German submarine U-154 (1941)

For other ships of the same name, see German submarine U-154.
Career (Nazi Germany)
Name: U-154
Ordered: 25 September 1939
Builder: DeSchiMAG AG Weser, Bremen
Yard number: 996
Laid down: 21 September 1940
Launched: 21 April 1941
Commissioned: 1 August 1941
Fate: Sunk on 3 July 1944[1]
General characteristics [2]
Class and type:Type IXC submarine
Displacement:1,120 t (1,100 long tons) surfaced
1,232 t (1,213 long tons) submerged
Length:76.76 m (251 ft 10 in) o/a
58.7 m (192 ft 7 in) pressure hull
Beam:6.76 m (22 ft 2 in) o/a
4.4 m (14 ft 5 in) pressure hull
Height:9.6 m (31 ft 6 in)
Draft:4.7 m (15 ft 5 in)
Propulsion:2 × MAN M 9 V 40/46 supercharged 9-cylinder diesel engines, 4,000 hp (2,983 kW)
2 × SSW 2 GU 345/34 double-acting electric motors, 1,000 hp (746 kW)
Speed:18.3 knots (33.9 km/h; 21.1 mph) surfaced
7.3 knots (13.5 km/h; 8.4 mph) submerged
Range:13,450 nmi (24,910 km; 15,480 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) surfaced
64 nmi (119 km; 74 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph) submerged
Test depth:230 m (750 ft)
Complement:48 to 56
Armament:
Service record
Part of: Kriegsmarine
4th U-boat Flotilla
(4 August 1941–31 January 1942)
2nd U-boat Flotilla (1 February 1942–3 July 1944)
Commanders:
  • K.Kapt. Walther Kölle
    (2 August–7 October 1942)
  • Heinrich Schuh (7 October 1942–8 February 1943)
  • Oblt.z.S. Oskar-Heinz Kusch
    (8 February 1943–21 January 1944
  • Oblt.z.S. Gerth Cemeiner
    (22 January–3 July 1944)
Operations: Eight patrols
Victories: 10 ships sunk for a total of 49,288 gross register tons (GRT)
2 ships damaged for a total of 15,771 tons
1 ship declared a total loss, for 8,166 tons

German submarine U-154 was a Type IXC U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine built for service during World War II. The keel for this boat was laid down on 21 September 1940 at the DeSchiMAG AG Weser yard in Bremen, Germany as yard number 996. She was launched on 21 April 1941 and commissioned on 2 August under the command of Korvettenkapitän Walther Kölle.

The submarine began her service life with training as part of the 4th U-boat Flotilla; moving on to the 2nd flotilla for operations. She conducted eight patrols, sinking ten ships.

She was sunk by American destroyers in July 1944.

Operational history

1st patrol

The boat's first patrol began with her departure from Kiel on 7 February 1942. She headed for the Atlantic Ocean west of Ireland via the gap between the Faroe and Shetland Islands. She docked at Lorient in occupied France, on 1 March.

2nd patrol

For her second sortie, she sailed to the Caribbean, sinking Como Rico on 4 April 1942, about 225 nmi (417 km; 259 mi) north of St. Juan, in Puerto Rico. Her success continued with the sinking of Catahoula, Delvalle, Empire Amethyst and Vineland, all near Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

3rd, 4th and 5th patrols

Her third patrol saw her cross the Atlantic once more. She sank Tillie Lykes on 28 June 1942, about 100 nmi (190 km; 120 mi) south of Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic and Lalita, using the deck gun, in the Yucatan Channel on 6 July.

One of the boat's victims on this, her fourth patrol, was Nurmahal. She was sunk on 9 November 1942 300 nmi (560 km; 350 mi) east of Martinique "in less than thirty seconds."[3] Another was Tower Grange, sunk 250 nmi (460 km; 290 mi) off Cayenne in French Guiana.

Having made the short trip from Lorient to Brest, the submarine's fifth foray was her longest (109 days) and second most successful. Amongst many others, she attacked Florida. Although the ship had her back broken on 28 May 1943, she was eventually repaired.

6th, 7th and 8th patrols and loss

She departed on patrol number six on 2 October 1943. U-154 was attacked by an unidentified PBY Catalina flying boat on 3 November; she was also twice attacked on the 22nd. None caused any damage. The boat returned to Lorient on 20 December.

She was then attacked on 13 March 1944, possibly by the US Navy patrol boat PC 469 north of the Panama Canal; only minor damage was sustained. U-154 was also engaged on the 29th of the same month by the Colombian Navy destroyer Caldas. She returned to France, again to Lorient, on 28 April 1944.

U-154 was sunk by the US destroyers USS Inch and Frost northwest of Madeira on 3 July 1944.

Wolfpacks

U-154 took part in one wolfpack, namely.

Postscript

Oblt.z.S. Oskar-Heinz Kusch, who had commanded the boat in 1943 and the first month of 1944 and successfully attacked three ships, was court-martialled and shot in 1944, having been reported by his first officer, Ulrich Abel, for "Wehrkraftzersetzung" (sedition and defeatism). It was not until the 1990s that Kusch's legal record was wiped clean and a memorial to his memory was erected.

Summary of raiding career

Date Name Nationality Tonnage
(GRT)		 Fate[4]
4 April 1942 Comol Rico  United States 5,034 Sunk
5 April 1942 Catahoula  United States 5,030 Sunk
12 April 1942 Delvalle  United States 5,032 Sunk
13 April 1942 Empire Amethyst  United Kingdom 8,032 Sunk
20 April 1942 Vineland  Canada 5,587 Sunk
28 June 1942 Tillie Lykes  United States 2,572 Sunk
6 July 1942 Lalita  Panama 65 Sunk
8 November 1942 D'Entrecasteaux  United Kingdom 7,291 Sunk
9 November 1942 Nurmahal  United Kingdom 5,419 Sunk
18 November 1942 Tower Grange  United Kingdom 5,226 Sunk
28 May 1943 Cardinal Gibbons  United States 7,191 Damaged
28 May 1943 Florida  United States 8,580 Damaged
28 May 1943 John Worthington  United States 8,166 Total loss

References

  1. ↑ Kemp 1999, pp. 200-1.
  2. ↑ Gröner 1985, pp. 105-6.
  3. ↑ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit by U-154". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 7 December 2014.
  4. ↑ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit by U-154". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 7 December 2014.

Bibliography

External links

Coordinates: 34°00′N 19°18′W / 34.000°N 19.300°W