German submarine U-597

German submarine U-597 was a Type VIIC U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II.

She was a member of eight wolfpacks, carried out two patrols but sank no ships.

She was sunk southwest of Iceland by a British aircraft on 12 October 1942.

Design
German Type VIIC submarines were preceded by the shorter Type VIIB submarines. U-597 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-597 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 submarine was laid down on 13 January 1941 at Blohm & Voss, Hamburg as yard number 573, launched on 1 October and commissioned on 20 November under the command of Kapitänleutnant Eberhard Bopst.

She served with the 8th U-boat Flotilla from 20 November 1941 for training and the 1st flotilla from 1 July 1942 for operations.

First patrol
U-597 departed Kiel on 27 June 1942 and headed for the Atlantic Ocean. Her route took her through the gap between Iceland and the Faroe Islands toward Newfoundland

She arrived in Brest in occupied France on 16 August.

Second patrol and loss
She departed Brest on 16 September and was sunk less than a month later on 12 October by depth charges dropped by a British B-24 Liberator of No. 120 Squadron RAF piloted by Squadron Leader Terry Bulloch.

Forty-nine men died in U-597; there were no survivors.

Wolfpacks
U-597 took part in eight wolfpacks, namely:
 * Wolf (13 – 30 July 1942)
 * Pirat (30 July – 3 August 1942)
 * Steinbrinck (3 – 11 August 1942)
 * Blitz (22 – 26 September 1942)
 * Tiger (26 – 30 September 1942)
 * Luchs (1 – 6 October 1942)
 * Panther (6 – 12 October 1942)
 * Leopard (12 October 1942)