German submarine U-179

History
Nazi Germany
Name	U-179
Ordered	28 May 1940
Builder	DeSchiMAG AG Weser, Bremen
Yard number	1019
Laid down	15 January 1941
Launched	18 November 1941
Commissioned	7 March 1942
Fate	Sunk, 8 October 1942
General characteristics
Class and type	Type IXD2 submarine
Displacement	1,610 t (1,580 long tons) surfaced; 1,799 t (1,771 long tons) submerged;
Length	87.58 m (287 ft 4 in) o/a; 68.50 m (224 ft 9 in) pressure hull;
Beam	7.50 m (24 ft 7 in) o/a; 4.40 m (14 ft 5 in) pressure hull;
Height	10.20 m (33 ft 6 in)
Draught	5.35 m (17 ft 7 in)
Installed power	9,000 PS (6,620 kW; 8,880 bhp) (diesels); 1,000 PS (740 kW; 990 shp) (electric);
Propulsion	2 shafts; 2 × diesel engines; 2 × electric motors;
Speed	20.8 knots (38.5 km/h; 23.9 mph) surfaced; 6.9 knots (12.8 km/h; 7.9 mph) submerged;
Range	12,750 nmi (23,610 km; 14,670 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) surfaced; 57 nmi (106 km; 66 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph) submerged;
Test depth	230 m (750 ft)
Complement	55 to 63
Armament	6 × torpedo tubes (four bow, two stern); 24 × 53.3 cm (21 in) torpedoes; 1 × 10.5 cm (4.1 in) SK C/32 deck gun (150 rounds); 1 × 3.7 cm (1.5 in) SK C/30 ; 2 × anti-aircraft guns;
Service record
Part of:	4th U-boat Flotilla; 7 March - 31 August 1942; 10th U-boat Flotilla; 1 – 30 September 1942; 12th U-boat Flotilla; 1 – 8 October 1942;
Identification codes:	M 43 832
Commanders:	F.Kapt. Ernst Sobe; 7 March - 8 October 1942;
Operations:	1 patrol:; 15 August - 8 October 1942;
Victories:	1 merchant ship sunk ; (6,558 GRT)

German submarine U-179 was a

Type IXD2 U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine built for service during World War II

.

Ordered on 28 May 1940, the

DeSchiMAG AG Weser yard in Bremen as yard number 1019, launched on 18 November, and commissioned on 7 March 1942, under the command of Korvettenkapitän Ernst Sobe.^[2]

Design

MWM RS34.5S six-cylinder four-stroke diesel engines for cruising, producing a total of 9,000 metric horsepower (6,620 kW; 8,880 shp) for use while surfaced, two Siemens-Schuckert 2 GU 345/34 double-acting electric motors producing a total of 1,000 shaft horsepower (1,010 PS; 750 kW) for use while submerged. She had two shafts and two 1.85 m (6 ft) propellers. The boat was capable of operating at depths of up to 200 metres (660 ft).^[3]

The submarine had a maximum surface speed of 20.8 knots (38.5 km/h; 23.9 mph) and a maximum submerged speed of 6.9 knots (12.8 km/h; 7.9 mph).

2 cm (0.79 in) C/30 anti-aircraft guns with 8100 rounds. The boat had a complement of fifty-five.^[3]

First patrol and loss

U-179 sailed from Kiel on 8 September 1942 into the Atlantic, passing north of Scotland and then turned southwest through the gap between Iceland and the Faroe Islands. She headed south for the waters around Cape Town. She made her only kill on 8 October, sinking the unescorted SS City of Athens. All but one of the 99 crewmen survived. The survivors managed to recover a cat from the wreckage after the sinking.^[4]

The boat was sunk by depth charges from the British destroyer HMS Active west southwest of Cape Town in South Africa on 8 October 1942. Sixty-one men died, there were no survivors.

Summary of raiding history

Date	Name	Nationality	Tonnage (GRT)	Fate^[5]
8 October 1942	City of Athens	United Kingdom	6,558	Sunk

Gallery

U179 Memorial Plaque, Kiel
U179 Last position off Cape Town
U-Boat Memorial, Kiel

References

^ Kemp 1999, p. 91.
^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type IXD2 boat U-179". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 22 July 2012.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Gröner 1991, pp. 74–75.
^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "City of Athens". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 8 October 2014.
^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit by U-179". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 26 September 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
.

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 IXD2 boat U-179". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 7 December 2014.
Hofmann, Markus. "U 179". Deutsche U-Boote 1935-1945 - u-boot-archiv.de (in German). Retrieved 7 December 2014.

33°28′S 17°05′E / 33.467°S 17.083°E / -33.467; 17.083

[FOOTNOTEKemp199991-1] Kemp 1999, p. 91.

[2] Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type IXD2 boat U-179". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 22 July 2012.

[FOOTNOTEGröner199174–75-3] Gröner 1991, pp. 74–75.

[4] Helgason, Guðmundur. "City of Athens". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 8 October 2014.

[5] Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit by U-179". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 26 September 2014.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

Type IXD submarine
Type IXD1	U-180 U-195
Type IXD2	U-177 U-178 U-179 U-181 U-182 U-196 U-197 U-198 U-199 U-200 U-847 U-848 U-849 U-850 U-851 U-852 U-859 U-860 U-861 U-862 U-863 U-864 U-871 U-872 U-873 U-874 U-875 U-876
IXD/42	U-883 U-884
Preceded by: Type IXC Followed by: Type X
List of U-boats of Germany

v t e German Type IX submarines
Type IXA	U-37 U-38 U-39 U-40 U-41 U-42 U-43 U-44
Type IXB	U-64 U-65 U-103 U-104 U-105 U-106 U-107 U-108 U-109 U-110 U-111 U-122 U-123 U-124
Type IXC	U-66 U-67 U-68 U-125 U-126 U-127 U-128 U-129 U-130 U-131 U-153 U-154 U-155 U-156 U-157 U-158 U-159 U-160 U-161 U-162 U-163 U-164 U-165 U-166 U-171 U-172 U-173 U-174 U-175 U-176 U-501 U-502 U-503 U-504 U-505 U-506 U-507 U-508 U-509 U-510 U-511 U-512 U-513 U-514 U-515 U-516 U-517 U-518 U-519 U-520 U-521 U-522 U-523 U-524
Type IXC/40	U-167 U-168 U-169 U-170 U-183 U-184 U-185 U-186 U-187 U-188 U-189 U-190 U-191 U-192 U-193 U-194 U-525 U-526 U-527 U-528 U-529 U-530 U-531 U-532 U-533 U-534 U-535 U-536 U-537 U-538 U-539 U-540 U-541 U-542 U-543 U-544 U-545 U-546 U-547 U-548 U-549 U-550 U-801 U-802 U-803 U-804 U-805 U-806 U-841 U-842 U-843 U-844 U-845 U-846 U-853 U-854 U-855 U-856 U-857 U-858 U-865 U-866 U-867 U-868 U-869 U-870 U-877 U-878 U-879 U-880 U-881 U-889 U-1221 U-1222 U-1223 U-1224 U-1225 U-1226 U-1227 U-1228 U-1229 U-1230 U-1231 U-1232 U-1233 U-1234 U-1235
Type IXD	U-177 U-178 U-179 U-180 U-181 U-182 U-195 U-196 U-197 U-198 U-199 U-200 U-847 U-848 U-849 U-850 U-851 U-852 U-859 U-860 U-861 U-862 U-863 U-864 U-871 U-872 U-873 U-874 U-875 U-876 U-883 U-884
Preceded by: Type VII Followed by: Type X List of U-boats of Germany

v t e Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in October 1942
Shipwrecks	2 Oct: HMS Curacoa, Lisbon Maru, U-512 5 Oct: U-582, U-619, Larry Doheny 6 Oct: I-22 8 Oct: U-179, John Carter Rose 9 Oct: Pennington Court, U-171 10 Oct: Komintern, Camden, HMT Orcades 11 Oct: Fubuki, Furutaka, L-16 12 Oct: USS Duncan, Murakumo, Natsugumo, U-597 13 Oct: I-30, Loreto 14 Oct: Caribou, Komet, Shch-213 15 Oct: Drazki, USS Meredith, U-661 16 Oct: Primrose Hill, U-353 17 Oct: Empire Chaucer, Oboro 20 Oct: U-216 21 Oct: Palatia, S-7 22 Oct: U-412, Winnipeg II 23 Oct: City of Johannesburg, Empire Star 24 Oct: U-599 25 Oct: USS Seminole, Yura 26 Oct: Anne Hutchinson, USS Porter, President Coolidge 27 Oct: USS Hornet, U-627 29 Oct: Abosso 30 Oct: U-520, U-559, U-658 31 Oct: USS YP-345 Unknown date: U-116, HMS Unique
Other incidents	2 Oct: RMS Queen Mary 12 Oct: HMS Loyal 23 Oct: HMS Phoebe
1941 1942 1943 September 1942 November 1942