German submarine U-177

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History
Nazi Germany
Name: U-177
Ordered: 28 May 1940
Builder: DeSchiMAG AG Weser, Bremen
Yard number: 1017
Laid down: 25 November 1940
Launched: 1 October 1941
Commissioned: 14 March 1942
Fate: Sunk, 6 February 1944 by a US aircraft
General characteristics
Class & type: Type IXD2 submarine
Displacement:
  • 1,610 t (1,580 long tons) surfaced
  • 1,799 t (1,771 long tons) submerged
Length:
Beam:
  • 7.50 m (24 ft 7 in) o/a
  • 4.40 m (14 ft 5 in) pressure hull
Height: 10.20 m (33 ft 6 in)
Draught: 5.40 m (17 ft 9 in)
Installed power:
  • 9,000 PS (6,620 kW; 8,880 bhp) (diesels)
  • 1,000 PS (740 kW; 990 shp) (electric)
Propulsion:
Range:
  • 12,750 nmi (23,610 km; 14,670 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) surfaced
  • 213 nmi (394 km; 245 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph) submerged
Test depth: 230 m (750 ft)
Complement: 55 to 63
Armament:
Service record[1][2]
Part of:
Commanders:
  • K.Kapt. Wilhelm Schulze
  • 14 March 1942 - 23 March 1943
  • K.Kapt. Robert Gysae
  • 24 March - 16 October 1943
  • K.Kapt. Heinz Buchholz
  • 17 October 1943 - 6 February 1944
Operations:
  • Three:
  • 1st patrol: 17 September 1942 - 22 January 1943
  • 2nd patrol: 1 April - 1 October 1943
  • 3rd patrol: 2 January - 6 February 1944
Victories:
  • 14 commercial ships sunk (87,388 GRT)
  • One commercial ship damaged (2,588 GRT)

German submarine U-177 was a Type IXD2 U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II. The submarine was laid down on 25 November 1940 at the DeSchiMAG AG Weser yard in Bremen as yard number 1017. She was launched on 1 October 1941 and commissioned on 14 March 1942 under the command of Kapitänleutnant Wilhelm Schulze. After a period of training with the 4th U-boat Flotilla at Stettin, the boat was transferred to the 10th flotilla on 1 October 1942 and based at Lorient for front-line service, she was then reassigned to the 12th flotilla at Bordeaux on 1 December.

She sank 14 ships of 87,388 gross register tons (GRT) and damaged one other of 2,588 GRT, but was herself sunk in February 1944 in the Atlantic west of Ascension Island by a US Navy aircraft.

Design

German Type IXD2 submarines were considerably larger than the original Type IXs. U-177 had a displacement of 1,610 tonnes (1,580 long tons) when at the surface and 1,799 tonnes (1,771 long tons) while submerged.[3] The U-boat had a total length of 87.58 m (287 ft 4 in), a pressure hull length of 68.50 m (224 ft 9 in), a beam of 7.50 m (24 ft 7 in), a height of 10.20 m (33 ft 6 in), and a draught of 5.35 m (17 ft 7 in). The submarine was powered by two MAN M 9 V 40/46 supercharged four-stroke, nine-cylinder diesel engines plus two MWM RS34.5S six-cylinder four-stroke diesel engines for cruising, producing a total of 9,000 metric horsepower (6,620 kW; 8,880 shp) for use while surfaced, two Siemens-Schuckert 2 GU 345/34 double-acting electric motors producing a total of 1,000 shaft horsepower (1,010 PS; 750 kW) for use while submerged. She had two shafts and two 1.85 m (6 ft) propellers. The boat was capable of operating at depths of up to 200 metres (660 ft).[3]

The submarine had a maximum surface speed of 20.8 knots (38.5 km/h; 23.9 mph) and a maximum submerged speed of 6.9 knots (12.8 km/h; 7.9 mph).[3] When submerged, the boat could operate for 121 nautical miles (224 km; 139 mi) at 2 knots (3.7 km/h; 2.3 mph); when surfaced, she could travel 12,750 nautical miles (23,610 km; 14,670 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph). U-177 was fitted with six 53.3 cm (21 in) torpedo tubes (four fitted at the bow and two at the stern), 24 torpedoes, one 10.5 cm (4.13 in) SK C/32 naval gun, 150 rounds, and a 3.7 cm (1.5 in) with 2575 rounds as well as two 2 cm (0.79 in) anti-aircraft guns with 8100 rounds. The boat had a complement of fifty-five.[3]

Operational history

1st patrol

Under the command of Kptlt. Robert Gysae, U-177 left Kiel on 17 September 1942 and sailed north around the British Isles. On 23 September the U-boat was bombed by a twin-engined aircraft southeast of Iceland, but crash-dived and sustained no damage. She then headed south to the waters off South Africa and Mozambique. There she sank eight ships totalling 49,371 tons and damaged another of 2,588 tons:[4]

She had her first success on 2 November, sinking the unescorted 4,538 ton Greek merchant steamer Aegeus off Cape Columbine. There were no survivors.[5]

On 9 November the U-boat attacked and damaged the unescorted 2,588 ton British oil tanker Cerion south of Port Elizabeth with her 37 mm and 20 mm AA guns, after her deck gun malfunctioned, and several attacks with torpedoes failed.[6]

The 7,006 ton British tanker Scottish Chief was the next victim on 19 November; she was loaded with 13,000 tons of fuel oil, and was torpedoed by U-177 about 200 miles east southeast of Durban. The ship exploded and sank in flames, with only 12 of the crew of 48 surviving.[7]

The unescorted 7,191 ton Liberty ship Pierce Butler was hit by two torpedoes from U-177 on 20 November. The ship's armed guards opened fire with her five- and three-inch guns, while the engines were secured; subsequently the eight officers, 33 crewmen and 21 armed guards abandoned ship in four lifeboats. Within half an hour the ship sank. The Pierce Butler's third mate was questioned by officers from U-177 who offered to send a distress signal if none had been sent. The boat had, and the crew were picked up about 20 hours later by HMS Fortune.[8]

U-177 next sank the unescorted 6,796 ton British troop transport RMS Nova Scotia southeast of Lourenço Marques on the 28th. The ship was carrying mail, passengers and 780 Italian prisoners of war and civilian internees from Port Tewfik, Massawa and Aden to Durban. Hit by three torpedoes, she sank within ten minutes. The U-boat picked up two survivors to identify the ship, who turned out to be Italian merchant sailors. Mindful of the Laconia Order issued two months previously, Gysae radioed the BdU (U-boat headquarters) and was ordered to continue his patrol while they notified the Portuguese authorities, who sent the frigate Template:NRP to help. The frigate rescued only 194 survivors. From the 1,052 aboard, 858 were lost, including 650 Italians.[9]

On 30 November she sank the unescorted 10,799 ton British troop transport Llandaff Castle with two torpedoes southeast of Lourenço Marques. The former Union-Castle Line passenger ship had 150 passengers on board, including six Soviet diplomats with their wives and children and 70 military officers with their families. Three crew members were lost. The survivors were later rescued by HMS Catterick.[10]

U-177 torpedoed the unescorted 3,548 ton Greek merchant ship Saronikos off Mozambique on 7 December, which broke in half and sank within two minutes. The Germans questioned the only two survivors from the crew of 38, and provided them with bandages and provisions.[11]

The boat torpedoed the unescorted 6,408 ton British merchant ship Empire Gull on 12 December in the Mozambique Channel, allowing the crew to abandon ship before opening fire with her deck gun, firing 70 incendiary and 100 high-explosive rounds, and scoring about 140 hits, which finally caused the ship to sink. Two crew members were lost in the attack, the master and 43 crewmen were later rescued up by HMS Inconstant and HMS Freesia.[12]

On 14 December the U-boat sank the 3,085 ton Dutch merchant ship Sawahloento with her last torpedo, her destruction took seven minutes. The crew of 72 men abandoned ship in four lifeboats, three of which capsized when the boiler exploded, drowning most of the occupants. The 19 survivors in the last lifeboat were questioned, and then set sail towards the coast of South Africa, arriving two days later.[13]

U-177 then headed for France, arriving in Bordeaux on 22 January 1943 after a voyage of 128 days.[2]

2nd patrol

U-177 left Bordeaux on 1 April 1943 for her second patrol around the Cape of Good Hope where she sank six ships totalling 38,017 tons. She attacked Convoy CD-20 on 27 May with a salvo of four torpedoes, hitting the 6,679 ton American merchant ship Agwimonte and the 7,886 ton Norwegian tanker Storaas. Both ships were abandoned by their crews and were sunk with further torpedoes from U-177.[14][15]

On 6 July the unescorted 7,129 ton Canadian merchant ship Jasper Park was hit by two torpedoes from U-177 south southwest of Cap Sainte Marie, the extreme southern point of Madagascar. The U-boat fired another torpedo which either missed or was a dud, so she surfaced to sink the vessel with gunfire, but as she did so her target sank.[16]

On 10 July 1943 U-177 struck the unescorted 7,176 ton American Liberty ship Alice F. Palmer with a single torpedo in the stern, blowing off the propeller and rudder, flooding the engine room, and breaking the back of the ship. The crew of 68 abandoned their vessel in four lifeboats, and after questioning them, U-177 shelled the ship, firing 14 incendiary and 85 high-explosive rounds. The burning ship slowly sank. The four lifeboats eventually sailed to Madagascar.[17]

The 4,952 ton British collier Cornish City was torpedoed and sunk on 29 July, southeast of Madagascar. The ship sank within a minute with the loss of 37 of her crew of 43. The survivors were questioned by the Germans and later picked up by HMAS Nizam.[18]

The U-boat successfully attacked the unescorted 4,195 ton Greek merchant ship Efthalia Mari east of Madagascar on 5 August, after spotting her using a Fa 330 Bachstelze rotor kite. Hit by two torpedoes, the ship sank in eight minutes.[19] U-177 was one of only a few U-boats equipped with the aerial observation platform, and the only one to have successfully used it.

The submarine returned to Bordeaux on 1 October 1943 after 184 days at sea.[2]

3rd patrol and loss

Under the command of Korvettenkapitän Heinz Buchholz, U-177 sailed from La Pallice (where she had docked on 26 December 1943), on 2 January 1944 and once again headed south. On the 36th day of the patrol,[20] on 6 February, she was sunk in the Atlantic west of Ascension Island, in position Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found., by depth charges dropped by a PB4Y aircraft from US Navy Squadron VB-107. 50 men were lost; 15 survived,[1] they were picked up by USS Omaha.

Summary of raiding history

Date Ship Nationality Tonnage Fate
2 November 1942 Aegeus  Greece 4,538 Sunk
9 November 1942 Cerion  United Kingdom 2,588 Damaged
19 November 1942 Scottish Chief  United Kingdom 7,006 Sunk
20 November 1942 Pierce Butler  United States 7,191 Sunk
28 November 1942 RMS Nova Scotia  United Kingdom 6,796 Sunk
30 November 1942 Llandaff Castle  United Kingdom 10,799 Sunk
7 December 1942 Sawahloento  Netherlands 3,085 Sunk
28 May 1943 Agwimonte  United States 6,679 Sunk
28 May 1943 Storaas  Norway 7,886 Sunk
6 July 1943 Jasper Park  Canada 7,129 Sunk
10 July 1943 Alice F Palmer  United States 7,176 Sunk
29 July 1943 Cornish City  United Kingdom 4,952 Sunk
15 August 1943 Efthalia Maria  Greece 4,195 Sunk

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Gröner 1991, pp. 74-75.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

Bibliography

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  • Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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  • Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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