She carried out four patrols, sank six ships of 38,826 GRT and sank a warship of 46 tons (lost aboard a transport ship).
The boat was sunk by depth charges from a US aircraft, southwest of Iceland on 5 October 1942.
Design
German Type VIIC submarines were preceded by the shorter Type VIIB submarines. U-582 had a displacement of 769 tonnes (757 long tons) when at the surface and 871 tonnes (857 long tons) while submerged.[3] She had a total length of 67.10 m (220 ft 2 in), a pressure hull length of 50.50 m (165 ft 8 in), a beam of 6.20 m (20 ft 4 in), a height of 9.60 m (31 ft 6 in), and a draught of 4.74 m (15 ft 7 in). The submarine was powered by two Germaniawerft F46 four-stroke, six-cylinder superchargeddiesel engines producing a total of 2,800 to 3,200 metric horsepower (2,060 to 2,350 kW; 2,760 to 3,160 shp) for use while surfaced, two Brown, Boveri & Cie GG UB 720/8 double-acting electric motors producing a total of 750 metric horsepower (550 kW; 740 shp) for use while submerged. She had two shafts and two 1.23 m (4 ft) propellers. The boat was capable of operating at depths of up to 230 metres (750 ft).[3]
The submarine had a maximum surface speed of 17.7 knots (32.8 km/h; 20.4 mph) and a maximum submerged speed of 7.6 knots (14.1 km/h; 8.7 mph).[3] When submerged, the boat could operate for 80 nautical miles (150 km; 92 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph); when surfaced, she could travel 8,500 nautical miles (15,700 km; 9,800 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph). U-582 was fitted with five 53.3 cm (21 in) torpedo tubes (four fitted at the bow and one at the stern), fourteen torpedoes, one 8.8 cm (3.46 in) SK C/35 naval gun, 220 rounds, and a 2 cm (0.79 in) C/30 anti-aircraft gun. The boat had a complement of between forty-four and sixty.[3]
She served with the 5th U-boat Flotilla from 7 August 1941 for training and the 1st U-boat Flotilla for operations until her loss, from 1 January until 5 October 1942.
First patrol
U-582's first patrol was preceded by a diversion to Trondheim in Norway to replace the stud bolts of her exhaust valves.[4] She left the Nordic port on 3 January 1942 and headed for the Atlantic Ocean via the gap separating the Faroe and Shetland Islands. A lookout broke an arm in bad weather on the tenth, but she sank the Refast on the 26th off St. Johns.
She arrived at Brest in occupied France, on 7 February.
Second patrol
Her second foray took her to the US east coast, but the pickings were thin, she returned to Brest on 24 May 1942 without any successes.
Third patrol
She sank the Port Hunter on 12 July 1942 370 nautical miles (690 km; 430 mi) west southwest of Madeira. The ship had been carrying ammunition and depth charges as well as HMNZS ML-1090, a 46-tons patrol craft being taken from Britain to New Zealand as deck cargo. Debris from the exploding ship was found on the U-boat's casing.
She also sank the Empire Attendant a few days later (15 July) southwest of the Canary Islands.
When she sank the Honolulan on 22 July 400 nautical miles (740 km; 460 mi) south of the Cape Verde Islands, the vessel went down with her steam whistle still sounding, some two hours after being hit.
U-582 disposed of the Stella Lykes 500 nautical miles (930 km; 580 mi) south of Fogo in the Cape Verde Islands on 27 July 1942 with seven demolition charges placed by a boarding party in the abandoned ship. The U-boat had fired two torpedoes and 161 rounds from her deck gun but she remained afloat. The master and chief engineer were taken prisoner; the ship sank by the stern.
Fourth patrol and loss
The submarine left Brest for the last time on 14 September 1942. On the 23rd, she sank the Vibran about 400 nautical miles (740 km; 460 mi) north northeast of the Azores.
She was sunk on 5 October 1942 by depth charges dropped by a US PBY Catalina from VP-73 southwest of Iceland.
Forty-six men died with U-582; there were no survivors.
Previously recorded fate
U-582 was sunk on 5 October 1942 by a British Lockheed Hudson of No. 269 Squadron RAF. It was later ascertained that this attack sank the sub was sunk by Catalina pby-5a with bu no 2459, owned by a Dutch group of aviation enthousiastsU-619.
^Gannon, Michael – Operation Drumbeat – the dramatic true story of Germany's first U-boat attacks along the American coast in World War II, 1990, Harper and Row publishers, ISBN0-06-016155-8, p. 133
^Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit by U-582". German U-boats of WWII – uboat.net. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
Bibliography
Busch, Rainer; Röll, Hans-Joachim (1999). German U-boat commanders of World War II : a biographical dictionary. Translated by Brooks, Geoffrey. London, Annapolis, Md: Greenhill Books, Naval Institute Press. ISBN1-55750-186-6.
