| Career (Nazi Germany) | |
|---|---|
| Name: | U-171 |
| Ordered: | 23 December 1939 |
| Builder: | AG Weser, Bremen |
| Yard number: | 1011 |
| Laid down: | 1 December 1940 |
| Launched: | 22 July 1941 |
| Commissioned: | 25 October 1941 |
| Fate: | Sunk by mine 9 October 1942 in the Bay of Biscay. 30 survivors, 22 crew killed. |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Type IXC submarine |
| Displacement: | 1,120 t (1,100 long tons) surfaced 1,232 t (1,213 long tons) submerged |
| Length: | 76.8 m (252 ft 0 in) o/a 58.7 m (192 ft 7 in) pressure hull |
| Beam: | 6.8 m (22 ft 4 in) o/a 4.4 m (14 ft 5 in) pressure hull |
| Height: | 9.4 m (30 ft 10 in) |
| Draft: | 4.7 m (15 ft 5 in) |
| Propulsion: | 2 × MAN M9V40/46 supercharged 9-cylinder diesel engines, 4,400 hp (3,281 kW) 2 × SSW GU345/34 double-acting electric motors, 1,000 hp (746 kW) |
| Speed: | 18.2 knots (33.7 km/h) surfaced 7.7 knots (14.3 km/h) submerged |
| Range: | 24,880 nmi (46,080 km) at 10 knots (19 km/h) surfaced 117 nmi (217 km) at 4 kn (7.4 km/h) submerged |
| Test depth: | 230 m (750 ft) |
| Complement: | 48 to 56 |
| Armament: | • 6 × torpedo tubes (4 bow, 2 stern) • 22 × 533 mm (21 in) torpedoes • 1 × Utof 105 mm/45 deck gun (110 rounds) • AA guns |
| Service record | |
| Part of: | Kriegsmarine 4th U-boat Flotilla 10th U-boat Flotilla |
| Identification codes: | M 29 121 |
| Commanders: | Kptlt. Günther Pfeffer |
| Operations: | 1 patrol |
| Victories: | 3 ships sunk for 17.641 gross register tons (GRT) |
German submarine U-171 was a Type IXC U-boat of the German Kriegsmarine built for service during World War II. The submarine was laid down on 1 December 1940 at the AG Weser yard at Bremen, launched on 22 July 1941, and commissioned on 25 October 1941 under the command of Kapitänleutnant Günther Pfeffer.
After training with 4th U-boat Flotilla, U-171 was transferred to 10th U-boat Flotilla for front-line service on 1 July 1942. U-171 was sent to patrol in the Gulf of Mexico, and was sunk by a naval mine in the Bay of Biscay 115 days into its first, and only, patrol whilst returning to Lorient with the loss of 22 of its complement of 54.[1] For many years it was believed that U-166 had been sunk by an American aircraft in what had in reality been an unsuccessful attack on this boat.
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U-171 departed Kiel on its first operational patrol on 17 June 1942, at the end of which it was to return to Lorient, where it would be based for future patrols.
On 26 July 1942, the submarine sank a 4,351 ton Mexican general cargo merchant SS Oaxaca at off Corpus Christi, Texas. The ship was at the time en-route from New Orleans to Tampico via Veracruz. The first spread of two torpedoes missed the ship, but a second spread of two torpedoes was successful when one hit the port side near the fore of the ship. Six of the ship's crew of 45 died.[2]
On 1 August 1942, while on patrol in the Gulf of Mexico, U-171 came under attack from an U.S. Coast Guard J4F-1 Widgeon aircraft, causing it little damage. However for decades it was believed that the U-boat attacked that day was U-166, and the credit for the sinking of U-166 went to that aircraft.
In 2001, the wreckage of U-166 was discovered just a short distance from its last victim, the SS Robert E. Lee, meaning that the actual credit for the sinking of U-166 should have gone to the U.S. Navy patrol craft, PC-566, which had reported that they believed they were successful in their depth charge attack on the U-boat following the U-boat's successful attack on the Robert E. Lee, but were believed by investigating officials to have missed.[3]
Having not been sunk, as had been believed by the Allies, the submarine continued its patrol. On 13 August 1942 it sank the 6,779 ton US tanker SS R. M. Parker Jr. at . The ship, which was carrying water ballast, was struck by two torpedoes and the submarine then surfaced and fired five rounds from its deck gun into the wreck. The whole crew of 44 survived, being picked up 8 hours later by United States Coast Guard auxiliary USS Pioneer.[4]
On 4 September 1942, the submarine had its final success, the Mexican tanker SS Amatlan, 6,511 tons and again in ballast, at . This ship had evaded three spreads of two torpedoes each before being hit by a torpedo fired by U-171's stern tube. There were 10 dead and 24 survivors.[5]
The U-171 was sunk at 13:00 hours on 9 October 1942 in the Bay of Biscay near Lorient, France, in position , by mines. There were 22 dead and 30 survivors, including Commander Pfeffer (1914–1966).[6].
The wrecked submarine was been classified as "military cemetery" in 1999 by French authorities : divers are then warned that visiting inside the ship is strictly forbidden.
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