U-616

Type VIIC

Laid down 20 May 1941 Blohm & Voss, Hamburg
Commissioned 2 April 1942 Oblt. Johann Spindlegger
Commanders 04.42 - 10.42
10.42 - 05.44 Oblt. Johann Spindlegger
Oblt. Siegfried Koitschka
Career 9 patrols 04.42 - 12.42 8th Flotilla (Danzig)
01.43 - 05.43 6th Flotilla (St. Nazaire)
06.43 - 05.44 29th Flotilla (Toulon)
Successes Sank the US destroyer USS Buck (1,570 tons)
2 ships damaged for a total of 17,754 tons
Fate Scuttled on 17 May, 1944 in the Mediterranean east of Cartagena, in position 36.46N, 00.52E, after fatal damages from depth charges from the US destroyers USS Nields, Gleaves DD423, Ellyson, Macomb, Hambleton, Rodman and Emmons, and by depth charges from a British Wellington aircraft (Sqdn. 36/K), in a 3 day-long action. Entire crew, 53 men, survived in captivity.

U-616 attacked and damaged two allied merchants (the 10,627 ton US tanker G.S. Walden and the 7,127 ton British freighter Fort Fidler) on May 14, 1944 and immediately the allies began to swamp the area . Aircraft from 5 squadrons and eight American destroyers hunted the boat until it was defeated on May 17.

Only 5 hours later U-960 attacked the US destroyer USS Ellyson off Oran. The destroyer then had survivors from U-616 on board, but missed and another Swamp operation began which eventually caught and sank U-960 on May 19.

A Swamp operation is a method of ASW in which every available aircraft and/or destroyer in the contact area hurries to the submarines location. Intense searching and patrolling are employed. All possible roots of escape are cut off and suffocation methods are used to keep the submarine down with a large barrage of depth charges, etc. Eventually the submarine must come up to charge its batteries and refresh the air supply within the compartments. The submarines chances are almost nill to escape this tactic

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Information was provided by Uboat.net and Richard Angelini, Benson Class Destroyers Page

Type	VIIC
Laid down	20 May 1941	Blohm & Voss, Hamburg
Commissioned	2 April 1942	Oblt. Johann Spindlegger
Commanders	04.42 - 10.42 10.42 - 05.44	Oblt. Johann Spindlegger Oblt. Siegfried Koitschka
Career	9 patrols	04.42 - 12.42 8th Flotilla (Danzig) 01.43 - 05.43 6th Flotilla (St. Nazaire) 06.43 - 05.44 29th Flotilla (Toulon)
Successes	Sank the US destroyer USS Buck (1,570 tons) 2 ships damaged for a total of 17,754 tons
Fate	Scuttled on 17 May, 1944 in the Mediterranean east of Cartagena, in position 36.46N, 00.52E, after fatal damages from depth charges from the US destroyers USS Nields, Gleaves DD423, Ellyson, Macomb, Hambleton, Rodman and Emmons, and by depth charges from a British Wellington aircraft (Sqdn. 36/K), in a 3 day-long action. Entire crew, 53 men, survived in captivity.