List of all U-boats
U-578
Type | VIIC | |||||||||||||
Ordered | 8 Jan 1940 | |||||||||||||
Laid down | 1 Aug 1940 | Blohm & Voss, Hamburg (werk 554) | ||||||||||||
Launched | 15 May 1941 | |||||||||||||
Commissioned | 10 Jul 1941 | Korvkpt. Ernst-August Rehwinkel | ||||||||||||
Commanders |
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Career 5 patrols |
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Successes | 4 ships sunk, total tonnage 23,635 GRT 1 warship sunk, total tonnage 1,090 tons | |||||||||||||
Fate |
Missing since 6 August 1942 in the Bay of Biscay. No explanation exists for its loss. 49 dead (all hands lost). (Axel Niestlé, November 1995). | |||||||||||||
Loss position |
U-578 left St. Nazaire for a patrol in the North Atlantic on 6 August 1942 and was posted missing on 11 August after failing to report its passage of the Bay of Biscay.
Previously recorded fate
- Sunk 10 Aug, 1942 in the Bay of Biscay north of Cape Ortegal, Spain, in position 45.49N, 07.44W, by depth charges from a Czechoslovakian aircraft (Czech. Sqdn. 311/H). (Postwar assessment)
Notes. This attack was directed against the U-135 inflicting minor damage.
Wolfpack operations
U-578 operated with the following Wolfpacks during its career:
Schlei (16 Jan 1942 - 24 Jan 1942)
Hecht (9 May 1942 - 11 May 1942)
Pfadfinder (21 May 1942 - 27 May 1942)
Attacks on this boat and other events
25 Nov 1941
The boat was rammed by a Soviet escort in the Barents Sea, but suffered only slight damage.
1 recorded attack on this boat.
Men lost from U-boats
Unlike many other U-boats, which during their service lost men due to accidents and various other causes, U-578 did not suffer any casualties (we know of) until the time of her loss.
U-boat Emblems
We have 2 emblem entries for this boat. See the emblem page for this boat or view emblems individually below.
The Snorting Bull - U-47 |
Swayatoi-noss |
Media links
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