U 169

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U 169
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Type : IX C / 40
Field Post Number : M-50 115
Shipyard: Seebeck shipyard , Geestemünde
Construction contract: August 15, 1940
Build number: 708
Keel laying: May 15, 1941
Launch: June 6, 1942
Commissioning: November 16, 1942
Commanders:

November 16, 1942 - March 27, 1943:
Oberleutnant zur See Hermann Bauer

Calls: 1 company
Sinkings:

no

Whereabouts: sunk in the North Atlantic on March 27, 1943

U 169 was a German submarine from the Type IX C / 40 , which in the Second World War by the German navy was used.

Technology and construction

U 169 was designed for oceanic use, this submarine class was therefore also called ocean boat. 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 and 1 × 3.7-cm anti-aircraft gun with 2625 rounds, 1 × 2-cm anti-aircraft gun with 4250 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 May 15, 1941, the launch on June 6, 1942, and the commissioning under Oberleutnant zur See Hermann Bauer finally took place on November 16, 1942. Like most German submarines of its time, U 169 also had a coat of arms on the tower. It showed a sparrow with a stalk in its beak.

commander

Hermann Bauer was born on August 14, 1917 in Koblenz . On April 3, 1936, he joined the Navy as an officer candidate . After completing basic and board training as well as numerous courses as an ensign at sea , he passed the officers' main examination. In April 1939 he was first officer on watch in the 1st minesweeping flotilla and then group officer at the Mürwik Naval School in Flensburg - Mürwik . There he served until August 1940. He then became commander and group leader in the 36th minesweeping flotilla and then switched to the submarines. After completing his training in submarines, from January to June 1941, he became the first officer on watch on U 67 . After a commanders course from January to February 1942 with the 24th U-Flotilla in Memel , he took over command of U 30 on March 10, 1942 . He then took part in the building instruction for U 169 from October to November 1942 . After the commissioning of the boat on November 16, 1942, and the subsequent training in the Baltic Sea , U 169 went on its first and last venture on March 18, 1943. Hermann Bauer died on March 27, 1943, he was 25 years old. His last rank in the Navy was first lieutenant in the sea (October 1, 1940). After his death, he was promoted posthumously to lieutenant captain on April 1, 1943 . Bauer was awarded the Iron Cross 2nd class , the war badge for minesweeping, submarine hunting and security associations , the U-boat war badge 1939 and the Iron Cross 1st class .

Commitment and history

From November 17, 1942 to March 1943, U 169 belonged to the 4th U-Flotilla in Stettin as a training boat , and from March 1943 to its sinking on March 27, 1943, to the 10th U-Flotilla in Lorient . It completed an enterprise on which no ships were sunk or damaged. U 169 was sunk by a British aircraft on March 27, 1943 in the North Atlantic.

First venture

The boat was running at 8:00 am from the March 18, 1943 Kiel from. The march led across the Baltic Sea to Kristiansand , where the boat came in on March 20, 1943 at 10:45 a.m. U 169 left Kristansand on March 21, 1943 at 6.50 a.m. for its first venture. The march led into the North Atlantic south of Iceland . The boat was sunk by British air forces after eleven days at sea in the North Atlantic, without being successful.

Whereabouts

On March 27, 1943, U 169 was discovered by the air security of the convoy south of Iceland while attempting to attack the Allied convoy SC 123 . The crew tried to bomber with FlaK ward -Fire, but the aircraft achieved more effective results. The detonating depth charges initially almost capsized the boat, then the U 169 quickly sank over the stern. U 169 sank at position 60 ° 54 ′  N , 15 ° 25 ′  W in marine grid reference AE 8799, sunk by the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress L of British Squadron 206. The pilot of the Fortress could make out three men in the tower of the boat while flying over it , but later no survivors of the 54-man crew of the German submarine could be found.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Georg Högel: Emblems, coats of arms, Malings German submarines 1939-1945. 5th edition. Koehlers Verlagsgesellschaft mbH, Hamburg 2009, ISBN 978-3-7822-1002-7 , page 67
  2. ↑ Rainer Busch, Hans-Joachim Röll: The U-Boat War 1939-1945. Volume 1: The German submarine commanders. ES Mittler und Sohn, Hamburg et al. 1996, ISBN 3-8132-0490-1 , page 23
  3. ↑ The abbreviation SC stands for "slow convoy", which was used to describe particularly large (and therefore particularly slow) convoys

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 4: German submarine losses from September 1939 to May 1945. ES Mittler and Son, Hamburg a. a. 1999, ISBN 3-8132-0514-2 .