UNITED STATES ATLANTIC FLEET
HEADQUARTERS OF
THE COMMANDER FOURTH FLEET
C/o FLEET POST OFFICE, NEW YORK, N.Y.
  S-E-C-R-E-T    
PRELIMINARY REPORT ON THE INTERROGATION OF SURVIVORS
 
OF SUBMARINE SUNK 30 JULY 1943 IN 08-28 S., 34-42 W.
 
 
BY 127-B-10.
 
     
  Number:  U-591.  
     
  Commander:  Oberleutnant Reimar Ziesmer.  
     
  Type:  500 Tons VII D.  
     
  Flotilla:  9th at Brest.  
     
  Device:  Sawfish (Flotilla Device) and Eagle's head.  
     
  Built:  Blohm & Voss, Hamburg.  
     
  Commissioned:  9 October 1941.  
     
  Armament:  Two 20 mm. A/A,  One on bandstand, one abaft bandstand.  
                     Note:  88 mm deck gun removed.  
                     4 Bow tubes, 1 stern tube.  
     
  Torpedoes:  12 carried in boat.  None in upper deck containers.  
     
  S.B.T.:  Fitted.  
     
  G.S.R.:  Fitted.  
     
  Radar:  Not fitted.  
     
  Hydrophones:  G.H.G. fitted.  K.D.B. not fitted.  
     
  Call Letters:  UJQ.  
     
  Diesels:  G.W.  
     
  Electric:  Braun, Boveri.  
     
     

 

     

UNITED STATES ATLANTIC FLEET
HEADQUARTERS OF
THE COMMANDER FOURTH FLEET
C/o FLEET POST OFFICE, NEW YORK, N.Y.
  S-E-C-R-E-T    
 
LAST CRUISE:  U-591 sailed from St. Nazaire on 26 June 1943 in company with 4 other U-boats.  Two of these were said to be commanded by HOLTORF and DIETRICH.  On leaving Brest they were preceded by a mine destructor vessel (SPERRBRECHER) and accompanied by fast mine sweepers.  The passage to their operational area appears to have been without incident and probably took about 4 weeks.  About the 22nd. or 23rd. of July they were sighted by an airplane and crash dived.  It was stated that 4 bombs were dropped, followed by 2 more shortly thereafter.  The resulting damage was negligible consisting of a few broken gauge glasses and electric light bulbs.
     
          On the 30th. of July U-591 was surprised on the surface by bomber # 10 of 127 squadron and received 6 depth charges accurately placed.  The plane had sighted the wake of the U-boat, distant about 10 miles, from an altitude of 4000 feet.  Completing his run down sun and into the wind the plane achieved complete surprise.  A few shots were fired from one 20 mm A/A gun which jammed.  The result of the bombing was instantaneous and disastrous.  The after A/A platform was blown off and a hole blown into the pressure hull abaft the conning tower.  Very few of the engine room personnel on watch escaped.  Twenty-eight survivors including the captain were rescued and brought into Recife by U.S.S. SAUCY.  
     
  EARLY HISTORY:  U-591 was commissioned on the 9th of October 1941 in Hamburg when Kapitänleutnant ZETSCHE took command.  Some weeks previous personnel were drafted to stand by final stages of construction.  The boat then left for the Baltic and after completing the usual trials and exercises returned to Hamburg for final overhaul.  U-591 then returned to Kiel to complete with torpedoes and sailed about 15th January 1942 for her first war patrol.  
     
  1st. WAR CRUISE:  U-591 sailed on her first patrol to an operational area in the North Atlantic.  She claims to have sunk one ship of 8000 tons.  After a voyage of 37 days she returned to BERGEN, in Norway and became a part of the 11th flotilla, arriving there about the 21st of February.  
     
  2nd WAR CRUISE:  Leaving Bergen about the 1st of April destined for the Arctic.  U-591 had the misfortune to ram U-657 commanded by GOLLNITZ.  Both boats were sufficiently damage to be forced to return for repairs.  U-591 put into TRONDHEIM arriving about the 10th of April and was repaired at a yard there.  
     
  3rd. WAR CRUISE:  Leaving trondheim at the beginning of May U-591 proceeded to an operational area in the Arctic.  With no successes to her credit this boat returned to Bergen at the beginning of June.  
     
 
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UNITED STATES ATLANTIC FLEET
HEADQUARTERS OF
THE COMMANDER FOURTH FLEET
C/o FLEET POST OFFICE, NEW YORK, N.Y.
  S-E-C-R-E-T    
 
4th WAR CRUISE:  Between the 20th and 25th July U-591 again left for the Arctic where once again she achieved no success.  Upon completion of her patrol she returned to Bergen in mid-August.  About the first of September she proceeded to Narvik to join other U-boats based there.  During the passage U-591 ran aground which somewhat damaged her pressure hull.  The assistance of tugs was necessary to pull her off.  She returned to Bergen and went into dry dock.  Repairs were affected and an overhaul was made at this time.
     
  5th WAR CRUISE:  On the 1st of December 1942 U-591 sailed from Bergen to an operational area in the North Atlantic.  She had two successes during this patrol one of which was MONTREAL CITY.  She returned to Brest on 12 January 1943 and became part of the 9th Flotilla.  
     
  6th WAR CRUISE:  Sometime between the 15th and 20th February she again sailed from Brest into the North Atlantic area.  During this patrol U-591 claims to have sunk one ship.  At the beginning of March U-591 sighted a survivor who was taken aboard.  He was described as being a Dutchman and to be the surviving 1st officer of the vessel MENDORA.  Mendora had been sunk by some other submarine.  He was aboard for 2 to 3 weeks and was transferred to a homeward bound 500 tonner.  Upon completing her patrol U-591 returned to St. Nazaire as the U-boat shelter were stated to be overcrowded at Brest.  
     
  7th WAR CRUISE:  Sailing from St. Nazaire on the 17th May U-591 suffered an attack by aircraft while in the Bay of Biscay.  The airplane was stated to have been a Sunderland.  While the damage from bombs was minor, machine gun fire from the tail gunner wounded several of the bridge watch among them the Captain, ZETSCHE.  U-591 put back to St. Nazaire arriving there on the 25th of May.  Zetsche went into hospital with a bullet through his shin.  About the 20th of June ZIESMER and his engineer officer, PIPAL, arrived to take over the boat as Zetsche was still in hospital.  
     
         U-591 left on her last patrol on 26th June 1943.  On this cruise she carried a doctor STABSZARZT FEIGS who was attached to the U-boat hospitals.  
     
     
     
     
     
     
 
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