German submarine U-504
German submarine "U-504" was a Type IXC U-boat of Nazi Germany's "Kriegsmarine" during World War II. The submarine was laid down on 29 April 1940 at the Deutsche Werft yard in Hamburg as yard number 294, launched on 24 April 1941 and commissioned on 30 July 1941 under the command of "Korvettenkapitän" Hans-Georg Friedrich "Fritz" Poske. Initially attached to the 4th U-boat Flotilla for training, the U-boat was transferred to the 2nd flotilla on 1 January 1942 for front-line service. She was a member of six wolfpacks. Design. German Type IXC  submarines were slightly larger than the original Type IXBs. "U-504" had a displacement of when at the surface and while submerged. The U-boat had a total length of , a pressure hull length of , a beam of , a height of , and a draught of . The submarine was powered by two MAN M 9 V 40/46 supercharged four-stroke, nine-cylinder diesel engines producing a total of for use while surfaced, two Siemens-Schuckert 2 GU 345/34 double-acting electric motors producing a total of for use while submerged. She had two shafts and two propellers. The boat was capable of  operating at depths of up to . The submarine had a maximum surface speed of and a maximum submerged speed of . When submerged, the boat could operate for at ; when surfaced, she could travel at . "U-504" was fitted with six torpedo tubes (four fitted at the bow and two at the stern), 22 torpedoes, one SK C/32 naval gun, 180 rounds, and a SK C/30 as well as a C/30 anti-aircraft gun. The boat had a complement of forty-eight. Service history. First patrol. "U-504"s first war patrol took her from Kiel in Germany, to her home port of Lorient , in occupied France, between 6 and 20 January 1942 without incident. Second patrol. On 25 January 1942 "U-504" sailed from Lorient, and headed across the Atlantic to the Florida coast. There, at 04:55 on 22 February, she attacked the unescorted and unarmed American 5,287 GRT tanker "Republic" about north-east of Jupiter Inlet Light, Florida. Struck by two torpedoes, the ship settled by the stern, and the crew abandoned ship and rowed to shore. The badly damaged ship eventually drifted onto reefs about five miles (8 km) due east of Hobe Sound, Florida and finally sank on the afternoon of  23 February. Meanwhile, the U-boat sank another ship, torpedoing the unescorted and unarmed American 10,227 GRT tanker "W.D. Anderson" at 01:32 on 23 February, about north-east of Jupiter Inlet Light. Loaded with of crude oil, the ship burst into flames, killing all but one of the crew of 36, and later sank. "U-504" struck again on 26 February sinking the unescorted Dutch 8,245 GRT tanker "Mamura" about off the coast of Florida. The ship, loaded with gasoline, was hit by two torpedoes, setting it on fire and breaking it in two. The ship sank within eight minutes, killing  all 49 of the crew. "U-504"s final victim was the unescorted British 5,966 GRT merchant ship "Stangarth", sunk on 16 March, by a single torpedo, north-east of San Juan, Puerto Rico. There were no survivors from her crew of 46. "U-504" arrived back at Lorient on 1 April after 67 days at sea. Third patrol. The U-boat then sailed for a patrol in the Caribbean Sea, departing Lorient on 2 May 1942. Her first success came on 29 May when she sank the unescorted British 1,597 GRT cargo ship "Allister", en route from Kingston, Jamaica, to Tampa, Florida , with a cargo of 500 tons of bananas. The ship was torpedoed south of Grand Cayman Island, losing 15 of her crew of 23. On 8 June "U-504" struck twice, east of the Yucatán Peninsula. At 06:59 she sank the unescorted 3,901 GRT Honduran merchant ship "Tela" with two torpedoes, sinking her within five minutes. At 18:06 the U-boat opened fire with her deck gun on the unescorted British 1,512 GRT merchant ship "Rosenborg", after missing the ship with two torpedoes. She fired 60 shells, of which about 30 hit. Four of the crew were killed, the remaining 23  were later picked up and landed in Panama. The U-boat struck again twice in a single day, 11 June, off Honduras. She sank the unescorted Dutch 4,282 GRT passenger ship "Crijnssen" at 02:10 with three torpedoes, then the unescorted and unarmed American 4,846 GRT merchant ship "American" at 18:01. The ship, carrying 6,500 tons of manganese ore, coffee, gunny sacks, jute and oil, from Santos, Brazil, to New Orleans, was hit by two torpedoes, and then a third eleven minutes later. The ship sank in 25 minutes. The crew of eight officers and 30 men abandoned ship. Finally, on  14 June, she torpedoed and sank the Latvian 3,280 GRT cargo ship "Regent". "U-504" arrived back at Lorient on 7 July after 67 days at sea. Fourth patrol. "U-504" left Lorient again on 19 August 1942 and sailed south to the waters off South Africa as part of Wolfpack Eisbär. There, on 17 October, about south of Cape Town, she torpedoed and sank the unescorted British 5,970 GRT "Empire Chaucer". On the 23rd she sank the British 5,669 GRT , and on the 26th she attacked the unescorted American 7,176 GRT Liberty ship "Anne Hutchinson". The crew abandoned their vessel after  she was hit by two torpedoes and fatally damaged. However the ship remained afloat, and on the 29th was taken in tow by the South African armed trawler HMSAS "David Haigh" (T13) and a harbour tug. Lacking sufficient power to tow the ship to port explosive charges were set, cutting the ship in two. The aft section sank, and the fore section was towed into Port Elizabeth. Part of the crew were picked up at sea, while the rest made it to land in their lifeboats. "U-504" sank two more British merchant ships on 31 October, about east of Durban . First the unescorted 7,041 GRT "Empire Guidon", then the unescorted 5,113 GRT "Reynolds", which, hit amidships and in the stern, capsized and sank within seconds. Finally on 3 November she sank the unescorted and unarmed Brazilian 5,187 GRT cargo ship "Porto Alegre" en route from Rio de Janeiro to Durban, off Port Elizabeth. Hit by a single torpedo, the crew abandoned ship before the U-boat delivered the coup de grâce. Only one crew member was lost. The survivors were questioned by the Germans, and later made landfall about from Port Elizabeth on 7 November. "U-504" arrived back at Lorient  on 11 December 1942 after a patrol lasting 115 days. Fifth and sixth patrol. "U-504" left Lorient on 19 January 1943, now under the command of "Kapitänleutnant" Wilhelm Luis, and headed out into the Atlantic waters south of the Azores. She was subjected to attacks by unidentified Allied aircraft outbound on 21 January and inbound on 12 March, but was not damaged by either. She returned to Lorient on 24 March after 65 days at sea, without making any successful attacks. Her next patrol took her to the waters south of Greenland between 21 April and 29 May 1943, again  without result. Seventh patrol. "U-504"s final patrol began on 27 July 1943 under the newly promoted "Korvettenkapitän" Wilhelm Luis. On 30 July the U-boat was sunk with all 53 hands, north-west of Cape Ortegal, Spain, at position , by depth charges from the British s , , and . Wolfpacks. "U-504" took part in six wolfpacks, namely: