German submarine U-180
| 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: | Sunk, 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; 14,670 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h) surfaced 213 nautical miles (394 km; 245 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph) 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: |
Frgkpt. Werner Musenberg (16 May 1942–4 January 1944) Oblt.z.S. Harald Lange (October–7 November 1943) Oblt.z.S. Rolf Riesen (2 April–23 August 1944) |
| Operations: |
Two 1st patrol: 9 February–3 July 1943 2nd patrol: 20–23 August 1944 |
| Victories: | Two commercial ships sunk (13,298 GRT) |
German submarine U-180 was a Type IXD1 transport U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine which served in World War II. Her keel was laid down on 25 February 1941 at the AG Weser yard in Bremen as 'werk' 1020. She was launched on 10 December 1941 and commissioned on 16 May 1942 under Fregattenkapitän Werner Musenberg. Stripped of torpedo armament, the Type IXD1s were designated as transport submarines, and could carry up to 252 tonnes of freight.[2] U-180 was used primarily in clandestine operations.
Service history
1st patrol
U-180 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 (800 km) east southeast of Port Elizabeth, South Africa.[3] Three days later, on 21 April, the boat 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, Captains Emi Tetsushiro and Tomonaga Hideo, who were to study U-boat building techniques upon their arrival in Germany. Bose and Hasan's transfer is the only known record of a civilian transfer between two submarines of two different navies in World War II. Also received were two tonnes of gold ingots as payment from Japan for weapons technology.
On the return voyage, U-180 sank the Greek freighter Boris west of Ascension Island on 3 June 1943.[4]
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.
2nd patrol and loss
Under the command of Oberleutnant zur See 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",[5] however, some experts speculate that trouble with the schnorkel (the underwater breathing and engine operating device), may have been the cause.
Raiding history
| Date | Ship | Nationality | Tonnage | Fate[6] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 April 1943 | Corbis |  UK | 8,132 | Sunk |
| 3 June 1943 | Boris |  Greece | 5,166 | Sunk |
Media
- U-180 is the submarine carrying Nazi party secretary, Martin Bormann, to South America in the Jack Higgins thriller, Thunder Point.
- U-180 is featured in the thriller Spook's Gold by Andrew Wood. The rendezvous on 21 April between U-180 and the I-29, as well as an exchange of gold and military goods is a key element of the plot.
References
- ↑ "The Type IXD1 boat U-180 - German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net". www.uboat.net. Retrieved 2009-12-04.
- ↑ "German Transport Boats to the Far East". www.uboataces.com. Retrieved 2009-12-04.
- ↑ "Corbis (Motor tanker) - Ships hit by U-boats - uboat.net". www.uboat.net. Retrieved 2009-12-04.
- ↑ "Boris (Steam merchant) - Ships hit by U-boats - uboat.net". www.uboat.net. Retrieved 2009-12-04.
- ↑ Kemp, Paul (1999). U-Boats Destroyed – German Submarine Losses in the World Wars. Arms & Armour. p. 214. ISBN 1-85409-515-3.
- ↑ http://uboat.net/boats/successes/u180.html
External links
- U-180 and the Secret Operation (German) trans. (English)
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Coordinates: 44°00′00″N 2°00′00″W / 44.000°N 2.000°W