U 173

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U 173
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Type : IX C
Field Post Number : M-41 495
Shipyard: AG Weser , Bremen
Construction contract: December 23, 1939
Build number: 1013
Keel laying: December 21, 1940
Launch: August 11, 1941
Commissioning: November 15, 1941
Commanders:
Calls: 2 activities
Sinkings:

1 ship (9359 GRT)

Whereabouts: sunk in the mid-Atlantic on November 16, 1942

U 173 was a German submarine from the Type IX C , which in World War II by the German navy was used.

Technology and history

U 173 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 21, 1940, the launch on August 11, 1941, the commissioning under Lieutenant Carl Emmermann finally took place on November 15, 1941.

From November 15, 1941 to June 30, 1942, U 173 belonged to the 4th U-Flotilla in Stettin as a training boat , and from July 1, 1942 to its sinking on November 16, 1942 as a front boat of the 2nd U-Flotilla in Lorient on.

It completed two enemy voyages during which 1 ship with 9,359 GRT was sunk and 2 ships with 17,713 GRT, as well as a warship with 1,630 ts, could be damaged. U 173 was sunk by US warships on November 16, 1942 in the mid-Atlantic off Casablanca . It was a total loss with 57 dead.

Commanders

Heinz-Ehler Beucke

Heinz-Ehler Beucke was born on January 12, 1904 in Berlin . On March 30, 1922, he joined the Reichsmarine as an officer candidate and thus belonged to crew 22. By August 1939 he mastered the training, passed the officer's skin test and was deployed in various commands. From September 1939 he became a consultant in the high command of the Navy / Seekriesleitung-U. In April 1940 he changed as 1st Admiral Staff Officer to the staff of the Admiral Norwegian West Coast and from August 1940 as 3rd Admiral Staff Officer to the staff of the Naval Group Command West. From March 1941 he completed the submarine training and took part in the building instruction for U 173 in Bremen, whose commander he became from November 15, 1941. After training in the Baltic Sea, Beucke commanded an enterprise in the Caribbean where no ships were sunk. After handing over the command to Hans-Adolf Schweichel, he worked from November 1942 on the staff of the 2nd Admiral of the Submarines. In February 1943 he was chief of the staff of the commanding admirals of the submarine, and from June 1943 he became chief of the submarine command department (Seekriegsleitung / Qu AU) in the naval command. He worked there until August 1944 and then moved to the Naval High Command North as 1st Chief Staff Officer until the end of the war. At the end of the war he was taken prisoner of war from which he was released on April 18, 1947. Heinz-Ehler Beucke died on May 23, 1979 at the age of 75. The last rank was sea ​​captain (June 1, 1943).

Hans-Adolf Schweifel

Hans-Adolf Schweifel was born in Bremen on May 26, 1915. On April 3, 1936, he joined the Navy as an officer candidate and thus belonged to the Olympic Crew 36 . After basic and board training as well as various ensign courses, he passed the main officer examination . From February 1939 he became adjutant and signal officer on the light cruiser Leipzig and from February 1940 flag lieutenant on the staff of the commander of the reconnaissance forces. In July 1941 he switched to the submarine weapon and completed submarine training. From December 1941 first officer on watch on U 126 , from August 1942 he took part in the commanders' course at the 2nd U training department in Neustadt and the 24th U-Flotilla in Memel . He then took over the U 105, which at that time did not undertake any patrols. On October 30, 1942, he took over command of U 173. Schweifel commanded an enterprise in the Central Atlantic and off Africa, where he sank a ship and damaged three ships. This journey was also the end of U 173, it was sunk with the entire crew. The last rank was Oberleutnant zur See (October 1, 1940).

Use statistics

First venture

The boat ran at 7.00 am on 15 June 1942 from Kiel made. The boat entered Kristiansand on June 16, 1942 for fuel replenishment and started its first venture from there on June 17, 1942. The trip went over the North Sea and the North Atlantic to his area of ​​operation. This was the West Atlantic and the Caribbean . On June 30, 1942, U 173 was supplied with 52 m² of fuel and 1.5 t of lubricating oil from the U 460 supply boat . On September 20, 1942 at 10.45 p.m. after 97 days at sea and a distance covered of 13,951 nm above and 644 nm under water, the boat moored in Lorient . The boat failed to sink or damage ships on its first venture.

Second venture

The boat left Lorient on November 11, 1942. The voyage went over the Bay of Biscay and the Central Atlantic , to his area of ​​operations in front of Casablanca and the roadstead of Fedala . U 173 belonged to the submarine group "Schlagetot" and was able to sink 1 ship with 9,359 GRT as well as damage 2 ships with 18,713 GRT and 1 warship with 1,630 ts.

  • On November 11, 1942, the US steamer USS Joseph Hewes ( Lage ) with 9,359 GRT was sunk by a torpedo. The ship was in Fedala roadstead. It belonged as a troop transport to the convoy UGF-1 and ran from Hampton Roads to Fedala . There were 100 dead and 258 survivors.
  • On November 11, 1942, the US steamer USS Winooski ( Lage ) with 10,172 GRT was damaged by a torpedo. The ship was also in Fedala roadstead and was part of the UGF-1 convoy as a fuel supplier. Losses unknown.
  • On November 11, 1942, the US destroyer USS Hambleton ( Lage ) was damaged by a torpedo at 1,630 ts. Like the two previous ships, the destroyer was in Fedala roadstead. The destroyer was also part of the UGF-1 convoy as escort. Losses unknown.
  • On November 15, 1942, the US steamer USS Electra ( Lage ) with 8,113 GRT was damaged by a torpedo. The ship was in Fedala roadstead. It once belonged as a supply ship to the previously disbanded convoy UGF-1. The ship was loaded with war material, ammunition and aviation fuel . There was 1 dead. All of these ships were part of Operation Torch of the Allied landing in North Africa .

Whereabouts

U 173 was on 16 November 1942 at the Central Atlantic before Casablanca by water bombing the US destroyer USS Woolsey , USS Swanson and USS Quick at position 33 ° 40 '  N , 7 ° 35'  W sunk. That day the three American destroyers patrolled Casablanca . Around noon, the USS Woolsey received a contact in the sonar device close to the ship and immediately dropped two depth charges. In two more attacks, the Woolsey dropped eight additional charges, which caused oil and air bubbles to rise. After that, the Swanson dropped two series of depth charges and the Quick one, which was set to detonate on the ocean floor.

literature

  • Clay Blair : The Submarine War. Volume 1: The Hunters. 1939-1942. Heyne, Munich 1998, ISBN 3-453-12345-X .
  • Clay Blair: The Submarine War. Volume 2: The Hunted, 1942–1945. Heyne, Munich 1998, ISBN 3-453-16059-2 .
  • Robert M. Browning Jr .: US Merchant Vessel War casualties of World War II. Naval Institute Press, Annapolis MD 1996, ISBN 1-55750-087-8 .
  • 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 .
  • Rainer Busch, Hans-Joachim Röll: The submarine war 1939-1945. Volume 2: U-boat construction in German shipyards. ES Mittler und Sohn, Hamburg et al. 1997, ISBN 3-8132-0512-6 .
  • Rainer Busch, Hans-Joachim Röll: The submarine war 1939-1945. Volume 3: German submarine successes from September 1939 to May 1945. ES Mittler und Sohn, Hamburg et al. 2001, ISBN 3-8132-0513-4 .
  • Rainer Busch, Hans-Joachim Röll: The submarine war 1939-1945. Volume 4: German submarine losses from September 1939 to May 1945. ES Mittler und Sohn, Hamburg et al. 1999, ISBN 3-8132-0514-2 .
  • Rainer Busch, Hans-Joachim Röll: The submarine war 1939-1945. Volume 5: The knight's cross bearers of the submarine weapon from September 1939 to May 1945. ES Mittler and Son, Hamburg et al. 2003, ISBN 3-8132-0515-0 .
  • Erich Gröner : Die Handelsflotten der Welt 1942 and supplement 1944. JF Lehmanns Verlag, Munich 1976, ISBN 3-469-00552-4 (reprint of the 1942–1943 edition).
  • Erich Gröner: Search list for ship names (= The merchant fleets of the world. Supplementary volume). JF Lehmanns Verlag Munich 1976, ISBN 3-469-00553-2 (reprint of the 1943 edition).
  • Paul Kemp: The German and Austrian submarine losses in both world wars. Urbes Verlag, Graefelfing before Munich 1998, ISBN 3-924896-43-7 .
  • Alan J. Tennent: British and Commonwealth Merchant Ship Losses. To Axis Submarines 1939-1945. Sutton Publishing Limited, Stroud 2001, ISBN 0-7509-2760-7 .