at 56°08′N 10°07′W / 56.133°N 10.117°W / 56.133; -10.117 by a torpedo from the British submarine Tantivy on 9 December 1945.

• Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type IXC/40 boat U-532". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 7 December 2014.
• Almeida, Fernando; et al. "U-Boat Operations: U-532". Ubootwaffe. Archived from the original on 27 April 2012. Retrieved 1 October 2012.

56°08′N 10°07′W / 56.133°N 10.117°W / 56.133; -10.117