German submarine U-578  German submarine "U-578" was a Type VIIC U-boat of Nazi Germany's "Kriegsmarine" during World War II. She carried out five patrols, sank four ships of and sank a warship of 1,090 tons. She was posted missing in the Bay of Biscay from August 1942, with no explanation for her loss. German Type VIIC submarines were preceded by the shorter Type VIIB submarines. "U-578" had a displacement of when at the surface and while submerged. She had a total length of , a pressure hull length of , a beam of , a height of , and a draught of . The submarine was powered by two Germaniawerft F46 four-stroke, six-cylinder supercharged diesel engines producing a total of for use while surfaced, two Brown, Boveri & Cie GG UB 720/8 double-acting electric motors producing a total of for use while submerged. She had two shafts and two propellers. The boat was capable of operating at depths of up to . The submarine had a maximum surface speed of and a maximum submerged speed of . When submerged, the boat could operate for at ; when surfaced, she could travel at . "U-578" was fitted with five torpedo tubes (four fitted at the bow and one at the stern), fourteen torpedoes, one SK C/35 naval gun, 220 rounds, and a C/30 anti-aircraft gun. The boat had a complement of between forty-four and sixty. The submarine was laid down on 1 August 1940 at Blohm & Voss, Hamburg as yard number 554, launched on 15 May 1941 and commissioned on 10 July under the command of "Fregattenkapitän" Ernst-August Rehwinkel. She served with the 5th U-boat Flotilla from 10 July 1941 and the 7th U-boat Flotilla for training from 1 September. She stayed with the latter organization for operations until her loss, from 1 October 1941 to 6 August 1942. "U-432"s first patrol was from Kirkenes in Norway, she was rammed by a Soviet escort on 25 November 1941 off the Kola Peninsula; damage was slight. She arrived back at Kirkenes on the 27th. She then headed for the Atlantic Ocean via the gap separating the Faroe and Shetland Islands. She arrived at St. Nazaire in occupied France, on 28 January 1942.