German submarine U-157 (1941)
Encyclopedia
German submarine U-157 was a Type IXC U-boat
U-boat
U-boat is the anglicized version of the German word U-Boot , itself an abbreviation of Unterseeboot , and refers to military submarines operated by Germany, particularly in World War I and World War II...
of the German
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
Kriegsmarine
Kriegsmarine
The Kriegsmarine was the name of the German Navy during the Nazi regime . It superseded the Kaiserliche Marine of World War I and the post-war Reichsmarine. The Kriegsmarine was one of three official branches of the Wehrmacht, the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany.The Kriegsmarine grew rapidly...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. The submarine was laid down on 21 October 1940 at the AG Weser
AG Weser
Aktien-Gesellschaft Weser was one of the great German shipbuilding companies, located at the Weser River in Bremen. Founded in 1873 it was finally closed in 1983. Altogether, AG Weser built about 1400 ships of different types, including many war ships...
yard at Bremen
Bremen
The City Municipality of Bremen is a Hanseatic city in northwestern Germany. A commercial and industrial city with a major port on the river Weser, Bremen is part of the Bremen-Oldenburg metropolitan area . Bremen is the second most populous city in North Germany and tenth in Germany.Bremen is...
, launched on 5 June 1941, and commissioned on 15 September 1941 under the command of Korvettenkapitän Wolf Henne. After training with 4th U-boat Flotilla, U-157 was transferred to 2nd U-boat Flotilla for front-line service on 3 June 1942.
1st patrol
U-157 sailed from Kiel on 30 April 1942, around the British IslesBritish Isles
The British Isles are a group of islands off the northwest coast of continental Europe that include the islands of Great Britain and Ireland and over six thousand smaller isles. There are two sovereign states located on the islands: the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and...
, and arrived at Lorient
Lorient
Lorient, or L'Orient, is a commune and a seaport in the Morbihan department in Brittany in north-western France.-History:At the beginning of the 17th century, merchants who were trading with India had established warehouses in Port-Louis...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, eleven days later on 10 May.
2nd patrol
The U-boat left Lorient on 18 May 1942 and sailed across the Atlantic to the Caribbean SeaCaribbean Sea
The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean located in the tropics of the Western hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico and Central America to the west and southwest, to the north by the Greater Antilles, and to the east by the Lesser Antilles....
. There, on 11 June, she torpedoed and sank the unescorted 6,401-ton American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
tanker
Tank ship
A tanker is a ship designed to transport liquids in bulk. Major types of tankship include the oil tanker, the chemical tanker, and the liquefied natural gas carrier.-Background:...
Hagan about five miles off the north coast of Cuba. The tanker, loaded with 22,676 barrels of blackstrap molasses
Blackstrap molasses
Blackstrap molasses, or simply blackstrap, is the dark, viscous molasses remaining after maximum extraction of sugar from raw sugar cane. This residual product of sugar refining is used in the manufacture of ethyl alcohol for industry and as an ingredient in cattle feed...
, was hit in the engine room, destroying the engines and causing at least one boiler to explode. About a minute later a second torpedo struck, and the tanker began to sink by the stern. The crew abandoned ship in two lifeboats, but two officers and four crewmen were lost. The boats, containing 38 men, both landed in Cuba.
U-157 was sunk two days later, on 13 June, south-west of Key West
Key West
Key West is an island in the Straits of Florida on the North American continent at the southernmost tip of the Florida Keys. Key West is home to the southernmost point in the Continental United States; the island is about from Cuba....
, in position 24°13′N 82°03′W, by depth charge
Depth charge
A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare weapon intended to destroy or cripple a target submarine by the shock of exploding near it. Most use explosives and a fuze set to go off at a preselected depth in the ocean. Depth charges can be dropped by either surface ships, patrol aircraft, or from...
s from the US Coast Guard cutter USS Thetis. All 52 crew were lost.