U 168

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U 168
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Type : IX C / 40
Field Post Number : M-49 033
Shipyard: Seebeck shipyard , Geestemünde
Construction contract: August 15, 1940
Build number: 707
Keel laying: March 15, 1941
Launch: March 5, 1942
Commissioning: September 10, 1942
Commanders:

Helmuth Pich

Calls: 4 activities
Sinkings:

3 ships (8,008 GRT, 43 dead)

Whereabouts: sunk in the Java Sea on October 5, 1944 (23 dead, 27 survivors)

U 168 was a German submarine of the type IX C / 40 that was used by the German navy in the North Atlantic and the Indian Ocean during World War II . It belonged to the Monsun group and was acquired by the Dutch submarine Mr. Ms. Zwaardvisch sunk.

Technology and history

U 168 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 PS MAN nine-cylinder four-stroke diesel engines M 9 V 40/46 with supercharging, a top speed over water of 18.3 kn could be achieved. At a speed of 10 kn, 13,850 nautical miles could be covered. The two 500 PS SSM double E-machines GU 345/34 had 62 × 62 AFA type 44 MAL 740 W battery cells. A top speed of 7.3 knots was achieved under water. A distance of 64 nautical miles could be covered at a speed of 4 kn. 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, 1 × 3.7-cm anti-aircraft gun with 2,625 rounds and 1 × 2-cm anti-aircraft gun 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 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 15, 1941, the launch on March 5, 1942, the commissioning under Lieutenant Helmuth Pich finally took place on September 10, 1942.

From September 10, 1942 to February 28, 1943, U 168 was a training boat of the 4th U-Flotilla in Stettin . From March 1, 1943 to September 30, 1944, the front boat in the 2nd U-Flotilla in Lorient , the boat came from October 1, 1944 to its sinking on October 6, 1944, to the 33rd U-Flotilla in Flensburg (resp. Southeast Asia ).

It completed four enemy voyages on which it was able to sink three ships with 8,008 GRT and damage a ship with 9,804 GRT. U 168 was torpedoed and sunk off Indonesia by a Dutch ship in 1944.

Commanders

Helmuth Pich

Helmut Pich was born on June 26, 1914 in Babziens in the Rastenburg district. On April 8, 1934, he joined the Reichsmarine as an officer candidate and thus belonged to Crew 34. After completing basic and on-board training and the ensign courses, he passed his chief officer examination. He then held various commands in the Navy. In September 1939 he was assigned to the Air Force , where he became a squadron commander of the 2nd / Sea Reconnaissance Group 126. In October 1941 he switched to the submarine weapon and completed the submarine course. In March 1942 he became an extra-scheduled watch officer on U 103 . From May 1942 he took part in the building instruction for U 168 at the 6th Warship Building Training Department in Bremen. From September 10, 1942 he became the commandant of this boat. After four operations, which finally brought U 168 to Asia, he was able to sink two ships and damage one ship. U 168 was finally sunk in the Java Sea during a transfer trip. Piech was taken prisoner of war, from which he was released in March 1947. Helmuth Pich died on March 18, 1997 at the age of 82.

Use statistics

First venture

The boat was running at 8:00 am from the March 9, 1943 Kiel from. The march led across the Baltic Sea to another fuel supply in Kristiansand , where the boat moored on March 11, 1943 at 2:30 p.m. On March 12, 1943 at 5:45 a.m., U 169 left Kristiansand for its first venture.

The march led across the North Sea , the North Atlantic , southeast of Greenland , the Denmark Strait and south of Iceland . On April 1, 1943, the boat came to the Löwenherz submarine group and operated in the North Atlantic with 13 other boats. On April 10, 1943, the boat joined the Lerche submarine group , which included ten submarines. On April 18, 1943, the submarine supplier U 487 supplied the boat with 70 m³ of fuel in the North Atlantic. With nine other submarines, U 168 came to the Specht submarine group on April 21, 1943 , which was to occupy a reconnaissance strip in the North Atlantic, and on May 4, 1943 to the Fink submarine group with 28 submarines.

U 168 was supplied with 20 m³ of fuel on May 6, 1943 in the North Atlantic by the supply boat U 459 and started the return march on the same day without success. The march led across the North Atlantic and the Bay of Biscay to France . After 71 days at sea and a distance of around 11,112 nm, U 168 arrived in Lorient on May 18, 1943 at 3 p.m. It could not sink or damage any ships on this venture.

Second venture

The boat left Lorient on July 3, 1943 at 9 p.m. The march led across the Biscay, the North Atlantic, the Central Atlantic , the South Atlantic , the Indian Ocean , off Bombay , the Persian Gulf , the Gulf of Oman , off Cochin , the front Indian coast , off Malaya .

U 168 belonged to the Monsun submarine group , which was to operate with five submarines in East Asia. On July 22, 1943, the boat was supplied with 35 m³ of fuel in the mid-Atlantic by U 155 . After the march around the Cape of Good Hope , the boat entered the Indian Ocean, where it was supplied with fuel and provisions by the German supply ship Brake on September 12, 1943 .

  • On October 1, 1943, U 168 reported that it had sunk three dhows with unknown tonnage in the Indian Ocean by artillery and ramming.
  • On October 2, 1943, the British steamer Haiching ( Lage ) with 2,183 GRT was sunk by a torpedo 180 nm west-southwest of Bombay . He had an unknown cargo on board and was on his way from Calcutta and Cochin to Karachi . There were twelve dead and 58 survivors. On the same day, U 168 reported that it had sunk another three dhows with unknown tonnage by artillery and ramming.

After 132 days at sea, U 168 entered Penang on November 11, 1943 . It had sunk a ship with a total of 2,183 GRT and six dhows with unknown tonnage on this venture.

Third company

The boat left Penang on January 28, 1944. The march led into the Indian Ocean. The enterprise had to be broken off on February 1st, 1944 because of an illness of the first watch officer. After seven days at sea, U 168 entered Penang on February 3, 1944. It could not sink or damage any ships on this venture.

Fourth venture

The boat left Penang on February 7, 1944. The march led into the Indian Ocean.

  • On February 14, 1944, the British workshop ship Salviking ( Lage ) with 1,440 GRT was sunk there by two torpedoes. The ship was on its way from Colombo to the Addu Atoll . There were 27 dead and 28 survivors.
  • On February 15, 1944 there was an attack on the Greek steamer Epaminondas C. Embiricos ( Lage ) with 4,385 GRT. He drove in ballast and was on the way from Colombo to Lourenco Marques . Pich sank it with two torpedoes. Four sailors were killed and 42 were saved.
  • On February 21, 1944, U 168 damaged the Norwegian tanker Fenris with 9,804 GRT by a torpedo. He had an unknown cargo on board and was en route from Port Pirie to Abadan . The losses are unknown.

On March 12, 1944, the boat took over fuel from the German supply ship Brake and dived to take over the remaining supplies at another location. When it surfaced again after hours, the Brake had been sunk by the British destroyer HMS Roebuck . The venture had to be canceled because of the rescue of the Brake crew. After 45 days at sea, the boat entered Djarkarta / Tanjung Priok on March 24, 1944 . On this venture it was able to sink two ships with 5,825 GRT and damage a ship with 9,804 GRT.

Relocation trip

The boat left Tanjung Priok on October 5, 1944. U 168 was intended to operate together with U 537 and U 862 in Australian waters . This plan was based on a suggestion from Kapitänleutnant Heinrich Timm, commander of U 862 , who saw considerable opportunities for the monsoon boats in this sea area. To equip for this joint venture, the U 168 should first relocate to Soerabaja , where a new screw should also be taken on board, which U 537 brought to the meeting point. Commander Pich had given one of his screws to U 532 , which had been equipped with steel screws after an accident during the training period, which were more affected by the tropical waters than screws made of bronze. On the way to Soerabaja, U 168 was sunk in the Java Sea by a Dutch submarine.

Whereabouts

U 168 was on October 5, 1944 in the east of the Java Sea Neldelike ( Java ) in position 6 ° 20 '  S , 111 ° 28'  O marine-grid square LS 7849, from the Dutch submarine Hr. Ms. Zwaardvisch sunk. There were 23 dead and 27 survivors, five of whom came to Australia as prisoners of war and 22 went ashore in Java. Allied reports say Zwaardvisch took the survivors on board and had 22 of them brought ashore in a fishing boat to Java. Commandant Helmuth Pich, the 1st officer on watch, Oberleutnant zS Hans Bänge, the chief engineer Oberleutnant Ing. Heinz Niemann, the naval surgeon George Wenzel and the wounded boat mate Hans Holiday were brought to Australia as prisoners of war . Wenceslas and the public holiday were not brought to Java because they were under medical treatment. However, there are also depictions according to which the shipwrecked people who later reached Java were sighted from a fishing boat, which then did nothing to save them. Rather, the castaways swam ashore themselves afterwards.

The wreck may have been discovered by fishermen in the Java Sea in 2013. In addition to items of equipment, 17 skeletons were initially found there; it has not been ruled out that there are other remains of the crew on board. According to Indonesian media reports, the outer shell is 40% destroyed and the tower number does not exist. The find could therefore also be U 183 . It is not possible to raise the wreck due to lack of funds.

literature

  • Rainer Busch, Hans-Joachim Röll: The submarine war 1939-1945. Volume 2: U-boat construction in German shipyards. ES Mittler and Son, Hamburg a. a. 1997, ISBN 3-8132-0512-6 .
  • Rainer Busch, Hans-Joachim Röll: The submarine war 1939-1945. Volume 1: The German submarine commanders. ES Mittler und Sohn, Hamburg et al. 1996, ISBN 3-8132-0490-1 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Jochen Brennecke : "Sharks in Paradise. The German U-Boat War 1943–45 in Asia's Waters", 10th edition, Wilhelm Heyne Verlag, Munich 1983, ISBN 3-453-00094-3 , pages 150–158
  2. ^ David M. Stevens: German U-Boat Operations in Australian Waters. In: Australian Defense Force Journal, 1994, pp. 55-62, here p. 57. See online version , Royal Australian Navy, accessed on April 6, 2020.
  3. ↑ Cf. on this Rainer Busch / Hans J. Röll: The U-Boat War 1939–1945 - The German U-Boat Losses from September 1939 to May 1945. Mittler Verlag, Hamburg 2008, p. 298 and online German U-Boats 1935–1945, U 168 (ubootarchiv.de).