U-582 Schulte 13-Apr-1942 20 days
Having begun its patrol on the 19th of March intending to escort the German blockade-runner Rio Grandefrom Japan into Europe, the boat instead patrolled to the west. Towards the end of April U-582 was refueled by U-459 roughly 500 miles northeast of Bermuda, which would explain its proximity to that island. There were no ships struck by Schulte on this patrol, which ended in Brest on the 24th of May 1942 (Wynn, Vol. 2, p.54).
U-582 sailed from and two Brest, where it was based with the First Flotilla. Its only commander was KorvettenkapitänSchulte, whose career total was six ships sunk for 38,826 GRT and one 46-ton warship lost aboard a transport ship sunk. Schulte was not able to engage any Allied ships during this 67-day patrol, which ranged from off Nova Scotia to Cape Hatteras south to Bermuda.
Werner Schulte was born in Kiel on 7 November 1912 and joined the Kriegsmaine in 1937 as the A Crew of that year. After serving on the Köningsberg he moved ashore to a staff position in Norway. He joined U-boats in October 1940. As part of his training he served under Robert Gysae on U-98. He took the sub on four patrols and sank six ships with her. His promotion from Kapitänleutnantto Korvettenkapitänwas posthumous, as Schulte was killed with 46 others when U-582 was found and sunk by Catalina aircraft on the 5th of October 1942 off the southwest of Iceland (Niestle, 1988).