German submarine U-526

German submarine U-526 was a Type IXC/40 U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine built for service during World War II.

Her keel was laid down on 14 October 1941 by the Deutsche Werft in Hamburg as yard number 341. She was launched on 3 June 1942 and commissioned on 12 August with Kapitänleutnant Hans Möglich in command.

The U-boat's service began with training as part of the 4th U-boat Flotilla on 12 August 1942. She then moved to the 10th flotilla on 1 February 1943 for operations.

She was a member of four wolfpacks.

She carried out one patrol and sank no ships.

She was sunk by mines in the Bay of Biscay on 14 April 1943.

Design
German Type IXC/40 submarines were slightly larger than the original Type IXCs. U-526 had a displacement of 1144 t when at the surface and 1257 t while submerged. The U-boat had a total length of 76.76 m, a pressure hull length of 58.75 m, a beam of 6.86 m, a height of 9.60 m, and a draught of 4.67 m. The submarine was powered by two MAN M 9 V 40/46 supercharged four-stroke, nine-cylinder diesel engines producing a total of 4400 PS for use while surfaced, two Siemens-Schuckert 2 GU 345/34 double-acting electric motors producing a total of 1000 shp for use while submerged. She had two shafts and two 1.92 m propellers. The boat was capable of operating at depths of up to 230 m.

The submarine had a maximum surface speed of 18.3 kn and a maximum submerged speed of 7.3 kn. When submerged, the boat could operate for 63 nmi at 4 kn; when surfaced, she could travel 13850 nmi at 10 kn. U-526 was fitted with six 53.3 cm torpedo tubes (four fitted at the bow and two at the stern), 22 torpedoes, one 10.5 cm SK C/32 naval gun, 180 rounds, and a 3.7 cm SK C/30 as well as a 2 cm C/30 anti-aircraft gun. The boat had a complement of forty-eight.

Patrol and loss
The submarine's only patrol was preceded by short passages from Kiel in Germany to Kristiansand then Bergen in Norway over January 1943. She left Bergen and sailed across the North Sea and into the Atlantic Ocean through the 'gap' between Iceland and the Faroe Islands. Following extensive sweeps in the middle of the North Atlantic, she was crossing the Bay of Biscay and had almost reached Lorient when she encountered mines and was sunk on 14 April 1943. Forty-two men died, but there were twelve survivors.