1942

2 Feb 1942. U-581 was sunk off the island of Pico in the Azores by the British destroyer HMS Westcott. Leutnant Walter Sitek, the II. WO, managed to swim 6 km (4 miles) to shore at a point near the village of Guidaste, where he was rescued by the local inhabitants. He then managed to make his way to neutral Spain and in May 1942 returned to Germany, after which he served again in the U-Bootwaffe. Oblt. Sitek went on to command three boats - U-17, U-981 and U-3005 - and survived the war. The other survivors from U-581 were rescued by HMS Westcott and HMS Croome and ended up as prisoners of war, not being released until 1947.

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We have no recorded attacks on U-581 on this date (prior to its loss).

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