German submarine U-553 was a Type VIIC U-boat

U-boat

U-boat is the anglicized version of the German word U-Boot , itself an abbreviation of Unterseeboot , and refers to military submarines operated by Germany, particularly in World War I and World War II...

 built for the German

Nazi Germany

Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...

 Kriegsmarine

Kriegsmarine

The Kriegsmarine was the name of the German Navy during the Nazi regime . It superseded the Kaiserliche Marine of World War I and the post-war Reichsmarine. The Kriegsmarine was one of three official branches of the Wehrmacht, the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany.The Kriegsmarine grew rapidly...

 for service during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

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History

Her keel was laid down 21 November 1939, by Blohm + Voss of Hamburg

Hamburg

-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...

. She was commissioned 23 December 1940, with Kapitänleutnant Karl Thurmann in command. Thurmann commanded her for her entire career.

On 25 April 1941 major engine trouble forced U-553 to return to base.

On 20 January 1943, U-553 sent a radio message: "Sehrohr unklar" (periscope unready for action), and was never heard from again. She had suffered no casualties to her crew until lost with all hands.

Ships sunk

U-553 conducted ten patrols, sinking 14 ships totalling 71,779 tons and damaging one other totalling 8,106 tons.

• SS Susan Maersk (2,355 GRT
  Gross Register Tonnage
  Gross register tonnage a ship's total internal volume expressed in "register tons", one of which equals to a volume of . It is calculated from the total permanently enclosed capacity of the vessel. The ship's net register tonnage is obtained by reducing the volume of non-revenue-earning spaces i.e...
  
  ), sunk 12 June 1941.
• SS Ranella (5,590 GRT), sunk 12 June 1941.
• SS Ila (1,583 GRT), sunk October 1941.
• MV Silvercedar (4,354 GRT), sunk 15 October 1941.
• SS Bold Venture (3,222 GRT), sunk 17 October 1941.
• MV Diala (8,106 GRT), damaged 15 January 1942.
• SS Innerøy (8,260 GRT), sunk 22 January 1942.
• SS Leto (4,712 GRT), sunk 12 May 1942.
• SS Nicoya (5,364 GRT), sunk 12 May 1942.
• MV Mattawin (6,919 GRT), sunk 2 June 1942.
• SS Belgian Soldier (7,167 GRT), sunk 3 August 1942.
• MV Blankaholm (2,845 GRT), sunk 18 August 1942. (6,959 GRT), damaged 18 August 1942, sunk by gunfire from .
• SS John Hancock (7,176 GRT), sunk 18 August 1942.
• MV Charles L D (5,273 GRT), sunk 9 December 1942.

U-553 in fiction

Neal Stephenson

Neal Stephenson

Neal Town Stephenson is an American writer known for his works of speculative fiction.Difficult to categorize, his novels have been variously referred to as science fiction, historical fiction, cyberpunk, and postcyberpunk...

's novel Cryptonomicon

Cryptonomicon

Cryptonomicon is a 1999 novel by American author Neal Stephenson. The novel follows the exploits of two groups of people in two different time periods, presented in alternating chapters...

includes a fictitious U-553 which runs aground about ten miles north of Qwghlm, a fictional pair of islands, Inner Qwghlm and Outer Qwghlm, off the northwestern coast of Great Britain

Great Britain

Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...

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