German submarine U-186
| Career (Nazi Germany) |  |
|---|---|
| Name: | U-186 |
| Ordered: | 15 August 1940 |
| Builder: | DeSchiMAG AG Weser, Bremen |
| Yard number: | 1026 |
| Laid down: | 24 July 1941 |
| Launched: | 11 March 1941[1] |
| Commissioned: | 10 July 1942[1] |
| Fate: | Sunk by HMS Hesperus, 12 May 1943[1] |
| General characteristics [2] | |
| Class and type: | Type IXC/40 submarine |
| Displacement: | 1,144 t (1,126 long tons) surfaced 1,257 t (1,237 long tons) submerged |
| Length: | 76.76 m (251 ft 10 in) o/a 58.75 m (192 ft 9 in) pressure hull |
| Beam: | 6.86 m (22 ft 6 in) o/a 4.44 m (14 ft 7 in) pressure hull |
| Height: | 9.6 m (31 ft 6 in) |
| Draft: | 4.67 m (15 ft 4 in) |
| Propulsion: | 2 × MAN M 9 V 40/46 supercharged 9-cylinder diesel engines, 4,400 hp (3,281 kW) 2 × SSW GU 345/34 double-acting electric motors, 1,000 hp (746 kW) |
| Speed: | 19 knots (35 km/h; 22 mph) surfaced 7.3 knots (13.5 km/h; 8.4 mph) submerged |
| Range: | 13,850 nmi (25,650 km; 15,940 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) surfaced 63 nmi (117 km; 72 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph) submerged |
| Test depth: | 230 m (750 ft) |
| Complement: | 4 officers, 44 enlisted |
| Armament: |
|
| Service record[3] | |
|---|---|
| Part of: |
Kriegsmarine 4th U-boat Flotilla (training boat) 10 July–31 December 1942 10th U-boat Flotilla 1 January–12 May 1943 |
| Commanders: |
K.Kapt. Siegfried Hesemann (10 July 1942–12 May 1943) |
| Operations: | Two patrols |
| Victories: | Three ships sunk, totalling 18,782 GRT |
German submarine U-186 was a Type IXC/40 U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine built for service during World War II. Her keel was laid down on 24 July 1941 by DeSchiMAG AG Weser in Bremen as yard number 1026. She was launched on 11 March 1942 and commissioned on 10 July with Korvettenkapitän Siegfried Hesemann in command.
The U-boat's service began with training as part of the 4th U-boat Flotilla. She then moved to the 10th flotilla on 1 January 1943 for operations. The submarine carried out two patrols and was a member of nine wolfpacks. She sank three ships totalling 18,782 gross register tons (GRT).
She was sunk by a British destroyer in May 1943.
Operational career
1st patrol
U-186 's first patrol took her from Kiel, across the North Sea and into the Atlantic Ocean through the gap between Iceland and the Faroe Islands. She sank Ocean Vagabond on 11 January 1943 south of Iceland. This ship had already been damaged by U-513 in September 1942. U-186 also sank Hastings and Eulima on 23 February 1943 (part of Convoy ON 166) about 310 nmi (570 km; 360 mi) south of Cape Race (Newfoundland). She arrived at Lorient in occupied France, on 5 March 1943.
2nd patrol and loss
The boat departed Lorient on 17 April 1943. On 12 May she was sunk northwest of the Azores by depth charges dropped by the British destroyer HMS Hesperus. Fifty three men died. There were no survivors.
Wolfpacks
U-186 took part in nine wolfpacks, namely.
- Habicht (10–19 January 1943)
- Haudegen (19 January - 2 February 1943)
- Nordsturm (2–9 February 1943)
- Haudegen (9–15 February 1943)
- Taifun (15–20 February 1943)
- Amsel (22 April - 3 May 1943)
- Amsel 4 (3–6 May 1943)
- Rhein (7–10 May 1943)
- Elbe 2 (10–12 May 1943)
Summary of raiding career
| Date | Ship | Nationality | Tonnage | Fate[4] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 January 1943 | Ocean Vagabond |  United Kingdom |
7,174 | Sunk |
| 23 February 1943 | Eulima | United Kingdom |
6,204 | Sunk |
| 23 February 1943 | Hastings |  United States |
5,401 | Sunk |
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Kemp 1999, pp. 115-6.
- ↑ Gröner 1985, pp. 105-7.
- ↑ Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type IXC/40 boat U-186". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 22 July 2012.
- ↑ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit by U-186". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net.
Bibliography
- Edwards, Bernard (1996). Dönitz and the Wolfpacks - The U-boats at War. Cassell Military Classics. pp. 160, 207, 211. ISBN 0-304-35203-9.
- 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.
- 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 (1999). U-Boats Destroyed - German Submarine Losses in the World Wars. London: Arms & Armour. ISBN 1-85409-515-3.
External links
- Hofmann, Markus. "U 186". Deutsche U-Boote 1935-1945 - u-boot-archiv.de (in German). Retrieved 30 January 2015.
- Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type IXC/40 boat U-186". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 7 December 2014.
- U-186 at ubootwaffe.net
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