U-559 1942
Marker: recorded wreck position (Second World War).
Key facts
| Name | U-559 | Wikidata label |
|---|---|---|
| Year lost | 1942 | Wikidata P793 significant event, point-in-time qualifier |
| Era | Second World War | derived from year |
| Ship type | U-boat | Wikidata P31 instance of |
| Nationality / flag | Nazi Germany | Wikidata P8047 country of registry |
| Operator | Kriegsmarine | Wikidata P137 operator |
| Conflict | Battle of the Atlantic | Wikidata P607 conflict |
| Sea / ocean | Mediterranean Sea | Natural Earth marine areas (public domain), point-in-polygon |
| Position | 32.5000, 33.0000 | Wikidata P793 significant event, coordinate qualifier (CC0) |
About the wreck
German submarine U-559 was a Type VIIC U-boat built for Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine for service during World War II.
Laid down on 1 February 1940 at the Blohm & Voss shipyards in Hamburg as "Baunummer 535" ("Yard number 535"), she was launched on 8 January 1941 and commissioned on 27 February under Kapitänleutnant Hans Heidtmann.
She began her service career with the 1st U-boat Flotilla, undergoing training before being declared operational on 1 June 1941. She moved to the 29th U-boat Flotilla on 15 April 1942. She sank five ships but is perhaps best remembered for an incident during her sinking in the Mediterranean Sea in 1942, in which British sailors seized cryptographic material from her. This material was extremely valuable in breaking the U-boat Enigma machine cipher.
Location
- Recorded position: 32.5000, 33.0000 (Wikidata P793 significant event, coordinate qualifier (CC0); may be approximate)
- Sea / ocean: Mediterranean Sea
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-559 (revision 1367187652), 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).
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Browse more: Open ocean wrecks · Mediterranean Sea · Second World War