U 167 (Navy)

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U 167 (Kriegsmarine)
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Type : IX C / 40
Field Post Number : M-05 459
Shipyard: Seebeck shipyard , Geestemünde
Construction contract: August 15, 1940
Build number: 706
Keel laying: March 12, 1941
Launch: March 5, 1942
Commissioning: 4th July 1941
Commanders:
Calls: 2 patrols
Sinkings:

1 ship (6,659 GRT)

Whereabouts: self- sunk on April 6, 1943 off Gran Canaria

U 167 was a German submarine of the type IX C / 40 that was used by the German navy during World War II .

Technology and history

U 167 was a submersible for oceanic use. It was a two-hull type submarine and had a displacement of 1,144 t above and 1,247 t under water. It had a length of 76.76 m , a width of 6.86 m and a draft of 4.67 m. With the two 2,200 hp 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 a speed of 10 knots, 13,850 nautical miles could be covered. The two 500 PS - SSM -double E machines GU 345/34 were obtained from 62 × 62 battery cells AFA fed Type 44 MAL 740 W. A maximum 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 four bow and two stern torpedo tubes . The diving depth was 100 to 200 m. The quick dive time was 35 seconds. It had a 10.5 cm Utof L / 45 gun with 180 rounds as well as a 3.7 cm AA gun with 2,625 rounds and a 2 cm AA gun with 4,250 rounds. From 1943/44, the 10.5 cm cannon was removed from this type of boat and four 2 cm twin anti-aircraft guns with 8,500 rounds were installed. The crew could consist of four officers and 49 men. The cost of building was 6,448,000 Reichsmarks .

The order for the boat was awarded to the Seebeck shipyard in Geestemünde on August 15, 1940 . The keel was laid on March 12, 1941, the launch on March 5, 1942, the commissioning under Lieutenant Kurt Neubert finally took place on July 4, 1942.

U 167 was part of 4 July 1942 to 30 November 1942 as the training boat of the 4th U-Flotilla in Szczecin and from 1 December 1942 until its scuttling on April 6, 1943 as the 10th front boat U-Flotilla in Lorient on .

It completed two patrols , on which there is a ship with 7,659 GRT sunk and could damage a ship with 7,176 tons. U 167 was sunk by the crew themselves on April 6, 1943 in the Central Atlantic after being severely damaged by British air forces. There were no losses.

Commanders

Kurt Neubert

Kurt Neubert was born on March 24, 1910 in Bobrownik, Upper Silesia. On April 5, 1935, he joined the then Reichsmarine as an officer candidate and thus belonged to the 1935 crew. After basic and board training as well as numerous ensign courses, he passed the officers' main examination in July 1939. In August 1939 he began his service as a watch and division officer on the battleship Scharnhorst . In June 1940 he switched to submarine weapons and completed submarine training. In February 1941 he took part in the building instruction for U 126 and from March 22, 1941 became its first watch officer. After a commanders course from January to April 1942 with the 24th U-Flotilla in Memel , he took command of U 46 in April 1942, which at that time was a training boat in Pillau . In June 1942 he took part in the building instruction of U 167 in Bremen. On July 4, 1942, he began his service as commander on this boat. After an unsuccessful operation in the North Atlantic, in which he was injured in a storm, he was made available to the 10th U-Flotilla in Lorient. In April 1943 he became a base officer in the submarine base in Hamburg and from April 1943 until the end of the war he was a lieutenant commander in the staff of the 31st U-Flotilla in Hamburg. His last rank was lieutenant captain (July 1, 1942).

Günter Zahnow

Günter Zahnow was born on June 5, 1920 in Altdamm, Pomerania. He joined the Navy on September 16, 1939 as an officer candidate and thus belonged to Crew X / 1939. After basic and on-board training as well as various ensign courses, he passed his chief officer examination. Until June 1942 he took part in the submarine training. In July 1942 he was 1st officer on watch on U 167 and in January 1943 he was his commander in deputation for eight days. On April 6, 1943, after losing U 167, he was interned in Spain. After returning to Germany, he took part in the building instruction for U 547 in Hamburg in June 1943 . After the commissioning of the boat, he became its first officer on watch. After a commanders course and participation in the commanders shooting course, he took over command of the training boat U 747 in May 1944 . This was destroyed on April 1, 1945 during an Allied air raid on Hamburg. He died on August 27, 1983 at the age of 63. His last rank was first lieutenant at sea (October 1, 1943).

Kurt Sturm

Kurt Sturm was born on January 30, 1906 in Brandenburg an der Havel. He joined the Reichsmarine as an officer candidate on April 1, 1924, and was thus a member of the 1925 crew. By May 1938, he completed his training and passed the chief officer examination. He was then used in various commands. In June 1938 he became chief of the 1st Schnellbootsflotilla and in January 1940 head of the personnel department in the staff of the 2nd Admiral of the North Sea. In June 1941 he switched to the submarine weapon and completed submarine training. After the building instruction for U 410 in Danzig, he took command of the boat on February 23, 1942. After training in the Baltic Sea, he completed two ventures in the North Atlantic before he was replaced by Horst-Arno Fenski. On February 5, 1943, he took over command of U 167, which he held until it was destroyed on April 6, 1943. After internment in Spain and returning to Germany, he took part in the building instruction for U 547 in Hamburg, of which he became commander from June 16, 1943. After training in the Baltic Sea, he completed an enterprise that was unsuccessful. He was replaced by Heinrich Niemeyer on April 18, 1944. Until the end of the war he was now general consultant in the high command of the Navy / Navy Wehr / Tr.I and then went into captivity. Kurt Sturm died on November 3, 1987 at the age of 81. His last rank was frigate captain (October 1, 1943).

Use statistics

First venture

The boat was running at 8:10 am from the December 1, 1942 Kiel from. U 167 operated in the North Atlantic . The boat belonged to the Falke submarine group .

On December 3, 1942 at 6:15 a.m., U 167 arrived in Kristiansand to replenish fuel . After the addition, the boat left again on December 4, 1942 at 7:00 a.m. Due to rough seas, U 167 entered Marviken (Norway) at 13:08 and left there again on December 5, 1942 at 7.45. After an accident involving anti-aircraft weapons, the boat returned to Kristiansand on the same day. On 6 December 1942, ran at 6:30 of Marviken and at 15:30 in Egersund one. On December 7, 1942 at 7:50 it went back there, and drove in at 13:05 Stavanger one. On December 8, 1942 at 5:30 a.m., it left Stavanger again. After serious damage to the boat, it had to arrive in Bergen at 4 p.m. on the same day . After the repair work in the Bergen shipyard, the boat finally left Bergen on December 21, 1942 at 1:30 p.m.

On January 8, 1943, one man of the bridge crew was washed overboard and two men (including the commander) were injured. The first officer on watch, Lieutenant zur See Zahnow, took over command until arrival.

After 47 days and a distance traveled of about 4,460 nautical miles across and 174 nm was submerged U 167 at 12:10 to the January 16, 1943 St. Nazaire one. It could not sink or damage any ships on this venture.

Second venture

The boat left St. Nazaire on February 27, 1943 at 3:20 p.m. U 167 operated in the Central Atlantic , on the West African coast , the Azores , the Canaries and off Las Palmas de Gran Canaria . The boat belonged to the submarine groups "Undaunted" and "Seeräuber".

  • On March 17, 1943, the American steamer Molly Pitcher was damaged by a torpedo in the North Atlantic . He had loaded 5,600 tons of sugar , coffee , TNT , coal , trucks and tanks and was on his way from New York to Casablanca . The ship was armed with a 5- inch and a 20-mm cannon. There were four dead and 70 survivors.
  • On March 28, 1943, the British steamer Lagosian ( Lage ) with 5,449 GRT was sunk by a torpedo in the mid-Atlantic southeast of the Canary Island . He drove in ballast and was on the way from Algiers and Gibraltar to Takoradi . There were eleven dead and 35 survivors.

On April 5, 1943, U 167 was badly damaged east of the Canary Islands by a British bomber plane through depth charges and gunfire. The commander decided to sink the boat south of Gran Canaria himself.

On April 6, 1943, U 167 was self- scuttled by the crew off Gran Canaria in the bay of Las Burras .

Whereabouts

U 167 was sustained severe damage on April 5 by a British Lockheed Hudson L of Squadron 233 on April 6, 1943 on the south coast of Gran Canaria at position 27 ° 47 ′  N , 15 ° 0 ′  W in naval grid square DH 9574 self-sunk.

The boat was lifted from Spain in 1951 , used commercially for filming and later scrapped.

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