| Career | |
|---|---|
| Name: | U-180 |
| Ordered: | 28 May 1940 |
| Builder: | AG Weser, Bremen |
| Yard number: | 1020 |
| Laid down: | 25 February 1941 |
| Launched: | 10 December 1941 |
| Commissioned: | 16 May 1942 |
| Fate: | Sank, 23 August 1944 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Type IXD1 submarine |
| Displacement: | 1,610 t (1,580 long tons) surfaced 1,799 t (1,771 long tons) submerged |
| Length: | 87.6 m (287 ft 5 in) overall 68.5 m (224 ft 9 in) pressure hull |
| Beam: | 7.5 m (24 ft 7 in) overall 4.4 m (14 ft 5 in) pressure hull |
| Height: | 10.2 m (33 ft 6 in) |
| Draft: | 5.4 m (17 ft 9 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: | 20.8 knots (38.5 km/h) surfaced 6.9 knots (12.8 km/h) submerged |
| Range: | 12,750 nmi (23,610 km) at 10 knots (19 km/h) surfaced 213 nmi (394 km) at 4 kn (7.4 km/h) submerged |
| Test depth: | 230 m (750 ft) |
| Complement: | 55 to 63 |
| Armament: | Anti-aircraft guns |
| Service record[1] | |
| Part of: | 4th U-boat Flotilla (16 May 1942–31 January 1943) 12th U-boat Flotilla (1 February–1 November 1943, and 1 April–23 August 1944) |
| Commanders: | Fregkpt. Werner Musenberg (16 May 1942–4 January 1944) Oblt. Harald Lange (October–7 November 1943) Oblt. Rolf Riesen (2 April–23 August 1944) |
| Operations: | 1st patrol: 9 February–3 July 1943 2nd patrol: 20–23 August 1944 |
| Victories: | 2 commercial ships sunk (13,298 GRT) |
German submarine U-180 was a Type IXD1 transport U-boat of the German Kriegsmarine which served in World War II. Her keel was laid down on 25 February 1941 at AG Weser yard in Bremen, and was launched on 10 December 1941. Stripped of torpedo armament the Type IXD1's were designated as transport submarines, and could carry up to 252 tonnes of freight.[2] U-180 was used primarily in clandestine operations.
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U-180, under the command of Fregattenkapitän Werner Musenberg, sailed from Kiel on 9 February 1943 , with the leader of the Indian National Army Subhas Chandra Bose and his aide Abid Hasan aboard.
On 18 April U-180 sank the British 8,132 ton tanker Corbis about 500 miles east-southeast of Port Elizabeth, South Africa.[3] Three days later, on 21 April, U-180 made her rendezvous with the Japanese submarine I-29, just east of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean, and exchanged the two Indians for two Japanese Navy officers, both shipbuilding officers, Captain Emi and Captain Tomonaga, who were to study U-boat building techniques upon arrival in Germany. Also received were, two tonnes of gold ingots as payment from Japan for weapons technology.
On the return voyage, on 3 June 1943, U-180 sank the Greek freighter Boris west of Ascension Island.[4]
During this voyage, U-180 was supplied by the U-462 on the way to the exchange. She was supposed to be refueled by the U-463 on the way back, but U-463 was sunk by the British on 16 May 1943. On 19 June, she was refueled by the U-530.
Under the command of Oberleutnant Rolf Riesen, 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", however some experts speculate that schnorkel trouble may have been the cause.
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