| German submarine U-183 | |
|---|---|
| Career |  |
| Name: | U-183 |
| Ordered: | 15 August 1940 |
| Builder: | AG Weser, Bremen |
| Yard number: | 1023 |
| Laid down: | 28 May 1941 |
| Launched: | 9 January 1942 |
| Commissioned: | 1 April 1942 |
| Fate: | Sunk, 23 April 1945, by a US submarine |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Type IXC/40 submarine |
| Displacement: |
1,120 t (1,100 long tons) surfaced 1,232 t (1,213 long tons) submerged |
| Length: |
76.8 m (252 ft) overall 58.7 m (192 ft 7 in) pressure hull |
| Beam: |
6.9 m (22 ft 8 in) overall 4.4 m (14 ft 5 in) pressure hull |
| Height: | 9.6 m (31 ft 6 in) |
| Draft: | 4.7 m (15 ft 5 in) |
| Propulsion: |
2 × MAN M9V40/46 supercharged 9-cylinder diesel engines, 4,400 hp (3,300 kW) 2 × SSW GU345/34 double-acting electric motors, 1,000 hp (740 kW) |
| Speed: |
19 knots (35 km/h; 22 mph) surfaced 7.3 knots (13.5 km/h; 8.4 mph) submerged |
| Range: |
25,620 nmi (47,450 km) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) surfaced 117 nmi (217 km) at 4 kn (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph) submerged |
| Test depth: | 230 m (750 ft) |
| Complement: | 48 to 56 |
| Armament: |
6 × 55 cm (22 in) torpedo tubes (four bow, two stern) 22 × torpedoes 1 × Utof 105 mm (4.1 in)/45 deck gun with 110 rounds |
| Service record | |
|---|---|
| Part of: |
4th U-boat Flotilla (April–September 1942) 2nd U-boat Flotilla (October 1942–September 1944) 33rd U-boat Flotilla (October 1944–April 1945) |
| Commanders: |
Korvkpt. Heinrich Schäfer (April 1942–November 1943) Kptlt. Fritz Schneewind (November 1943–April 1945) |
| Victories: |
Four ships totalling 19,260 GRT sunk; one ship of 6,993 GRT damaged beyond repair |
German submarine U-183 was a Type IXC/40 U-boat of the Nazi German Kriegsmarine built during World War II. She was commissioned in April 1942, one of the first IXC/40 boats, somewhat larger and faster than the IXC type. She began her service life in the 4th U-boat Flotilla, a training organization, moving on to the 2nd, then the 33rd Flotilla, both operational or front outfits.
U-183 was in the first wave of "Monsun boats" or Monsun Gruppe, which operated in the Indian Ocean from Japanese bases in the occupied Dutch East Indies and British Malaya, mostly Penang.
Service history[]
After serving in the Atlantic, U-183 sailed from France in July 1943, arriving at Penang on 27 October, and operated in the zone for almost two years. She carried out six war patrols, and was sunk on 23 April 1945, days before Germany's surrender, by the American submarine Besugo (SS-321) in the Java Sea. Only one crew member survived.
Summary of raiding career[]
| Date | Name | Nationality | Tonnage (GRT) |
Fate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 December 1942 | Empire Dabchick |  United Kingdom |
6,089 | Sunk |
| 11 March 1942 | SS Olancho |  Honduras |
2,493 | Sunk |
| 29 February 1944 | SS Palma | United Kingdom |
5,419 | Sunk |
| 9 March 1944 | SS British Loyalty | United Kingdom |
6,993 | Total loss |
| 5 June 1944 | SS Helen Moller | United Kingdom |
6,089 | Sunk |
References[]
See also[]
Coordinates: 4°49′59″S 112°52′01″E / 4.833°S 112.867°E
The original article can be found at German submarine U-183 and the edit history here.