German submarine U-180
History | |
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Nazi Germany | |
Name | U-180 |
Ordered | 28 May 1940 |
Builder | |
Yard number | 1020 |
Laid down | 25 February 1941 |
Launched | 10 December 1941 |
Commissioned | 16 May 1942 |
Fate | Missing since 23 August 1944 in the Bay of Biscay off Bordeaux |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Type IXD submarine |
Displacement | |
Length |
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Beam |
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Height | 10.20 m (33 ft 6 in) |
Draught | 5.35 m (17 ft 7 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 | 55 to 63 |
Armament |
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Service record[1] | |
Part of: |
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Identification codes: | M 44 013 |
Commanders: |
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Operations: |
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Victories: |
2 merchant ships sunk (13,298 GRT) |
German submarine U-180 was a
Design
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).
Service history
First patrol
U-180 sailed from
On 18 April U-180 sank the British 8,132 GRT tanker Corbis about 500 nautical miles (930 km; 580 mi) east southeast of
On the return voyage, U-180 sank the Greek freighter Boris west of Ascension Island on 3 June 1943.[5]
During this voyage, U-180 was supplied by U-462 on the way to the exchange. She was supposed to be refueled by U-463 on the way back, but that boat was sunk by the British on 16 May 1943. On 19 June, U-180 was refueled by U-530.
Second patrol and loss
Under the command of Oberleutnant zur See Rolf Riesen (Crew 38), U-180 sailed from Bordeaux on 20 August 1944 bound for Japan. She was reported sunk off the Bay of Biscay on 23 August 1944, with the loss of all of her 56 crew. The official verdict is "sunk by a mine",[6] however, some experts speculate that trouble with the schnorkel (the underwater breathing and engine operating device), may have been the cause.
Summary of raiding history
Date | Ship | Nationality | Tonnage (GRT) |
Fate[7] |
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18 April 1943 | Corbis | United Kingdom | 8,132 | Sunk |
3 June 1943 | Boris | Greece | 5,166 | Sunk |
Media
- U-180 is the submarine shown in the 2004 Bollywood film Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose: The Forgotten Hero where Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose travels with the German submarine U-180 around the Cape of Good Hope to the southeast of Madagascar, where he is transferred to the I-29 for the rest of the journey to Imperial Japan.
- U-180 is the submarine carrying .
- U-180 is featured in the thriller Spook's Gold by Andrew Wood. The rendezvous on 21 April between U-180 and I-29, as well as an exchange of gold and military goods is a key element of the plot.
References
- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type IXD1 boat U-180". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 4 December 2009.
- ^ "German Transport Boats to the Far East". www.uboataces.com. Retrieved 4 December 2009.
- ^ a b c d Gröner 1991, pp. 74–75.
- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Corbis (Motor tanker)". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 4 December 2009.
- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Boris (Steam merchant)". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 4 December 2009.
- ISBN 1-85409-515-3.
- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit by U-180". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 29 December 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.
External links
- Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type IXD boat U-180". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 4 December 2009.
- Hofmann, Markus. "U 180". Deutsche U-Boote 1935-1945 - u-boot-archiv.de (in German). Retrieved 30 January 2015.
- U-180 and the Secret Operation (in German) trans. (in English)