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German submarine U-164 (1941)
Career (Germany) War Ensign of Germany 1938-1945
Name: U-164
Ordered: 25 December 1939
Builder: Deutsche Schiff und Maschinenbau AG, Bremen
Yard number: 703
Laid down: 20 June 1940
Launched: 1 May 1941
Commissioned: 28 November 1941
Fate: Sunk on 6 January 1943[1]
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[2] (110 rounds)
Service record
Part of: Kriegsmarine
4th U-boat Flotilla
(28 November 1941–31 July 1942)
10th U-boat Flotilla
(1 August 1942–6 January 1943)
Commanders: KrvtKpt. Otto Fechner
(28 November 1941–6 January 1943)
Operations: Two patrols
Victories: Three ships sunk for a total of 8,133 gross register tons (GRT)

German submarine U-161 was a Type IXC U-boat of the Nazi German Kriegsmarine built for service during World War II. The keel for this boat was laid down on 20 June 1940 at the Deutsche Schiff und maschinenbau AG, Bremen yard as 'werk' 703. She was launched on 1 May 1941 and commissioned on 28 November 1941 under the command of Korvettenkapitän Otto Fechner.

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 August 1942 for operations. She sank three ships, totalling 8,133 tons. She was sunk by an American aircraft in January 1943.

Operational career[]

1st patrol[]

The submarine's first patrol took her from Kiel on 18 July 1942, across the North Sea and into the Atlantic Ocean through the gap between Iceland and the Faroe Islands. She sank the Stad Amsterdam on 25 August in the eastern Caribbean. The first torpedoes hit, except they were duds, probably fired from too close-in; but a coup de grǎce caused the ship to sink stern-first. The boat also sank the John A. Holloway northwest of Curaçao. U-164 arrived at Lorient, in occupied France, on 7 October. She would be based at this Atlantic port for the rest of her brief career.

2nd patrol and loss[]

She sank the Brageland, a Swedish neutral, on 1 January 1943. A three-man boarding party inspected the ship and under the prize rules, she was torpedoed.

U-164 was sunk by an American PBY Catalina flying boat of VP-83 125 mi from northwest of Ceará State shore line, Brazil on 6 January 1943. 54 men died, there were two survivors.

Summary of raiding history[]

Date Name Nationality Tonnage
(GRT)
Fate[3]
25 August 1942 Stad Amsterdam Flag of the Netherlands Netherlands 3,780 Sunk
6 September 1942 John A. Holloway Flag of Canada Canada 1,745 Sunk
1 January 1943 Brageland Flag of Sweden Sweden 2,608 Sunk

See also[]

References[]

Citations
  1. Kemp, Paul: U-Boats Destroyed - German Submarine Losses in the World Wars, 1997, Arms & Armour, ISBN 1-85409-515-3, p. 99
  2. Campbell, John Naval Weapons of World War Two ISBN 0-87021-459-4 pp.248 and 249
  3. http://uboat.net/boats/successes/u164/html

External links[]

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