German submarine U-157 (1941)
| Career (Nazi Germany) |  |
|---|---|
| Name: | U-157 |
| Ordered: | 25 September 1939 |
| Builder: | DeSchiMAG AG Weser, Bremen |
| Yard number: | 999 |
| Laid down: | 21 October 1940 |
| Launched: | 5 June 1941[1] |
| Commissioned: | 15 September 1941[1] |
| Fate: | Sunk, 13 June 1942[2] |
| General characteristics [3] | |
| 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 58.75 m (192 ft 9 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, 4,400 hp (3,281 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 7.7 knots (14.3 km/h; 8.9 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[4][5] | |
|---|---|
| Part of: |
4th U-boat Flotilla (15 September 1941–31 May 1942) 2nd U-boat Flotilla (1–13 June 1942) |
| Commanders: |
K.Kapt. Wolf Henne (15 September 1941–13 June 1942) |
| Operations: |
1st patrol: 30 April–10 May 1942 2nd patrol: 18 May–13 June 1942 |
| Victories: | 1 commercial ship sunk (6,401 GRT) |
German submarine U-157 was a Type IXC U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II. The submarine was laid down on 21 October 1940 at the DeSchiMAG AG Weser yard in Bremen, launched on 5 June 1941, and commissioned on 15 September under the command of Korvettenkapitän Wolf Henne. After training with the 4th U-boat Flotilla, U-157 was transferred to the 2nd U-boat Flotilla for front-line service on 3 June 1942.[4]
Service history
1st patrol
U-157 sailed from Kiel on 30 April 1942, around the British Isles, and arrived at Lorient, France, eleven days later on 10 May.[6]
2nd patrol
The U-boat left Lorient on 18 May 1942 and sailed across the Atlantic to the Caribbean Sea.[7] There, on 11 June, she torpedoed and sank[8] the unescorted 6,401-ton American tanker Hagan about five miles off the north coast of Cuba. The ship, loaded with 22,676 barrels of blackstrap molasses, was hit in the engine room, destroying the engines and causing at least one boiler to explode. About a minute later a second torpedo struck, and the tanker began to sink by the stern. The crew abandoned ship in two lifeboats, but two officers and four crewmen were lost. The boats, containing 38 men, both landed in Cuba.[9]
Fate
U-157 was sunk two days later, on 13 June 1942, south-west of Key West, Florida, in position 24°13′N 82°03′W / 24.217°N 82.050°WCoordinates: 24°13′N 82°03′W / 24.217°N 82.050°W, by depth charges from USCGC Thetis, a U.S. Coast Guard cutter assigned to the Eastern Sea Frontier Squadron at Key West. All 52 crew were lost.[2][4][10]
Summary of raiding career
| Date | Name | Nationality | Tonnage (GRT) |
Fate[11] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 June 1942 | Hagan |  United States |
6,401 | Sunk |
References
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Kemp, p 82
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Kemp, pp 82–83
- ↑ Gröner 1985, pp. 105-7.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type IXC boat U-157". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 22 February 2010.
- ↑ Helgason, Guðmundur. "War Patrols by German U-boat U-157". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 22 February 2010.
- ↑ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Patrol of U-boat U-157 from 30 Apr 1942 to 10 May 1942". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 22 February 2010.
- ↑ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Patrol of U-boat U-157 from 18 May 1942 to 13 Jun 1942". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 22 February 2010.
- ↑ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Patrol of German U-boat U-157 from 18 May 1942 to 13 Jun 1942". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 3 October 2014.
- ↑ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Hagan (Steam tanker)". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 22 February 2010.
- ↑ Scheina, p 40
- ↑ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit by U-157". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 3 October 2014.
Bibliography
- Campbell, John (1985). Naval Weapons of World War Two. Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, Maryland. ISBN 978-0870214592.
- Gröner, Erich (1985). U-Boote, Hilfskreuzer, Minenschiffe, Netzleger, Sperrbrecher. Die deutschen Kriegsschiffe, 1815-1945 (in German) III (Koblenz: Bernard & Graefe). ISBN 3-7637-4802-4.
- Kemp, Paul (1997). U-Boats Destroyed: German Submarine Losses in the World Wars. Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, Maryland. ISBN 978-1557508591.
- Scheina, Robert L. (1982). U.S. Coast Guard Cutters & Craft of World War II. Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, Maryland. ISBN 978-0-87021-717-3.
Further reading
- Busch, Rainer; Röll, Hans-Joachim (1999). Deutsche U-Boot-Verluste von September 1939 bis Mai 1945. Der U-Boot-Krieg (in German) IV (Hamburg, Berlin, Bonn: Mittler). ISBN 3-8132-0514-2.
External links
- Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type IXC boat U-157". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 7 December 2014.
- Hofmann, Markus. "U 157". Deutsche U-Boote 1935-1945 - u-boot-archiv.de (in German). Retrieved 7 December 2014.
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