German submarine U - 58 ( 1938 ) German submarine " U - 58 " was a Type IIC U - boat of the Nazi German " Kriegsmarine " that served in the Second World War . She was produced by Deutsche Werke AG , Kiel . Ordered on 17 June 1937 , she was laid down on 29 September as " Werk 257 " . She was launched on 12 October 1938 and commissioned on 4 February 1939 under the command of " Oberleutnant " Herbert Kuppisch . " U - 58 " was initially assigned to the 5th U - boat Flotilla during her training period , until 31 December 1939 , when she was re - assigned to the 1st U - boat Flotilla for a front - line combat role . " U - 58 " carried out twelve war patrols , sinking seven ships for a total 24 , 549 GRT . " U - 58 " , along with U - 57 , were both used for testing a new flooding valve schnorchel head during August 1943 , that Deutsche Werke had constructed in June . For the test the schnorchel replaced the aft periscope . The initial trial was successful and a collapsible schnorchel forward of the bridge was envisaged for Type VIIC boats . Service History . First , second and third patrols . " U - 58 " s first three patrols , completed during her workup and training period , were uneventful cruises in the North Sea . No ships were attacked during this period . Fourth patrol . The submarine ' s luck changed for the better on New Year ' s Day 1940 . The ( neutral ) Swedish steam merchant ship " Lars Magnus Trozelli " ( 1 , 951 GRT ) was hit with a single torpedo and sunk at . Two days later the 2 , 475 ton " Svartön " , also Swedish flagged , was sunk at while traveling with convoy HN - 6 . Fifth and sixth patrols . " U - 58 " s fifth patrol was really only a six - day transit from Kiel to Wilhelmshaven . Her sixth patrol began from the latter port on 27 January 1940 . On 3 February , at 09 . 36 hours , the only success of this patrol occurred when the small ( 815 ton ) Estonian merchantman " Reet " was sunk with a single torpedo . Two previous shots earlier in the day had missed their mark ( 02 . 15 and 04 . 52 hours respectively ) . There were no survivors . Seventh patrol . The U - boat ' s seventh patrol was an unsuccessful 34 - day foray in the waters between Scotland and Norway . The boat returned to Kiel on 3 May 1940 . Eighth patrol . An eighth patrol into the North Sea was " U - 58 " s most successful in terms of tonnage destroyed , however all 8 , 401 tons credited for this patrol comprised a single ship , the British Boom Defense Vessel , which was sunk at by three torpedo hits ( two of which were coups de grâce ) . 101 of the 105 souls aboard survived to be picked up by other Royal Navy vessels . Ninth patrol . The veteran submarine ' s ninth patrol saw her headed for a new home port in Lorient , France . Command was assumed by Oblt . Heinrich Schonder , who remained in charge of the boat for the rest of her career . Along the way , the 1 , 591 GRT Norwegian steam merchant " Gyda " was sunk by a single torpedo . This was a rather bold attack , given that the ship was being escorted by a Sunderland flying boat , a well known U - boat killer . The merchant vessel sank in less than a minute at . Tenth patrol . Departing Lorient on 29 July 1940 , " U - 58 " headed north toward Ireland , where she sank the 4 , 360 ton Greek merchant ship " Pindos " ( a straggler from convoy SL - 40 ) , on 4 August with two torpedoes . The ship capsized to port before sinking at ; however 29 of the 32 crew escaped in lifeboats . The patrol terminated at Lorient on 12 August 1940 . Eleventh patrol . The U - boat ' s eleventh patrol was uneventful and she was transferred to a new home port , Bergen in Norway . En route , she attacked and sank the 4 , 956 ton British merchantman " Confield " , a straggler from convoy HX - 76 . Although not sunk by the torpedo hit , the abandoned derelict was later shelled and sunk by the British sloop . Twelfth patrol . " U - 58 " departed Bergen on 14 October 1940 for her final patrol , a transit back to Kiel . There she was transferred to the 22nd U - boat flotilla for service as a training boat . She remained in this role under various commanders for the rest of the war . She was eventually scuttled at Kiel on 3 May 1945 to keep her out of the hands of the advancing Allies . The wreck was subsequently raised and broken up for scrap .