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German submarine U-67 (1940)
Career (Nazi Germany) War Ensign of Germany 1938-1945
Name: U-67
Ordered: 7 August 1939[1][2]
Builder: AG Weser, Bremen[2]
Yard number: 986[2]
Laid down: 5 April 1940[2]
Launched: 30 October 1940[2]
Commissioned: 22 January 1941[2]
Fate: Sunk 16 July 1943 in the Sargasso Sea[2]
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
Part of: Kriegsmarine:
2nd U-boat Flotilla
Commanders: Kptlt. Heinrich Bleichrodt
Oblt. Günther Pfeffer
Krvkpt. Günther Müller-Stockheim
Operations: Seven
1st patrol:
14 September–16 October 1941
2nd patrol:
26 November–26 December 1941
3rd patrol:
19 January–30 March 1942
4th patrol:
20 May–8 August 1942
5th patrol:
16 September–21 December 1942
6th patrol:
3 March–13 April 1943
7th patrol:
10 May–16 July 1943
Victories: 13 ships sunk for a total of 72,138 gross register tons (GRT)
five ships damaged for a total of 29,726 GRT

German submarine U-67 was a Type IXC U-boat of the Nazi German Kriegsmarine that operated during World War II.[2] She was laid down in the AG Weser yard in Bremen as 'werk' 986 on 5 April 1940. She was launched on 30 October and was commissioned on 22 January 1941 under Korvettenkapitän Heinrich Bleichrodt.

Her service life began with training with the 2nd U-boat Flotilla on her commissioning date; the boat was declared operational with the same flotilla on 1 September 1941.

Operational career[]

The boat carried out seven patrols in which she sank 13 ships and damaged another five. She was a member of three wolf packs. She was sunk on 16 July 1943 by an Avenger bomber from the US aircraft carrier USS Core. 48 men died, there were three survivors.

Her operational service commenced with a trip from Bergen in Norway to Lorient in France. The submarine was to spend the rest of her career being based in the French port.

1st, 2nd and 3rd patrols[]

She sank the St. Clair II west northwest of the Canary Islands on 24 September 1941 on her first foray.

On her second patrol she was attacked by the British corvette HMS Bluebell on 11 December 1941 west of Gibraltar; slight damage was incurred. U-208 was originally though to have been sunk.

Her third effort, which began with the U-boat's departure from Lorient on 19 January 1942, took her to the Caribbean, where she sank the Penelope, about 150 mi (240 km) west of Dominica on 14 March.

4th, 5th and 6th patrols and loss[]

Her fourth patrol, as part of Operation Drumbeat,[4] saw the submarine enter the Gulf of Mexico. There she sank eight ships, most of them just off the mouth of the Mississippi River.[5] Her fifth sortie turned out to be her longest - 97 days. Moving to the area off the north coast of South America, she sank a further six ships, but her success was marred by an explosion while handling torpedoes. One man was killed.

Patrol number six included being part of the Seerauber wolfpack (pirate) which was unfortunate as the boat was badly damaged during an attack on the convoy RS 3. Three U-boats (from a total of eight) were hit in the battle which took place south of the Canary Islands.

The submarine began her seventh and final patrol on 10 May 1943; she was sunk in mid-ocean on 16 July.

Summary of raiding history[]

Date Name Nationality Tonnage
(GRT)
Fate[5]
24 September 1941 St Clair Flag of the United Kingdom United Kingdom 3,753 Sunk
16 February 1942 Rafaela Flag of the Netherlands Netherlands 3,177 Damaged
21 February 1942 Kongsgaard Flag of Norway Norway 9,647 Sunk
14 March 1942 Penelope Flag of Panama Panama 8,436 Sunk
16 June 1942 Managua Flag of the Netherlands Netherlands 2,220 Sunk
20 June 1942 Nortind Flag of Norway Norway 9,647 Damaged
23 June 1942 Raleigh Warner Flag of the United States USA 3,664 Sunk
29 June 1942 Empire Mica Flag of the United Kingdom United Kingdom 8,032 Sunk
6 July 1942 Bayard Flag of Norway Norway 2,160 Sunk
7 July 1942 Paul H. Harwood Flag of the United States USA 6,610 Damaged
10 July 1942 Benjamin Brewster Flag of the United States USA 5,950 Sunk
13 July 1942 R.W. Gallagher Flag of the United States USA 7,989 Sunk
25 October 1942 Primero Flag of Norway Norway 4,414 Sunk
8 November 1942 Capo Olmo Flag of the United Kingdom United Kingdom 4,712 Damaged
9 November 1942 Nidarland Flag of Norway Norway 6,132 Sunk
15 November 1942 King Arthur Flag of the United Kingdom United Kingdom 5,224 Sunk
18 November 1942 Tortugas Flag of Norway Norway 4,697 Sunk
28 November 1942 Empire Glade Flag of the United Kingdom United Kingdom 7,006 Damaged

See also[]

References[]

  1. "U-67 Type IXC". ubootwaffe.net. http://ubootwaffe.net/ops/boat.cgi?boat=67. Retrieved 3 July 2012. 
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 Helgason, Guðmundur. "U-67". German U-boats of World War II. Uboat.net. http://www.uboat.net/boats/u67.htm. Retrieved 3 July 2012. 
  3. Campbell, John Naval Weapons of World War Two ISBN 0-87021-459-4 pp.248&249
  4. Gannon, Michael - Operation Drumbeat - the dramatic true story of Germany's first U-boat attacks along the American coast in World War II, 1990, Harper and Row publishers, ISBN 0-060161155-8, p. 435.
  5. 5.0 5.1 http://uboat.net/boats/successes/u67.html

External links[]


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