German submarine U-536

German submarine U-536 was a Type IXC U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II.

She was laid down at the Deutsche Werft (yard) in Hamburg as yard number 354 on 13 March 1942, launched on 21 October and commissioned on 13 January 1943 with Kapitänleutnant Rolf Schauenburg in command.

U-536 began her service career with training as part of the 4th U-boat Flotilla from 13 January 1943. She was reassigned to the 2nd flotilla for operations on 1 June.

She carried out two patrols, but did not sink any ships. She was a member of one wolfpack.

She was sunk by the British frigate HMS Nene (K270) and Canadian corvette HMCS Snowberry (K166) on 19 or 20 November 1943 while she was attacking Convoy SL 139/MKS 30 northeast of the Azores.

Design
German Type IXC/40 submarines were slightly larger than the original Type IXCs. U-536 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-536 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.

First patrol
The boat departed Kiel on 1 June 1943, moved through the North Sea, negotiated the gap between Iceland and the Faroe Islands and entered the Atlantic Ocean. She entered Lorient, on the French Atlantic coast, on 9 July.

Second patrol and loss
Her second foray took her as far as the Gulf of St. Lawrence, where she participated in Operation Kiebitz, an unsuccessful attempt to rescue four U-boat commanders from a prisoner of war camp in Bowmanville, east of Toronto. U-536 successfully escaped from a trap carefully laid by the Royal Canadian Navy and Royal Canadian Mounted Police at the point on the New Brunswick coast where she was to pick up the escapees on September 26, 1943. However, less than two months later, on 20 November, she was sunk northeast of the Azores by depth charges from a British frigate, HMS Nene (K270), and two Canadian corvettes, HMCS Snowberry (K166) and HMCS Calgary (K231).

Thirty-eight men died; there were seventeen survivors.

Wolfpacks
U-536 took part in one wolfpack, namely:
 * Schill 2 (17 – 20 November 1943)