| Career |  |
|---|---|
| Name: | U-162 |
| Ordered: | 25 September 1939[1] |
| Builder: | Deutsche Schiff- und Maschinenbau AG, Bremen[2] |
| Yard number: | 701[1] |
| Laid down: | 19 April 1940[1] |
| Launched: | 1 March 1941[1] |
| Commissioned: | 9 September 1941[1] |
| Fate: | Sunk on 3 September 1942 in the mid-Atlantic north-east of Trinidad, by depth charges from British warships; two dead and 49 survivors.[2] |
| module2= | |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Type IXC submarine |
| Displacement: |
1,120 t (1,100 long tons) surfaced 1,232 t (1,213 long tons) submerged |
| Length: |
76.8 m (252 ft 0 in) overall 58.7 m (192 ft 7 in) pressure hull |
| Beam: |
6.8 m (22 ft 4 in) overall 4.4 m (14 ft 5 in) pressure hull |
| Height: | 9.4 m (30 ft 10 in) |
| Draft: | 4.7 m (15 ft 5 in) |
| Propulsion: |
2 × MAN M9V40/46 supercharged 9-cylinder diesel engines, 4,000 hp (2,983 kW) 2 × SSW GU345/34 double-acting electric motors, 1,000 hp (746 kW) |
| Speed: |
18.2 knots (33.7 km/h) surfaced 7.3 knots (13.5 km/h) submerged |
| Range: |
24,880 nmi (46,080 km) at 10 knots (19 km/h) surfaced 117 nmi (217 km) at 4 kn (7.4 km/h) submerged |
| Test depth: | 230 m (750 ft) |
| Complement: | 48 to 56 |
| Armament: |
6 × torpedo tubes (four bow, two stern) 22 × 55 cm (22 in) torpedoes 1 × 10.5 cm SK C/32 naval gun[3] (110 rounds) |
| Service record | |
|---|---|
| Commanders: |
|
| Operations: | Three |
| Victories: | 14 ships sunk (82,027 GRT) sunk[2] |
German submarine U-162 was a Type IXC U-boat of the Nazi German Kriegsmarine during World War II.
She was ordered on 25 September 1939 and was laid down on 19 April 1940 at Deutsche Schiff- und Maschinenbau AG, at Seebeck Yard in Bremerhaven, Germany,[4] as "werk 701".[2] She was launched on 1 March 1941 and commissioned under the command of Korvettenkapitän Jürgen Wattenberg on 9 September of that year.[2]
During three war patrols, U-162 sank 14 vessels. However, on 3 September, three British destroyers hunted U-162 down and sank her. Of a crew of fifty-one, only two died. The remainder were taken prisoner and sent to camps in the United States, where they were to remain for the rest of the war.[5]
Service Record[]
1st Patrol[]
Following training exercises with the 4th U-boat Flotilla from 9 September 1941 to 31 January 1942, U-162 began her first war patrol as the lead boat of the 2nd U-boat Flotilla on 1 February 1942.[2] She left her home port of Kiel on 7 February and ventured into the North Sea without stopping in occupied Norway.[5] During 40 days at sea, U-162 sailed north of the British Isles and entered the North Atlantic, where she sank her first vessel, the White Crest, on 24 February 1942.[6]
2nd Patrol[]
U-162's emblem
U-162 returned to sea on 7 April 1942. For this patrol, she cruised south into the Caribbean Sea and the northern coast of South America. During her 63 days at sea, U-162 sank nine ships: the Athelempress, the Parnahyba, the Eastern Sword, the Florence M. Douglas, the Frank Seamans, the Mont Louis, the Esso Houston, the British Colony and the Beth. Following these victories, U-162 returned to her new home port of Lorient on 8 June 1942.[7]
3rd Patrol and sinking[]
U-162's third and final sortie began on 7 July 1942, when she left Lorient for the last time. Much like her second foray, U-162 spent her third patrol in the Caribbean Sea and off the coast of South America. From the 19th to 30 August, she sank four more vessels: the West Celina, the Moena, the Thelma and the Star of Oregon.[8] Nonetheless, just four days after sinking the Star of Oregon, she was detected northeast of Trinidad. Three British destroyers, HMS Vimy, Pathfinder and Quentin, attacked and sank U-162 with depth charges. Two crewmen were killed, 49 others survived.[2][9]
Following the sinking of U-162, the surviving crew members were picked up by the three destroyers and sent to the United States where they gave US interrogators information about U-162's history, including where and when she was laid down, how many ships she sank and details about her home port and the design and layout of submarines that were in her class.[5] They were then sent to POW camps in the United States. In December 1944, the captain, Jürgen Wattenberg, escaped captivity but was recaptured a month later.[10]
Summary of raiding history[]
| Date | Name | Nationality | Tons | Fate |
| 24 February 1942 | White Crest |  United Kingdom |
4,365 | Sunk |
| 30 April 1942 | Athelempress | United Kingdom |
8,941 | Sunk |
| 1 May 1942 | Parnahyba |  Brazil |
6,692 | Sunk |
| 4 May 1942 | Eastern Sword |  USA |
3,785 | Sunk |
| 4 May 1942 | Florence M. Douglas | United Kingdom |
119 | Sunk |
| 7 May 1942 | Frank Seamans |  Norway |
4,271 | Sunk |
| 9 May 1942 | Mont Louis |  Canada |
1,905 | Sunk |
| 13 May 1942 | Esso Houston | USA |
7,699 | Sunk |
| 14 May 1942 | British Colony | United Kingdom |
6,917 | Sunk |
| 18 May 1942 | Beth | Norway |
6,852 | Sunk |
| 19 August 1942 | West Celina | USA |
5,722 | Sunk |
| 24 August 1942 | Moena |  Netherlands |
9,286 | Sunk |
| 26 August 1942 | Thelma | Norway |
8,297 | Sunk |
| 30 August 1942 | Star of Oregon | USA |
7,176 | Sunk |
See also[]
Footnotes[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 "U-162 Type IXC". ubootwaffe.net. http://ubootwaffe.net/ops/boat.cgi?boat=162. Retrieved 14 February 2010.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 Helgason, Guðmundur. "U-162". U-Boat War in World War II. Uboat.net. http://www.uboat.net/boats/u162.htm. Retrieved 21 February 2010.
- ↑ Campbell, John Naval Weapons of World War Two ISBN 0-87021-459-4 pp.248&249
- ↑ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Deutsche Schiff und Maschinenbau AG, Bremen". Shipyards. Uboat.net. http://www.uboat.net/technical/shipyards/seebeck.htm. Retrieved 14 March 2010.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 "Report On The Interrogation of Survivors From U-162 Sunk On September 3, 1942". U-boat Archive. United States Navy Department. http://www.uboatarchive.net/U-162INT.htm. Retrieved 18 March 2010.
- ↑ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Patrol info for U-162 (first patrol)". Patrol info for U-162. Uboat.net. http://www.uboat.net/boats/patrols/patrol_3989.html. Retrieved 27 February 2010.
- ↑ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Patrol info for U-162 (second patrol)". Patrol info for U-162. Uboat.net. http://www.uboat.net/boats/patrols/patrol_3990.html. Retrieved 27 February 2010.
- ↑ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Patrol info for U-162 (third patrol)". Patrol info for U-162. Uboat.net. http://www.uboat.net/boats/patrols/patrol_3991.html. Retrieved 27 February 2010.
- ↑ "U 162". U-boat Archive. http://www.uboatarchive.net/U-162.htm. Retrieved 18 March 2010.
- ↑ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Jürgen Wattenberg". Patrol info for U-162. Uboat.net. http://www.uboat.net/men/wattenberg.htm. Retrieved 28 February 2010.
- ↑ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit by U-162". U-Boat War in World War II. Uboat.net. http://www.uboat.net/boats/successes/u162.html. Retrieved 28 February 2010.
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Coordinates: 12°21′N 59°29′W / 12.35°N 59.483°W
The original article can be found at German submarine U-162 (1941) and the edit history here.