The Type IXC U-boat U-507 was launched on July 15, 1941 at Deutsche Werft AG in Hamburg. She was commissioned on October 8, 1941 under the command of Korvettenkapitan Harro Schacht. Like most of the U-boats operating in the Gulf of Mexico, she was assigned to the 2nd U-boat Flotilla, operating out of Lorient, France.

On April 4, 1942 U-507 sailed from Lorient on her second war patrol. The victims of U-507 in the Gulf of Mexico included:

Harro Schacht, commander of U-507. U-Boot Archiv.

Schacht's remarkable patrol accounted for 48,462 tons of Allied shipping sunk or damaged in the Gulf of Mexico. Upon his return to Lorient on June 6, 1944, Schacht was awarded the Iron Cross, First Class. The following January he was officially awarded the famed Knight's Cross, but never lived to wear it, as U-507 was sunk just four days later.

On her next patrol, U-507 assisted in rescuing survivors of the infamous Laconia Incident. In September 1942, U-156 torpedoed and sank a large British ocean liner, Laconia. After the sinking it was discovered that the ship had been carrying nearly 2,000 Italian prisoners captured in the North African campaign. U-156 immediately began rescue operations and called two other U-boats in the area, U-506 and U-507, to assist. The commander of U-156 also sent out a clear, uncoded message that he was conducting rescue operations and would not attack any vessel so long as he was not attacked himself. Four days later, as the three U-boats towed Laconia's lifeboats toward the African coast, they were attacked by an American Liberator aircraft. The U-boats were forced to cut their tow lines and dive to escape the aircraft. The German commander-in-chief of U-boats, Karl Dönitz, subsequently issued what became known as the "Laconia Order," which forbade U-boat captains from attempting to rescue or provide any assistance to survivors of ships they'd torpedoed. After the war Dönitz was charged with war crimes, and the Laconia Order was specifically mentioned as an example of this. Dönitz successfully defended himself on this charge when he pointed out that U.S. submarines operating in the Pacific followed exactly the same procedures.

A photo of a German U-boat, believed to be U-507, under attack by a PBY5-A of VP83. Image courtesy Larry Goodell
and the Naval Liberators and Privateers website, navylib.com.

U-507 completed a total of four war patrols. On January 13, 1943, during her fifth war patrol, U-507 was attacked and sunk by an American Catalina flying boat from the Patrol Squadron 83. All 55 men aboard, including Schacht, were lost.

The crew of U-507 adopted a picture of Bonzo, a popular cartoon dog, as their emblem.

Sources: Uboat.net; U-Boat Emblems of World War II, 1939-1945 by Georg Högel.