German submarine U-587

German submarine U-587 was a Type VIIC U-boat built for Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine for service during World War II. She was laid down on 31 October 1940 by Blohm & Voss, Hamburg as yard number 563, launched on 23 July 1941 and commissioned on 11 September 1941 under Korvettenkapitän Ulrich Borcherdt.

Design
German Type VIIC submarines were preceded by the shorter Type VIIB submarines. U-587 had a displacement of 769 t when at the surface and 871 t while submerged. She had a total length of 67.10 m, a pressure hull length of 50.50 m, a beam of 6.20 m, a height of 9.60 m, and a draught of 4.74 m. The submarine was powered by two Germaniawerft F46 four-stroke, six-cylinder supercharged diesel engines producing a total of 2800 to 3200 PS for use while surfaced, two Brown, Boveri & Cie GG UB 720/8 double-acting electric motors producing a total of 750 PS for use while submerged. She had two shafts and two 1.23 m propellers. The boat was capable of operating at depths of up to 230 m.

The submarine had a maximum surface speed of 17.7 kn and a maximum submerged speed of 7.6 kn. When submerged, the boat could operate for 80 nmi at 4 kn; when surfaced, she could travel 8500 nmi at 10 kn. U-587 was fitted with five 53.3 cm torpedo tubes (four fitted at the bow and one at the stern), fourteen torpedoes, one 8.8 cm SK C/35 naval gun, 220 rounds, and a 2 cm C/30 anti-aircraft gun. The boat had a complement of between forty-four and sixty.

Service history
The boat's short service career began on 11 September 1941 with training, followed by active service on 1 January 1942 as part of the 6th U-boat Flotilla. It ended just 3 months later when she was sunk in the North Atlantic.

In two patrols she sank four merchant ships, for a total of, plus one auxiliary warship sunk.

Wolfpacks
U-587 took part in one wolfpack, namely:
 * Robbe (15 – 24 January 1942)

Fate
U-587 was sunk on 27 March 1942 in the North Atlantic in position 47.35°N, -21.65°W; depth charged by Royal Navy vessels HMS Grove (L77), HMS Aldenham (L22), HMS Volunteer (D71) and HMS Leamington (G19). There were no survivors.