German submarine U-165 (1941)

For other ships with the same name, see German submarine U-165.

U-505, a typical Type IXC boat
History
Nazi Germany
NameU-165
Ordered25 September 1939
BuilderDeSchiMAG, Bremen
Yard number704
Laid down30 August 1940
Launched15 August 1941
Commissioned3 February 1942
FateSunk on 27 September 1942
General characteristics
Class and typeType 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
  • 4.40 m (14 ft 5 in) pressure hull
Height9.60 m (31 ft 6 in)
Draught4.70 m (15 ft 5 in)
Installed power
  • 4,400 PS (3,200 kW; 4,300 bhp) (diesels)
  • 1,000 PS (740 kW; 990 shp) (electric)
Propulsion
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 depth230 m (750 ft)
Complement4 officers, 44 enlisted
Armament
Service record
Part of:
Identification codes: M 47 655
Commanders:
  • F.Kapt. Eberhard Hoffmann
  • 3 February – 27 September 1942
Operations:
  • 1 patrol:
  • 7 August – 27 September 1942
Victories:
  • 2 merchant ships sunk
    (8,396 GRT)
  • 1 auxiliary warship sunk
    (358 GRT)
  • 3 merchant ships damaged
    (14,499 GRT)
  • 1 auxiliary warship damaged
    (7,252 GRT)

German submarine U-165 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 30 August 1940 at the Deutsche Schiff- und Maschinenbau AG, Bremen yard as yard number 704. She was launched on 15 August 1941 and commissioned on 3 February 1942 under the command of Fregattenkapitän Eberhard Hoffmann.

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 September 1942 for operations. She sank two ships, totalling 8,396 gross register tons (GRT), one auxiliary warship of 358 GRT and damaged three others, for 14,499 GRT. She also damaged one auxiliary warship (7,252 GRT).

An RAF aircraft with a Czechoslovak crew sank her on 27 September 1942.

Design

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German Type IXC submarines were slightly larger than the original Type IXBs. U-165 had a displacement of 1,120 tonnes (1,100 long tons) when at the surface and 1,232 tonnes (1,213 long tons) while submerged.[1] The U-boat had a total length of 76.76 m (251 ft 10 in), a pressure hull length of 58.75 m (192 ft 9 in), a beam of 6.76 m (22 ft 2 in), a height of 9.60 m (31 ft 6 in), and a draught of 4.70 m (15 ft 5 in). The submarine was powered by two MAN M 9 V 40/46 supercharged four-stroke, nine-cylinder diesel engines producing a total of 4,400 metric horsepower (3,240 kW; 4,340 shp) for use while surfaced, two Siemens-Schuckert 2 GU 345/34 double-acting electric motors producing a total of 1,000 metric horsepower (740 kW; 990 shp) for use while submerged. She had two shafts and two 1.92 m (6 ft) propellers. The boat was capable of operating at depths of up to 230 metres (750 ft).[1]

The submarine had a maximum surface speed of 18.3 knots (33.9 km/h; 21.1 mph) and a maximum submerged speed of 7.3 knots (13.5 km/h; 8.4 mph).[1] When submerged, the boat could operate for 63 nautical miles (117 km; 72 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph); when surfaced, she could travel 13,450 nautical miles (24,910 km; 15,480 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph). U-165 was fitted with six 53.3 cm (21 in) torpedo tubes (four fitted at the bow and two at the stern), 22 torpedoes, one 10.5 cm (4.13 in) SK C/32 naval gun, 180 rounds, and a 3.7 cm (1.5 in) SK C/30 as well as a 2 cm (0.79 in) C/30 anti-aircraft gun. The boat had a complement of forty-eight.[1]

Service history

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Patrol

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Source:[2][3]

The submarine's only patrol took her from Kiel on 7 August 1942, across the North Sea and into the northern Atlantic Ocean via through the gap between Iceland and the Faroe Islands to the Gulf of the St. Lawrence.

Her first victims were USS Laramie and Arlyn; both damaged during an attack on convoy SG-6 at the northern end of the Belle Isle Strait on 28 August. One of the ships was then finished off by U-517.

On 6 September U-165 found convoy QS-33 and during several attacks sank the freighter Aeas and the escort HMCS Raccoon.

On 15 September U-517 attacks convoy SQ-36, and signals U-165 which can attack the next day. U-165 can sink one ship out of the convoy and damage two more ships.

Loss

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U-165 had almost reached the French Atlantic ports when on 27 September 1942 an RAF Coastal Command Vickers Wellington 1C on patrol from RAF Talbenny found her on the surface just west of the Bay of Biscay. The Wellington, with serial number Z1147 and code letters KX-Q, belonged to No. 311 Squadron RAF, whose aircrew were Czechoslovaks.[4]

The pilot, Plt Off Václav Študent, attacked at an altitude of 70 feet (21 m). His navigator and bomb aimer, Flt Lt Václav Kadaně, aimed six depth charges at U-165. Their explosions lifted the U-boat out of the water, but she managed to submerge to escape further attack.[4]

Shrapnel wounded three of the Wellington's crew, including the co-pilot, and a fourth crew member lost a finger. The machine gun fire also damaged the aircraft's hydraulic equipment. Študent broke off the attack, and at 19:58 hrs crash-landed the Wellington at St Eval, Cornwall. Two of the wounded Czechoslovak crew were hospitalised. However, the attack succeeded in sinking U-165.[4]

In older sources, the U-165 is listed as being lost to unknown causes, or to have run on a mine.[3][2]

Summary of raiding history

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Date Name Nationality Tonnage[Note 1] Fate[5]
28 August 1942 USS Laramie  United States Navy 7,252 Damaged
28 August 1942 Arlyn  United States 3,304 Damaged
6 September 1942 Aeas  Greece 4,729 Sunk
7 September 1942 HMCS Raccoon  Royal Canadian Navy 358 Sunk
16 September 1942 Essex Lance  United Kingdom 6,625 Damaged
16 September 1942 Joanis  Greece 3,667 Sunk
16 September 1942 Pan York  United States 4,570 Damaged

References

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Notes

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  1. ^ Merchant ship tonnages are in gross register tons. Military vessels are listed by tons displacement.

Citations

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  1. ^ a b c d Gröner 1991, p. 68.
  2. ^ a b Blair, p. 685-687
  3. ^ a b Rohwer, p.158
  4. ^ a b c "Last Flight of Wellington T2564". Free Czechoslovak Air Force. 16 October 2012. Retrieved 3 October 2021.
  5. ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit by U-165". German U-boats of WWII – uboat.net. Retrieved 3 October 2014.

Bibliography

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  • Busch, Rainer; Röll, Hans-Joachim (1999). German U-boat commanders of World War II: a biographical dictionary. Translated by Brooks, Geoffrey. London, Annapolis, Md: Greenhill Books, Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-186-6.
  • Busch, Rainer; Röll, Hans-Joachim (1999). Deutsche U-Boot-Verluste von September 1939 bis Mai 1945 [German U-boat losses from September 1939 to May 1945]. Der U-Boot-Krieg (in German). Vol. IV. Hamburg, Berlin, Bonn: Mittler. ISBN 3-8132-0514-2.
  • Gröner, Erich; Jung, Dieter; Maass, Martin (1991). U-boats and Mine Warfare Vessels. German Warships 1815–1945. Vol. 2. Translated by Thomas, Keith; Magowan, Rachel. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-593-4.
  • Rohwer, J.; Hummelchen, G. (1992). Chronology of the War at Sea 1939–1945. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-105-X.
  • Blair, Clay (2000). Hitler's U-Boat War [Volume 2]: The Hunted 1942–1945. Cassell. ISBN 0-304-35261-6.
[edit]
  • Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type IXC boat U-165". German U-boats of WWII – uboat.net. Retrieved 7 December 2014.
  • Hofmann, Markus. "U 165". Deutsche U-Boote 1935-1945 – u-boot-archiv.de (in German). Retrieved 7 December 2014.

47°05′N 5°30′W / 47.083°N 5.500°W / 47.083; -5.500

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