German submarine U-166 (1941)

For other ships of the same name, see German submarine U-166.
Career (Nazi Germany)
Name: U-166
Ordered: 25 September 1939
Builder: Seebeckwerft, Wesermünde
Yard number: 705
Laid down: 6 December 1940
Launched: 1 November 1941[1]
Commissioned: 23 March 1942[1]
Fate: Sunk, 30 July 1942 by the United States Navy patrol craft PC-566
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
58.75 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[3][4]
Part of: 4th U-boat Flotilla
(23 March–31 May 1942)
10th U-boat Flotilla
(1 June 1942–30 July 1942)
Commanders: Oblt.z.S. Hans-Günther Kuhlmann
(23 March 1942–30 July 1942)
Operations: 1st patrol: 1–10 June 1942
2nd patrol: 17 June–30 July 1942
Victories: Four commercial ships sunk (7,593 GRT)

German submarine U-166 was a Type IXC U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II. The submarine was laid down on 6 December 1940 at the Seebeckwerft (part of Deutsche Schiff- und Maschinenbau AG, Deschimag) at Wesermünde (modern Bremerhaven) as yard number 705, launched on 1 November 1941 and commissioned on 23 March 1942 under the command of Oberleutnant zur See Hans-Günther Kuhlmann. After training with the 4th U-boat Flotilla, U-166 was transferred to the 10th U-boat Flotilla for front-line service on 1 June 1942. The U-boat sailed on only two war patrols and sank four ships totalling 7,593 gross register tons (GRT).[3] She was sunk on 30 July 1942 in Gulf of Mexico.[5]

Service history

1st patrol

U-166 first sailed from Kiel to Kristiansand, Norway, on 30–31 May 1942.[4] The U-boat sailed on her first combat patrol, from Kristiansand on 1 June 1942, around the British Isles, and arrived at Lorient, France, ten days later on 10 June.[6]

2nd patrol

U-166 departed from Lorient on 17 June 1942, sailed across the Atlantic and into the Gulf of Mexico[7] and is credited with the following "kills":[8]

Summary of raiding career

Date of Action Ship Name Ship Type Nationality Tonnage (GRT) Position Deaths
11 July 1942 Carmen Sailing Vessel  Dominican Republic 84 19°43′N 70°12′W / 19.717°N 70.200°W 1
13 July 1942 Oneida Steam Merchant  United States 2,309 20°17′N 74°06′W / 20.283°N 74.100°W 6
16 July 1942 Gertrude Motor Fishing Vessel  United States 16 23°32′N 82°00′W / 23.533°N 82.000°W 0
30 July 1942 Robert E. Lee Steam Passenger Ship  United States 5,184 28°40′N 88°42′W / 28.667°N 88.700°W 25

Fate

Robert E. Lee was under escort from the United States Navy patrol craft PC-566 approximately 45 miles (72 km) south of the Mississippi River Delta when she was torpedoed by U-166 on 30 July 1942. PC-566 immediately attacked the U-boat, and claimed to have sunk her with depth charges.

On 1 August 1942, a United States Coast Guard J4F-1 Widgeon amphibious aircraft, spotted a U-boat approximately 100 miles (160 km) off the coast of Houma, Louisiana. The aircraft attacked, it appeared that the U-boat was hit in the attack. U-166 was reported missing in action on 30 July 1942, which coincided with the American aircraft's attack on "a U-Boat", leading to the aircraft being credited with the sinking of U-166. U-166's sinking sent all 52 crew members to their deaths. Both crewmen were decorated for the action.[8][9][10]

Wreckage located in 2001

A gun on the deck of the sunken U-166

However, in 2001, when the wreck of Robert E. Lee was located in more than 5,000 feet (1,500 m) of water, the wreck of U-166 was also located, less than two miles from where it had attacked her. An archaeological survey of the seafloor prior to construction of a natural gas pipeline had led to the discoveries. Petroleum companies operating in the Gulf of Mexico’s outer continental shelf are required to provide sonar data in areas that have archaeological potential. BP and Shell sponsored additional fieldwork to record detailed images, including a gun on the deck aft of the submarine’s conning tower.[11] On investigation, it was discovered that another U-boat, U-171, also operating in the Gulf of Mexico, had reported coming under attack from an American aircraft on 1 August 1942, with little damage. Therefore, the credit for the sinking of U-166 should have gone to PC-566.[9][12][13] Charles "C.J." Christ from Houma, LA spent most of his life searching for U-166 and was involved in the final identification of the U-boat.[14]

The site where U-166 lies, at 28°37′N 90°45′W / 28.617°N 90.750°WCoordinates: 28°37′N 90°45′W / 28.617°N 90.750°W has been designated a war grave because its crew of 52 is entombed there. It is protected against any future attempts to salvage it.[15]

Oceanographer and National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence Dr. Robert Ballard explored and mapped the wreck in the summer of 2014 with remotely-operated vehicles and determined that the bow of the submarine was destroyed, apparently by a depth charge. On 16 December 2014, the Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus posthumously awarded the captain of PC 566, Herbert G. Claudius, the Legion of Merit with a Combat "V" device for heroism in battle and credited him with the sinking of the U-boat. "Seventy years later, we now know that [Claudius's] report after the action was absolutely correct," he said. "[Claudius's ship] did sink that U-boat, and it's never too late to set the record straight." [16][17]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Kemp 1999, p. 85.
  2. ↑ Gröner 1985, pp. 105-6.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type IXC boat U-166". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 22 February 2010.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Helgason, Guðmundur. "War Patrols by German U-boat U-166". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 22 February 2010.
  5. ↑ "Historic Shipwrecks in the Gulf of Mexico". gomr.mms.gov. Retrieved 22 February 2010.
  6. ↑ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Patrol of U-boat U-166 from 1 June 1942 to 10 June 1942 - U-boat patrols - uboat.net". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 22 February 2010.
  7. ↑ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Patrol of U-boat U-166 from 17 Jun 1942 to 30 Jul 1942". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 22 February 2010.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 "U-Boat Operations". ubootwaffe.net. Retrieved 2007-07-08.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 "U-166". US Coast Guard. Retrieved 2009-10-16.
  10. ↑ "173-FOOT STEEL-HULL PATROL CRAFT (PC, 461 - CLASS)". Patrol Craft Sailors Association. Retrieved 2007-07-08.
  11. ↑ "Petroleum Survey finds U-166". American Oil & Gas Historical Society.
  12. ↑ http://www.underwaterarchaeology.org/newsletter_page%203.htm
  13. ↑ "Contents". World War II in the Gulf of Mexico. Retrieved 2007-07-08.
  14. ↑ "WAR IN THE GULF: German submarine, U-166, found in the Gulf of Mexico". The Daily Comet (Lafourche). Retrieved 2013-01-23.
  15. ↑ "U-Boat Crew Lists". ubootwaffe.net. Retrieved 2007-07-08.
  16. ↑ Howard, Brian Clark, "72 Years Later, Snubbed Captain Credited With Downing German U-Boat", National Geographic, Washington, D.C., 17 December 2014.
  17. ↑ Brian Clark Howard. "72 Years Later, Snubbed Captain Credited With Downing German U-Boat". National Geographic.
  18. ↑ "History of the Offshore Oil and Gas Industry in Southern Louisiana" (PDF). OCS Study MMS 2008-042 Volume 1,. p. 42. Retrieved 2013-01-23.
  19. ↑ "WAR IN THE GULF: German submarine, U-166, found in the Gulf of Mexico". The Daily Comet. Retrieved 2013-01-23.

Bibliography

External links