U 172

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
U 172
( previous / next - all submarines )
Type : IX C
Field Post Number : M-29 596
Shipyard: AG Weser , Bremen
Construction contract: December 23, 1939
Build number: 1012
Keel laying: December 11, 1940
Launch: July 31, 1941
Commissioning: November 5, 1941
Commanders:
Calls: 6 activities
Sinkings:

26 ships (152,777 GRT, 466 dead)

Whereabouts: sunk in the mid-Atlantic on December 13, 1943 (13 dead, 46 prisoners of war)

U 172 was a German submarine from the Type IX C , which in World War II by the German navy was used. It sank on its six enterprises 26 ships with 152,777 BRT, with a total of 466 people died, and was scuttled on 13 December 1943 in the Central Atlantic, where died of the 59 crew members, 13 and 46 in US captivity came.

Technology and history

U 172 was a submersible for oceanic use. It was a two-hull type submarine and had a displacement of 1120  t above and 1232 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 2200 HP 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, 12,000 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 onwards, the 10.5 cm cannon was removed from this type of boat and 4 × 2 cm twin anti-aircraft guns with 8500 rounds were installed. The crew could consist of four officers and 44 men. The cost of building was 6,448,000 Reichsmarks .

The order for the boat was awarded to the AG Weser in Bremen on December 23, 1939 . The keel was laid on December 11, 1940, the launch on July 31, 1941, the commissioning under Lieutenant Carl Emmermann finally took place on November 5, 1941.

U 172 belonged from November 5, 1941 to April 30, 1942 as a training boat of the 4th U-Flotilla in Stettin , and from May 1, 1942 to its sinking on December 13, 1943 as a front boat of the 10th U-Flotilla in Lorient on.

It completed six enemy voyages, on which 26 ships with 152,777 GRT could be sunk. U 172 was sunk by US carrier aircraft on December 13, 1943 in the mid-Atlantic west of the Canary Islands . 13 men were killed and 46 were saved.

Commanders

Carl Emmermann, ca.1943

Carl Emmermann

Hermann Hoffmann

Hermann Hoffmann was born on April 27, 1921 in Hanover . He joined the Navy on September 16, 1939 as an officer candidate and was part of crew X / 39. From September 16, 1939 to November 4, 1941, he completed basic and board training, completed the individual ensign courses and then passed his main officer examination. During this time he also completed his submarine training and took part in the building instruction for U 172 at the 6th warship building training department in Bremen . From November 5, 1942 he became second officer on this submarine and from January 1943 first officer. After five very successful patrols under Carl Emmermann, he took over command of U 172 on November 1, 1943 after completing a commanders course from September to October 1943 . After only one unsuccessful undertaking, the boat was sunk in the mid-Atlantic and Hoffmann was taken prisoner of war from which he was released on May 8, 1946. Hermann Hoffmann died on November 1, 1982 at the age of 61. His last rank was first lieutenant at sea (October 1, 1943).

Use statistics

First venture

The boat ran at 7.00 am on 22 April 1942 from Kiel made. The boat entered Kristiansand on April 23, 1942 for fuel replenishment and started its first venture from there on April 24, 1942. The journey went over the North Sea , the North Atlantic and the Biscay to its new base in Lorient, where it moored on May 3, 1942 at 9:00 a.m. after twelve days at sea and a distance of 2,496.5 nm over and 100 nm under water . The boat failed to sink or damage ships on its first venture.

Second venture

The boat left Lorient on May 11, 1942 at 8 p.m. After difficulties with the compass, it returned to Lorient on May 12, 1942 at 8:08 a.m.

After the repair, the U 172 set sail again at 7.44 p.m. on the same day. The trip went over the Biscay, the North Atlantic, the West Atlantic to the Caribbean . The boat operated in the Mona Passage , off the Lesser Antilles , off Colón and near Haiti and Jamaica .

  • On May 27, 1942, the British tanker Athelknight ( Lage ) with 8,940 GRT was sunk by two torpedoes and artillery fire. He was in ballast and was on the way from Barry to Curacao . Nine men were killed and 43 survived.
  • On June 3, 1942, U 172 sighted the US steamer City of Alma ( Lage ) with 5,446 GRT in the mid-Atlantic , which had loaded 7,400 t of manganese ore and was on its way from Port Everglades ( Florida ) to Nuevitas . Emmermann sank the ship with a torpedo. 39 men died in the process, ten were able to save themselves.
  • On June 5, 1942, U 172 sank the US steamer Delfina ( Lage ) with 3,480 GRT. He had loaded raw sugar and was on his way from Aruba to San Juan . The steamer was sunk by a torpedo. Four men were killed, 27 were saved.
  • Three days later the American motor ship Sicilien was sunk ( Lage ) with 1,654 GRT. It was loaded with general cargo and sugar and was on its way from Kingston to San Juan (Puerto Rico). U 172 sank the ship with a torpedo. 46 people were killed, 31 were able to save themselves.

After reloading the remaining torpedoes from the upper deck on June 9, 1942, the boat continued to operate in the Caribbean.

  • On June 14, 1942, it sank the US steamer Lebore ( Lage ) with 8,229 GRT. The ship had loaded 10,145 tons of coal and was on its way from Newport News via the Panama Canal to Cruz Grande in Chile . The steamer was sunk with three torpedoes and the 10.5 cm cannon. One man died, 45 were saved.
  • On June 15, 1942, the Norwegian steamer Bennestvet ( Lage ) with 2,438 GRT was sunk. His cargo consisted of war material that he was supposed to bring from New Orleans to Cristóbal . The ship was sunk by a torpedo. 12 men were killed and 23 were saved.
  • On June 18, 1942, it hit the US tanker Motorex ( Lage ) with 1,958 GRT. He had loaded 20,000 barrels of diesel oil and was on his way from Corpus Christi to Cristobal. The small tanker was sunk with 40 rounds from the 10.5 cm cannon. One man died, 20 were able to save themselves.
  • On June 23, 1942, the Colombian sailing ship Resolute ( Lage ) with 35 GRT was stopped and sunk with hand grenades . The course and cargo of the ship remained unknown. Six men died, four were able to save themselves.
  • On June 24, 1942, the march back was started, on July 9, 1942, the US steamer Santa Rita with 8,379 GRT could be sunk as the last ship of this enterprise . He had loaded 8,600 tons of general cargo including 5,000 tons of chrome ore and was on the way from Cape Town to Charleston . The ship was damaged by a torpedo and then sunk with explosive charges by a demolition squad. Three men died and 57 were saved.

After marching back across the North Atlantic and the Biscay, U 172 entered bunker box A 2 in Lorient on July 21, 1942 at 4 p.m. after 77 days at sea and a distance covered of 11,433 nm over and 214 nm under water. It had sunk nine ships with 40,619 GRT on this enterprise.

Third company

The boat left Lorient on August 19, 1942 at 7:00 p.m. U 172 formed together with the boats U 459 , U 504 , U 156 and U 68 the submarine group Eisbär , which was supposed to operate off Cape Town. The way there led the boat across the Bay of Biscay, the North Atlantic, the Central Atlantic and the South Atlantic to Cape Town. On September 22nd, 1942, U 172 was supplied with 107 m³ of fuel and provisions by the U 459 supply boat. On October 4, 1942, the Cap Columbia lighthouse was sighted. Two days later the boat was in the Cape Town roadstead.

  • On October 7, 1942, the boat sank its first two ships in the South Atlantic. The first was the US steamer Chickasaw City ( Lage ) with 6196 GRT. He was hit by two torpedoes. The ship had loaded 1,400 tons of chrome ore, 200 tons of hides and 400 sacks of coffee and was going from Cape Town to Port of Spain . Seven men were killed, 42 were able to save themselves. The second ship was the Panamanian motor ship Firethorn with 4,700 GRT, it was also sunk by two torpedoes. It had loaded war goods and was on its way from New York via Trinidad and Table Bay to Suez . Twelve men were killed and 49 saved.
  • On October 8, 1942, it hit the Greek steamer Pantelis ( Lage ) with 3,845 GRT. He drove in ballast and was on the way from Beirut via Aden and Table Bay to Buenos Aires . He was sunk by a torpedo. There were 28 dead and five survivors.
  • On October 10, 1942, the British steamer Orcades ( Lage ) with 23,456 GRT was sunk 280 nm northwest of Cape Town . He drove on behalf of the British Navy. There were 711 passengers and 3,000 tons of general cargo on board . The ship was on its way from Suez to Cape Town. The big ship was sunk by six torpedoes. 28 crew members, two gunners and 18 passengers were killed, 299 crew members and 693 passengers were rescued.
  • U 172 marched back on October 30, 1942 . One day later, on October 31, 1942, the British motor ship Aldinton Court ( Lage ) with 4,891 GRT ran in front of the pipes of U 172 in the South Atlantic west of Port Nolloth . It had 6,614 t of general cargo loaded including coal , gasoline , tractors and beer and was on its way from Philadelphia via Trinidad and Saldanha Bay to Alexandria . The ship was sunk by two torpedoes. 34 men died, ten were saved.
  • On November 2, the British steamer Llandilo ( Lage ) with 4,966 GRT was sunk. He had loaded 9,024 tons of American military equipment and was on his way from New York via Trinidad and Saldanha Bay and Durban to Bombay . The ship was sunk by a torpedo. There were 24 dead and 20 survivors.
  • On November 23, 1942, 750 nm east of the Amazon River, it struck the British steamer Benlomond ( Lage ) with 6,630 GRT. He drove in ballast and wanted from Port Said and Cape Town to Paramaribo and New York. During the sinking, the entire crew of 55 men except for the steward Poon Lim , who was rescued after 133 days, perished.
  • On November 28, 1942, U 172 sank the US steamer Alaskan ( Lage ) with 5,364 GRT as the last ship of this enterprise in the mid-Atlantic . He had loaded 800 t of chrome ore and trucks and was on his way from Cape Town to New York. He was sunk by a torpedo and artillery. In this last sinking five seamen were killed, 41 were able to save themselves.

On the further march back to France, the boat was again supplied with 55 m³ of fuel by the German supply boat U 461 on December 9, 1942, in the Central Atlantic, before the boat crossed the North Atlantic and the Bay of Biscay, after 131 days at sea and covered 19,943.5 nautical miles above and 606.5 nautical miles under water, arrived in Lorient on December 27, 1942 at 12 p.m. It had sunk eight ships with 60,048 GRT on this enterprise.

Fourth venture

The boat left Lorient on February 21, 1943 at 4 p.m. The march took place over the Biscay, the North Atlantic, the Central Atlantic, the Azores and the Canary Islands . On the march to the operational area, the boat was supplied with 20 m³ of fuel by U 590 on March 1, 1943 in the North Atlantic .

  • On March 4, 1943, the British steamer City of Pretoria ( Lage ) with 8,049 GRT was sunk in the North Atlantic, west of the Azores . He had loaded 7,032 t of general cargo and was going from New York to Liverpool . The ship was sunk by two torpedoes. There were no survivors, 145 people died.
  • Two days later, the Norwegian motor ship Thorstrand ( Lage ) with 3,041 GRT was hit . The ship had loaded 1,324 t of general cargo including glassware , salt , whiskey , aluminum and mail and was on its way from Liverpool to St. John's . It was sunk by two torpedoes. Four sailors died and 43 were rescued.
  • After the reloading of torpedoes from the upper deck on March 7, 1943, the US steamer Keystone ( Lage ) with 5,565 GRT was sunk by two torpedoes on March 13, 1943 in the North Atlantic . He had 4,500 tons of general cargo on board and aircraft , tanks , trucks and gasoline as deck cargo. He wanted to go from Keystone (New York) to North Africa . Two sailors died and 71 were rescued. The ship belonged to convoy UGS-6 with 45 ships.
  • On March 16, 1943, it struck the US steamer Benjamin Harrison ( Lage ) with 7,191 GRT in the North Atlantic . The ship had loaded 4,250 tons of food , machines, ammunition, tractors and tanks and wanted from New York to North Africa. Emmermann sank the ship with a torpedo. Three men were killed and 69 were saved. This ship also belonged to convoy UGS-6.

From March 25, 1943, U 172 formed the Seeräuber submarine group together with four other boats . Six days later, on March 31, 1943, the boat began its march back to France. On the march back, U 172 supplied the boat U 510 in the Central Atlantic with 30 m³ of fuel on April 5, 1943 and continued the march back across the North Atlantic and the Bay of Biscay. After 55 days at sea and covered 7,969.5 nm above and 535 nm under water, U 172 entered Lorient on April 17, 1943 at 7.55 a.m. It was able to sink five ships with 28,467 GRT on this enterprise.

Fifth venture

The boat left Lorient on May 29, 1943 at 1:45 p.m. The march took place over the Biscay, the North Atlantic, the Central Atlantic and the South Atlantic off the coast of Brazil . On June 16, 1943, the boat in the mid-Atlantic was supplied with 25 m³ of fuel and provisions by U 530 and the march to the operational area continued.

  • After the equator was crossed on June 23, 1943 , the British steamer Vernon City ( Lage ) with 4,748 GRT was sunk in the South Atlantic on June 28, 1943 . He had loaded 4,000 tons of coal and 3,000 tons of coke and was on his way from Tyne and Oban to Montevideo . Emmermann sank the ship with a torpedo. There were no casualties, all 52 men were saved.
  • On July 12, 1943, it struck the US steamer African Star ( Lage ) with 6,507 GRT in the South Atlantic . He had loaded 4,000 tons of chromium, 1,200 tons of asbestos , 500 tons of wicker , 250 tons of corundum and 250 tons of copper concentrate. The ship was on its way from Rio de Janeiro to New York. The ship was sunk by two torpedoes. One sailor was killed, 86 were able to save themselves.
  • After torpedoes were reloaded from the upper deck on July 14, 1943, it hit the British steamer Harmonic ( Lage ) with 4,558 GRT in the South Atlantic 620 nm east of Rio de Janeiro on July 15, 1943 . The ship had 7,368 t of linseed oil on board and was on its way from Rosario and Buenos Aires via Freetown to Great Britain. The steamer was sunk by two torpedoes. There was one dead and 46 survivors.
  • After two more torpedoes had been reloaded from the upper deck on July 22, 1943, U 172 sank the British steamer Fort Chilcotin ( Lage ) with 7,133 GRT on July 24, 1943 in the South Atlantic 420 nm southeast of Bahia . He had loaded 9,103 t of iron ore and rock crystal and was on his way from Rio de Janeiro via Freetown to Great Britain. The ship was sunk by two torpedoes. Four sailors were killed and 53 were saved.

On August 4, 1943 joined U 172 the retreat and met on 11 August 1943 in the South Atlantic on the orders of the Commander of Submarines Karl Doenitz with U 185 and U 604 together together with U 185 destroyed by the by an air raid U 604 to take over the crew and supplies of fuel and provisions. Since U 172 arrived late, U 185 received all supplies, but U 172 took over 22 men from the 47-strong crew of U 604 , which was then scuttled . During the rescue maneuver, an Allied aircraft attacked U 172 , killing one crew member.

Another supply took place on August 25, 1943. The boat received 35 m³ of fuel from U 847 . After 101 days at sea and a distance of approx. 14,430 nm over and 751 nm under water , U 172 returned to Lorient via the Central Atlantic, North Atlantic and Biscay on September 7, 1943 at 3 p.m. It had sunk four ships with 22,946 GRT on this enterprise.

Sixth venture

After the change of command on November 1, 1943, the boat left Lorient on November 13, 1943 at 1 p.m. under its new commandant Oblt.zS Hermann Hoffmann. The march took place over the Biscay, the North Atlantic and the Central Atlantic near the Canary Islands. On December 11, 1943, U 172 was supplied with fuel and provisions by U 219 . The chief engineer of U 172 , Oberleutnant (Ing.) Karl-Heinz Frohwein, went over to U 219 in order to instruct Lieutenant (Ing.) Alfred Löffler as the new chief engineer, and thus avoided sinking. The 30-day venture was unsuccessful and ended with the sinking of the submarine on December 13, 1943, with 13 men killed and 46 rescued.

Sinking

The US aircraft carrier USS Bogue was alerted to reports from COMINT (communications intelligence) about the accumulation of German submarine suppliers southwest of the Azores . He drove straight away from Casablanca , where he had bunkered up. On the morning of December 12, 1943, U 172 was attacked southwest of the Azores by two Grumman TBF Avenger carrier aircraft of Squadron VC-19, which dropped a sonar buoy. The anti-aircraft fire had no effect. The submarine now dived, but the destroyers USS George Badger , USS Osmond Ingram , USS Clemson and USS Dupont followed the signals of the signal buoy and tracked U 172 and U 219 . U 219 managed to escape and reached the port of Bordeaux on January 1, 1944 . However, U 172 was followed continuously over a period of 27 hours. At 2.30 p.m., three Avenger planes attacked the U 172 , which had appeared in the meantime and which has now submerged again, and dropped sonar buoys again. The destroyers were able to use these buoys to target the location of the submarine. After an hour, the destroyers began throwing depth charges , which continued until 10 p.m. Around midnight the submarine reappeared and took aim at one of the destroyers, at which a torpedo was fired without success when the boat had come within 600 m. U 172 had to descend quickly to a depth of 200 m and then to a depth of 280 m, as it was now being attacked with depth charges and a hedgehog (grenade weapon) . On the morning of December 13, 1943, U 172 appeared shortly after 9 a.m. next to the destroyer USS Osmond Ingram, only about 200 m away . Commander Hoffmann opened fire on the destroyer with a machine gun , killing one man on the destroyer and wounding eight others. Now, however, six carrier aircraft attacked at the same time and fired at the men on the submarine, 12 of whom died in the hail of bullets. In addition, the destroyers shot at the submarine with ship artillery . Hoffmann now gave the order to sink himself , which was carried out by the chief engineer Alfred Löffler and the central mate Arno Markgraf after all but one of the men had left the boat. The second central mate refused to disembark and went down with the submarine, while Löffler and Margrave came out at the last moment. The submarine sank on December 13, 1943 at 10.16 am in the mid-Atlantic west of the Canary Islands at position 26 ° 29 ′  N , 29 ° 58 ′  W in naval grid square DS 3138. The destroyers initially took off when the boat sank , but returned after about two hours. USS Osmond Ingram took 8 men from U 172 on board, including Hoffmann, who was wounded in the eye and mouth by calcium hydroxide , and Margrave. One of the sailors in this group had lost a toe. 15 men of the submarine crew were from USS Clemson and 23 men from the USS George Badger taken on board so that a total of 46 U-boat operator - 4 officers, 14 noncommissioned officers and 28 teams - in US captivity came while 13 died. All of the prisoners had swallowed oil from the oil slick of their sunken submarine and got it in their eyes. They were brought ashore in the United States on December 29, 1943.

literature

  • Herbert Plottke: "Fan loos!" U 172 in action. In the oceans from Rio to Cape Town. A factual report from 1942/43. Podzun-Pallas, Wölfersheim-Berstadt 1994, ISBN 3-7909-0510-0 .
  • Rainer Busch, Hans-Joachim Röll: The submarine war 1939-1945. Volume 1: The German submarine commanders. Preface by Prof. Dr. Jürgen Rohwer, Member of the Presidium of the International Commission on Military History. ES Mittler and Son, Hamburg / Berlin / Bonn 1996, pp. 58, 105. ISBN 3-8132-0490-1 .
  • Rainer Busch, Hans-Joachim Röll: The submarine war 1939-1945. Volume 2: Submarine construction in German shipyards. ES Mittler and Son, Hamburg / Berlin / Bonn 1997, pp. 60, 211. ISBN 3-8132-0512-6 .
  • Rainer Busch, Hans-Joachim Röll: The submarine war 1939-1945. Volume 3: The German submarine successes from September 1939 to May 1945. ES Mittler and Son, Hamburg / Berlin / Bonn 2008, pp. 130–132. ISBN 978-3-8132-0513-8 .
  • Rainer Busch, Hans-Joachim Röll: The submarine war 1939-1945. Volume 4: The German submarine losses from September 1939 to May 1945. ES Mittler und Sohn, Hamburg / Berlin / Bonn 2008, pp. 108, 137f., 145, 174f. ISBN 978-3-8132-0514-5 .
  • Erich Gröner , Dieter Jung, Martin Maas: The German warships 1815-1945. Volume 3: Submarines, auxiliary cruisers, mine ships, net layers. Bernhard & Graefe Verlag, Munich 1985, ISBN 3-7637-4802-4 .
  • Clay Blair : The Submarine War - The Hunters 1939–1942 . Heyne Verlag, 1998. pp. 661, 712-714. ISBN 3-453-12345-X .
  • Clay Blair: The Submarine War - The Hunted 1942–1945 . Heyne Verlag, 1999. pp. 110-113, 115, 118, 255, 257, 259f., 420-422, 424, 444f., 470, 548, 550f. ISBN 3-453-16059-2 .

Web links