History
Name	U-533
Ordered	10 April 1941
Builder	Deutsche Werft, Hamburg
Yard number	351
Laid down	17 February 1942
Launched	11 September 1942
Commissioned	25 November 1942
Fate	Sunk, 16 October 1943
General characteristics
Type	Type IXC/40 submarine
Displacement	list error: <br /> list (help) 1,120 t (1,100 long tons) surfaced 1,232 t (1,213 long tons) submerged
Length	list error: <br /> list (help) 76.8 m (252 ft 0 in) o/a 58.7 m (192 ft 7 in) pressure hull
Beam	list error: <br /> list (help) 6.9 m (22 ft 8 in) o/a 4.4 m (14 ft 5 in) pressure hull
Height	9.6 m (31 ft 6 in)
Draft	4.7 m (15 ft 5 in)
Propulsion	list error: <br /> list (help) 2 × MAN M9V40/46 supercharged 9-cylinder diesel engines, 4,400 hp (3,281 kW) 2 × SSW GU345/34 double-acting electric motors, 1,000 hp (746 kW)
Speed	list error: <br /> list (help) 19 knots (35 km/h) surfaced 7.3 knots (13.5 km/h) submerged
Range	list error: <br /> list (help) 25,620 nmi (47,450 km) at 10 knots (19 km/h) surfaced 117 nmi (217 km) at 4 kn (7.4 km/h) submerged
Test depth	230 m (750 ft)
Complement	48 to 56
Armament	list error: <br /> list (help) • 6 × torpedo tubes (4 bow, 2 stern) • 22 × 533 mm (21 in) torpedoes • 1 × Utof 105 mm/45 deck gun (110 rounds) • AA guns
Service record[1][2]
Part of:	list error: <br /> list (help) 4th U-boat Flotilla (25 November 1942–30 April 1943) 10th U-boat Flotilla (1 May–16 October 1943)
Commanders:	list error: <br /> list (help) Kptlt. Helmut Hennig (25 November 1942–16 October 1943)
Operations:	list error: <br /> list (help) 1st patrol: 15 April–24 May 1943 2nd patrol: 5 July–16 October 1943
Victories:	None

German submarine U-533 was a Type IXC/40 U-boat of the German Kriegsmarine during World War II. The submarine was laid down on 17 February 1942 at the Deutsche Werft yard at Hamburg, launched on 11 September 1942, and commissioned on 25 November 1942 under the command of Kapitänleutnant Helmut Hennig. After training with 4. Unterseebootsflottille in the Baltic Sea, U-533 was transferred to 10. Unterseebootsflottille for front-line service on 1 May 1943.

Service history

1st patrol

U-533 departed Kiel on 15 April 1943, and sailed out into the Atlantic, but came under repeated attack from Allied aircraft, giving it very little opportunity to cause any damage to shipping.

On 24 April the U-boat was attacked by a Hudson light bomber of No. 269 Squadron RAF. U-533 was moderately damaged by the attack, defending itself with its deck guns. The next day, 25 April, the U-boat was again attacked from the air, this time by an American PBY-5A Catalina of United States Navy squadron VP-84. Three of the U-boat's gun crew were injured, but the U-boat was not severely damaged. On 20 May U-533 was attacked by an Halifax heavy bomber of No. 502 Squadron RAF, without suffering any serious damage. The U-boat arrived at her new home port of Lorient, France, on 24 May after 40 days at sea.^[3]

2nd patrol

On 5 July 1943 the U-boat sailed from Lorient, through the Atlantic, around the Cape of Good Hope, into the Indian Ocean, and up to the mouth of the Persian Gulf.^[4]

Operating as part of the Monsun Gruppe, on 16 October she was sunk in the Gulf of Oman, in position 25°28′N 56°50′E / 25.467°N 56.833°E / 25.467; 56.833, by depth charges from a British Blenheim light bomber of No. 244 Squadron RAF,^[1] piloted by Lewis William Chapman.^[5] Of the crew of 53, only one survived; Matrosengefreite Günther Schmidt, who was with an officer in the conning tower. The officer succeeded in opening the hatch, even though the submarine had sunk to a depth of 60 metres (200 ft). Without escape sets, the water pressure shot both men to the surface. Schmidt kept the unconscious officer afloat for an hour before he died, and Schmidt swam and stayed afloat without a life jacket for 28 hours until he was rescued by the HMS Hiravati near Khor Fakkan.^[6] Schmidt spent the remainder of the war as a POW. Chapman received the Distinguished Flying Medal for his action.^[6]

In 2009, divers found the wreck of U-533 at a depth of 108 metres (354 ft) some 25 nautical miles (46 km) off the coast of Fujairah.^[6]