U 166 (Navy)

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U 166 (Kriegsmarine)
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Type : IX C
Field Post Number : M-35 882
Shipyard: Seebeck shipyard , Geestemünde
Construction contract: September 25, 1938
Build number: 705
Keel laying: December 6, 1940
Launch: November 1, 1941
Commissioning: March 23, 1942
Commanders:

March 24, 1942 - July 30, 1942:
Oberleutnant zur See Hans-Günther Kuhlmann

Calls: 2 patrols
Sinkings:

4 ships (7,593 GRT)

Whereabouts: Sunk on July 30, 1942 in the Gulf of Mexico

U 166 was a German submarine from the Type IX C , which in World War II by the German navy was used.

Technology and history

U 166 was a submersible for oceanic use. It was a two-hull type submarine and had a displacement of 1,120 t above and 1,232 t under water. It had a length of 76.76 m , a width of 6.76 m and a draft of 4.70 m. With the two 2,200 PS MAN nine-cylinder four-stroke diesel engines M 9 V 40/46 with supercharging, a top speed over water of 18.3 knots could be achieved. At 10 knots, 12,000 nautical miles could be covered. The two 500 PS SSM double E-machines GU 345/34 had 2 × 62 battery cells AFA type 44 MAL 740 W. A top speed of 7.3 knots could be achieved under water. A distance of 64 nautical miles could be covered at 4 knots. 22 torpedoes or up to 44 TMA or 66 TMB mines could be ejected from 4 bow and 2 stern torpedo tubes . The diving depth was 100–200 m. The quick dive time was 35 seconds. It had a 10.5-cm Utof L / 45 gun with 180 rounds and 1 × 3.7-cm anti-aircraft weapons with 2,625 rounds, 1 × 2-cm anti-aircraft weapons with 4,250 rounds. From 1943/44, the 10.5 cm cannon was removed from this type of boat and 4 × 2 cm twin anti-aircraft guns with 8,500 rounds were installed. The crew could consist of 4 officers and 44 men. The cost of building was 6,448,000 Reichsmarks .

The order for the boat was awarded to the Seebeck shipyard in Geestemünde on September 25, 1939 . The keel was laid on December 6, 1940, the launch on November 1, 1941, the commissioning under Oberleutnant zur See Hans-Günther Kuhlmann finally took place on March 23, 1942.

U 166 was part of 23 March 1942 to 31 May 1942 as the training boat of the 4th U-Flotilla in Szczecin and from 1 June 1942 until its sinking on 30 July 1942 as the front boat 10. U-Flotilla in Lorient on .

It completed two enemy voyages on which it was able to sink four ships with 7,593 GRT . U 166 was sunk on July 30, 1942 in the Gulf of Mexico by US naval forces. There were no survivors.

For years it was believed that U 166 was sunk on August 1, 1942 off New Orleans in the Mississippi estuary by the Grumman Widgeon Y of Squadron 212 of the US Coast Guard. That turned out to be a mistake. The attacked boat was not U 166 , but U 171 operating in the same sea area , which survived this attack without damage.

In 2001 U 166 was discovered in the Gulf of Mexico about 70 kilometers from the assumed sinking point at a depth of 1,500 m during exploratory work for a planned oil pipeline of the oil companies Shell and BP . The submarine was only six kilometers from the sinking site of its last victim, the steamer Robert E. Lee . The place where U 166 lies has been declared a war grave , as all 52 seamen on board were killed. The declaration of a war grave prevented any future efforts to recover the boat.

In 2014, a research vessel operated by the Ocean Exploration Trust - founded in 2008 by Robert Ballard , took detailed video close-ups of the wreck lying in the depths. The project was supported by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Geographic Society .

Commanders

Hans-Günther Kuhlmann

Hans-Günther Kuhlmann was born on November 12, 1913 in Cologne-Sülz. He joined the Navy in January 1937 . As an officer candidate he was integrated into crew 37a (also referred to as crew IV / 37). After training and various courses, he passed the officers' main examination. In September 1939 he was a torpedo officer on the heavy cruiser Blücher . In January 1940 he switched to the submarine weapon and became III, from June 1940 II and finally in November 1940 I officer on watch on U 37 . After a commanders course in February - March 1941 with the 24th U-Flotilla in Memel , he took command of the school boat U 7 in Pillau on March 30, 1941 . In June 1941 he took part in the building instruction for U 580 at the warship building training department U-Nord in Bremen and became its commander on July 24, 1941. He had no luck with this boat, it sank while he was still training after a collision in the Baltic Sea. Since a new command was not immediately available, he came to Kiel at the disposal of the 5th U-Flotilla. In January 1942 the next command came, he took part in the building instruction for U 166 at the 6th warship building training department in Bremen and became its commander on March 24, 1942. But he wasn't lucky with this boat either. After the second operation and four sunk ships, U 166 was sunk on July 30, 1942 by an American warship in the Gulf of Mexico with the entire crew. Hans-Günther Kuhlmann was 28 years old. His last rank was first lieutenant at sea (October 1, 1940).

Use statistics

First venture

The boat ran at 7.00 am on 30 May 1942 from Kiel made. U 166 operated in the North Atlantic during the transfer voyage to France .

On May 31, 1942 at 3:25 p.m. U 166 entered Kristiansand to replenish fuel and water . It left there again on June 1, 1942 at 4:00 a.m.

After nine days at sea and a distance of around 2,470 nm, the U 166 arrived in Lorient on June 10, 1942 at 9.30 a.m. It could not sink or damage any ships on this venture.

Second venture

The boat left Lorient on June 16, 1942. U 166 operated in the Central Atlantic , the West Atlantic , the Caribbean , the Gulf of Mexico and a mine abandonment off the Mississippi estuary. On June 16, 1942, the boat entered Brest to take over the mine , and on June 17, 1942, it left for the enterprise.

  • On July 11, 1942, the Dominican sailing ship Carmen ( Lage ) with 84 GRT was sunk by artillery in the Caribbean . It had loaded 2,000 sacks of corn and precious woods and was on its way from Puerto Plata to Ponce . There was one dead and eight survivors.
  • On July 13, 1942, the American steamer Oneida ( Lage ) with 2,309 GRT was sunk by a torpedo in the Caribbean two miles north of Cape Maysi . He drove in ballast and was on the way from San Juan to Punta Gorda (Cuba) . There were six dead and 29 survivors. The ship belonged to convoy NG-359.
  • On July 16, 1942, the US sailing ship Gertrude ( Lage ) with 16 GRT was stopped in the Caribbean 30 nm northeast of Havana and sunk by an explosive cartridge. He had loaded 20 tons of onions and was on his way from Miami to Havana (Cuba). There were no casualties, three survivors.
  • On July 25, 1942, U 166 laid nine TMC mines in the Mississippi estuary. However, these remained ineffective.
  • On July 30, 1942, the American steamer Robert E. Lee ( Lage ) was sunk by a torpedo in the Gulf of Mexico . He had 268 passengers and 47 tons of general cargo and personal belongings of the passengers on board and was on the way from Port of Spain to New Orleans. There were 25 dead (ten crew members and 15 passengers) and 380 survivors (127 crew members and 253 passengers).

Whereabouts

U 166 was launched on July 30, 1942 in the Gulf of Mexico 70 km from New Orleans, at the position 28 ° 40 ′  N , 88 ° 30 ′  W by the US American USS PC-566 (the escort ship of Robert E. Lee ) sunk by depth charges. There were no survivors (52 dead).

Movies

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Sunk 70 years ago: Sensational video of Nazi submarine succeeded , focus.de, July 18, 2014, accessed May 25, 2016. (Video 2:02)