German submarine U-161 (1941)
U-505, a typical Type IXC boat
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History | |
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Nazi Germany | |
Name | U-161 |
Ordered | 25 September 1939 |
Builder | Deutsche Schiff und maschinenbau AG, Bremen |
Yard number | 700 |
Laid down | 23 March 1940 |
Launched | 1 March 1941 |
Commissioned | 8 July 1941 |
Fate | Sunk on 27 September 1943[1] |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Type IXC submarine |
Displacement | |
Length |
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Beam |
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Height | 9.60 m (31 ft 6 in) |
Draught | 4.70 m (15 ft 5 in) |
Installed power |
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Propulsion |
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Speed |
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Range |
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Test depth | 230 m (750 ft) |
Complement | 4 officers, 44 enlisted |
Armament |
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Service record | |
Part of: |
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Identification codes: | M 46 894 |
Commanders: |
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Operations: |
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Victories: |
German submarine U-161 was a
The U-boat's service began with training as part of the 4th U-boat Flotilla. She then moved to the 10th flotilla on 1 January 1942 for operations. She sank 12 ships, totalling 60,107 gross register tons (GRT); one warship of 1,130 tons and damaged five others, for 35,672 GRT. She also damaged one warship (5,450 tons) and caused one merchant vessel to be declared a total loss (3,305 GRT).
She was sunk by an American aircraft on 27 September 1943.
Design
The submarine had a maximum surface speed of 18.3 knots (33.9 km/h; 21.1 mph) and a maximum submerged speed of 7.3 knots (13.5 km/h; 8.4 mph).
Service history
First and second patrols
The submarine's first patrol took her from
U-161's second sortie proved to be successful, damaging British Consul and Mokihana on 19 February 1942 while the ships rode at anchor in the Gulf of Paria off Port of Spain, Trinidad.[3] She went on to sink ships such as Circe Shell, Lihue the petrol tanker Uniwaleco off St Vincent.
Then, daringly, she made her way at night through the narrow passage into
Third patrol
The boat's third patrol took her past the
She crossed the Atlantic in an easterly direction, but turned about and returned to the Caribbean. Having commenced the return leg to France, she encountered Fairport 500 nmi (930 km; 580 mi) north of St. Thomas, Virgin Islands on 16 July and sank her. The boat returned to Lorient on 7 August.
Fourth patrol
Her fourth foray was to west Africa. This patrol was her longest-113 days. She damaged the light cruiser
Fifth patrol
The boat's fifth patrol involved another Atlantic crossing and sinking a second sailing ship, Angelus, north of Bermuda, again with gunfire. Ten survivors abandoned the vessel; only two were still alive when their lifeboat was discovered.
Sixth patrol and loss
The U-boat departed Lorient for the last time on 8 August 1943. She rendezvoused with the
Summary of raiding history
Date | Name | Nationality | Tonnage[Note 1] | Fate[6] |
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19 February 1942 | British Consul | United Kingdom | 6,940 | Damaged |
19 February 1942 | Mokihana | United States | 7,460 | Damaged |
21 February 1942 | Circe Shell | United Kingdom | 8,207 | Sunk |
23 February 1942 | Lihue | United States | 7,001 | Sunk |
7 March 1942 | Uniwaleco | South Africa | 9,755 | Sunk |
10 March 1942 | RMS Lady Nelson | Canada | 7,970 | Damaged |
10 March 1942 | Umtata | United Kingdom | 8,141 | Damaged |
14 March 1942 | Sarniadoc | Canada | 1,940 | Sunk |
15 March 1942 | USCGC Acacia | United States Coast Guard | 1,130 | Sunk |
16 June 1942 | Nueva Altagracia | Dominican Republic | 30 | Sunk |
3 July 1942 | San Pablo | Panama | 3,305 | Total loss |
16 July 1942 | Fairport | United States | 6,165 | Sunk |
23 October 1942 | HMS Phoebe | Royal Navy | 5,450 | Damaged |
8 November 1942 | Benalder | United Kingdom | 5,161 | Damaged |
8 November 1942 | West Humhaw | United States | 5,527 | Sunk |
29 November 1942 | Tjileboet | Netherlands | 5,760 | Sunk |
12 December 1942 | Ripley | United Kingdom | 4,997 | Sunk |
19 May 1943 | Angelus | Canada | 255 | Sunk |
20 September 1943 | St. Usk | United Kingdom | 5,472 | Sunk |
26 September 1943 | Itapagé | Brazil | 4,998 | Sunk |
References
Notes
- gross register tons. Military vessels are listed by tons displacement.
Citations
- ^ Kemp 1999, p. 147.
- ^ a b c d Gröner 1991, p. 68.
- ^ Kelshall, Gaylord: The U Boat War in the Caribbean. pub by The Naval Institute Press
- ISBN 9789769534001.
- ^ Grover 1987, p. 122.
- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit by U-161". German U-boats of WWII – uboat.net. Retrieved 3 October 2014.
Bibliography
- Busch, Rainer; Röll, Hans-Joachim (1999). German U-boat commanders of World War II : a biographical dictionary. Translated by Brooks, Geoffrey. London, Annapolis, Md: Greenhill Books, Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-186-6.
- Busch, Rainer; Röll, Hans-Joachim (1999). Deutsche U-Boot-Verluste von September 1939 bis Mai 1945 [German U-boat losses from September 1939 to May 1945]. Der U-Boot-Krieg (in German). Vol. IV. Hamburg, Berlin, Bonn: Mittler. ISBN 3-8132-0514-2.
- Gröner, Erich; Jung, Dieter; Maass, Martin (1991). U-boats and Mine Warfare Vessels. German Warships 1815–1945. Vol. 2. Translated by Thomas, Keith; Magowan, Rachel. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-593-4.
- Grover, David (1987). U.S. Army Ships and Watercraft of World War II. LCCN 87015514.
- Kemp, Paul (1999). U-Boats Destroyed – German Submarine Losses in the World Wars. London: Arms & Armour. ISBN 1-85409-515-3.
External links
- Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type IX boat U-161". German U-boats of WWII – uboat.net. Retrieved 7 December 2014.
- Hofmann, Markus. "U 161". Deutsche U-Boote 1935-1945 – u-boot-archiv.de (in German). Retrieved 7 December 2014.