U-557 1941
Marker: recorded wreck position (Second World War).
Key facts
| Name | U-557 | Wikidata label |
|---|---|---|
| Year lost | 1941 | Wikidata P793 significant event, point-in-time qualifier |
| Era | Second World War | derived from year |
| Ship type | U-boat | Wikidata P31 instance of |
| Cause of loss | Collision | Keyword match in English Wikipedia lead sentence |
| Nationality / flag | Nazi Germany | Wikidata P8047 country of registry |
| Operator | Kriegsmarine | Wikidata P137 operator |
| Conflict | Mediterranean U-boat Campaign | Wikidata P607 conflict |
| Sea / ocean | Mediterranean Sea | Natural Earth marine areas (public domain), point-in-polygon |
| Nearest coast | Greece | Natural Earth (public domain); approx. 34 km from land |
| Position | 35.3100, 23.1900 | Wikidata P793 significant event, coordinate qualifier (CC0) |
About the wreck
German submarine U-557 was a Type VIIC U-boat built for Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine for service during World War II. She was laid down on 6 January 1940, launched on 22 December 1940 and commissioned on 13 February 1941. Oberleutnant zur See Ottokar Arnold Paulssen was in command throughout her career. For her first three war patrols her 2nd Watch Officer was Herbert Werner, who later wrote the memoir of U-boat service, Iron Coffins. She sank six merchant ships and one warship, a total of 31,729 gross register tons (GRT) and 5,220 tons over four patrols.
She was rammed and sunk by mistake by an Italian torpedo boat on 16 December 1941 west of Crete.
Location
- Recorded position: 35.3100, 23.1900 (Wikidata P793 significant event, coordinate qualifier (CC0); may be approximate)
- Sea / ocean: Mediterranean Sea
- Nearest coast: Greece
Wreck positions on this site are for interest only and are not for navigation. Many wrecks are war graves or legally protected: never disturb human remains or remove artefacts, and check local law before diving.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article German submarine U-557 (revision 1367322106), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; condensed by selecting paragraphs; citations and formatting removed. No text added. This excerpt is available under the same licence.
Wreck facts from Wikidata (CC0).
Nearby wrecks
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Other wrecks of the Mediterranean U-boat Campaign
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Browse more: Europe wrecks · wrecks off Greece · Mediterranean Sea · Second World War