German submarine U-178
Encyclopedia
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German submarine U-178 was a Type IXD2
U-boat
of the German
Kriegsmarine
built for service during World War II
.
Ordered on 28 May 1940, the U-boat
was laid down on 24 December 1940 at the AG Weser
yard at Bremen
, was launched on 25 October 1941, and commissioned on 14 February 1942, under the command of Fregattenkapitän Hans Ibekken.
on 8 September 1942 and sailed into the Atlantic, passing north of Scotland
, and then turned south. She made her first kill on 10 October, putting three torpedoes into the unescorted passenger ship , a Canadian Pacific Steamship Co. liner chartered as a troop transport, about 200 miles east-northeast of Ascension Island
in the South Atlantic. The vessel sank slowly, and only five crew members were lost. The master, 267 crew members, 25 gunners and all 534 passengers were later rescued by a British vessel.
U-178 then sailed around the Cape of Good Hope
to haunt the sea lane
s south and east of South Africa
, sinking the British troopship Mendoza on 1 November, killing the master, 19 crew members, three gunners and three passengers, while 127 of the crew, three gunners, and 250 passengers were later picked up by a South African patrol ship and an American merchantman.
U-178 struck twice on 4 November sinking both the British merchantman Trekieve, and the Norwegian cargo ship Hai Hing, off Mozambique
.
The British merchant ship Louise Moller was sunk about 240 miles east by south of Durban
on 13 November, and two days later the U-boat attacked the British merchant ship Adviser. Seeing the crew abandon the apparently sinking ship, U-178 left the area after hearing depth charges being dropped in the distance. However, Adviser was taken in tow to Durban, where she was repaired and returned to service.
U-178s last victory was on 27 November, sinking the American Liberty ship SS Jeremiah Wadsworth around 270 miles south of Cape Agulhas
.
U-178 then shaped her course north through the Atlantic, and arrived at Bordeaux
on 10 January 1943 after 125 days at sea.
, U-178 sailed from Bordeaux on 28 March 1943, and repeated the success of her previous patrol, this time in the waters of the Mozambique Channel
.
Her first success came on 1 June in a hit-and-run
attack on Convoy CD-20. U-178 fired two torpedoes, one of which struck the Dutch cargo ship Salabangka, which later sank.
On 4 July she attacked the Norwegian steamer Breiviken, a straggler from Convoy DN-50. The ship sank within minutes and U-178 spent some time picking up the crew from the sea and putting them onto rafts. The survivors of Breiviken later found two drifting lifeboats from their own ship, and on 7 July reached the coast. U-178 sailed off in pursuit of another victim, and sank the Greek merchant ship Michael Livanos later that day. On 11 July her sister ship Mary Livanos was also sunk by U-178.
In the early hours of 14 July, the American Liberty ship
was torpedoed about 35 miles off the Mozambique Light. The crew of 44, and 27 Armed Guards
(the ship was armed with two 3-inch and eight 20 mm guns), abandoned ship before U-178 finished her off with two more torpedoes. The U-boat surfaced and questioned the survivors in one of the boats, giving them directions to land and wishing them good luck before leaving.
U-178 made her last kill on 17 July, sinking the British cargo ship City of Canton northeast of Beira
after a pursuit lasting six hours. She then shaped a course across the Indian Ocean to Penang
, arriving there on 27 August after 153 days at sea.
there, located in the former British seaplane base. U-178 sailed from Penang on 25 November 1943 with Kapitänleutnant Wilhelm Spahr in command. She made only one kill, sinking the American Liberty ship SS José Navarro 175 miles southwest of Cochin, India. She then sailed around Africa, back through the Atlantic, and arrived at Bordeaux on 25 May 1944 after a voyage of 181 days.
|-
!Date
!Name of ship
!Tons
!Origin
|-
! colspan=4 | Sunk
|-
|10 October 1942 || SS Duchess of Atholl || 20,119 ||
|-
|1 November 1942 || SS Mendoza || 8,233 ||
|-
| rowspan=2 | 4 November 1942 || SS Hai Hing || 2,561 ||
|-
| SS Trekieve || 5,244 ||
|-
|13 November 1942 || SS Louise Moller || 3,764 ||
|-
|27 November 1942 || SS Jeremiah Wadsworth || 7,176 ||
|-
|1 June 1943 || SS Salabangka || 6,586 ||
|-
| rowspan=2 | 4 July 1943 || SS Breiviken || 2,669 ||
|-
| SS Michael Livanos || 4,774 ||
|-
|11 July 1943 || SS Mary Livanos || 4,771 ||
|-
|14 July 1943 || SS Robert Bacon || 7,197 ||
|-
|17 July 1943 || SS City of Canton || 6,692 ||
|-
|27 December 1943 || SS José Navarro || 7,244 ||
|-
! colspan=4 | Damaged
|-
|15 November 1942 || SS Adviser || 6,348 ||
|-
|}
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German submarine U-178 was a Type IXD2
German Type IX submarine
The Type IX U-boat was designed by Germany in 1935 and 1936 as a large ocean-going submarine for sustained operations far from the home support facilities. Type IX boats were briefly used for patrols off the eastern United States in an attempt to disrupt the stream of troops and supplies bound for...
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...
built for service 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...
.
Ordered on 28 May 1940, the 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...
was laid down on 24 December 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...
, was launched on 25 October 1941, and commissioned on 14 February 1942, under the command of Fregattenkapitän Hans Ibekken.
1st patrol
U-178 sailed from KielKiel
Kiel is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 238,049 .Kiel is approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the north of Germany, the southeast of the Jutland peninsula, and the southwestern shore of the...
on 8 September 1942 and sailed into the Atlantic, passing north of Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, and then turned south. She made her first kill on 10 October, putting three torpedoes into the unescorted passenger ship , a Canadian Pacific Steamship Co. liner chartered as a troop transport, about 200 miles east-northeast of Ascension Island
Ascension Island
Ascension Island is an isolated volcanic island in the equatorial waters of the South Atlantic Ocean, around from the coast of Africa and from the coast of South America, which is roughly midway between the horn of South America and Africa...
in the South Atlantic. The vessel sank slowly, and only five crew members were lost. The master, 267 crew members, 25 gunners and all 534 passengers were later rescued by a British vessel.
U-178 then sailed around the Cape of Good Hope
Cape of Good Hope
The Cape of Good Hope is a rocky headland on the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula, South Africa.There is a misconception that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Africa, because it was once believed to be the dividing point between the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. In fact, the...
to haunt the sea lane
Sea lane
A sea lane or shipping lane is a regularly used route for ocean-going and Great Lakes vessels. In the time of sailing ships they were not only determined by the distribution of land masses but also the prevailing winds, whose discovery was crucial for the success of long voyages...
s south and east of South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, sinking the British troopship Mendoza on 1 November, killing the master, 19 crew members, three gunners and three passengers, while 127 of the crew, three gunners, and 250 passengers were later picked up by a South African patrol ship and an American merchantman.
U-178 struck twice on 4 November sinking both the British merchantman Trekieve, and the Norwegian cargo ship Hai Hing, off Mozambique
Mozambique
Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique , is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest...
.
The British merchant ship Louise Moller was sunk about 240 miles east by south of Durban
Durban
Durban is the largest city in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal and the third largest city in South Africa. It forms part of the eThekwini metropolitan municipality. Durban is famous for being the busiest port in South Africa. It is also seen as one of the major centres of tourism...
on 13 November, and two days later the U-boat attacked the British merchant ship Adviser. Seeing the crew abandon the apparently sinking ship, U-178 left the area after hearing depth charges being dropped in the distance. However, Adviser was taken in tow to Durban, where she was repaired and returned to service.
U-178s last victory was on 27 November, sinking the American Liberty ship SS Jeremiah Wadsworth around 270 miles south of Cape Agulhas
Cape Agulhas
Cape Agulhas is a rocky headland in the Western Cape, South Africa. It is the geographic southern tip of Africa and the official dividing point between the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
.
U-178 then shaped her course north through the Atlantic, and arrived at Bordeaux
BETASOM
BETASOM BETASOM BETASOM (an Italian language acronym of Bordeaux Sommergibile. was a submarine base established at Bordeaux by the Italian Regia Marina Italiana during World War II....
on 10 January 1943 after 125 days at sea.
2nd patrol
Under a new commander, Korvettenkapitän Wilhelm DommesWilhelm Dommes
Wilhelm Dommes was a German U-boat commander in World War II and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership...
, U-178 sailed from Bordeaux on 28 March 1943, and repeated the success of her previous patrol, this time in the waters of the Mozambique Channel
Mozambique Channel
The Mozambique Channel is a portion of the Indian Ocean located between the island nation of Madagascar and southeast Africa, primarily the country of Mozambique. It was a World War II clashpoint during the Battle of Madagascar...
.
Her first success came on 1 June in a hit-and-run
Hit-and-run tactics
Hit-and-run tactics is a tactical doctrine where the purpose of the combat involved is not to seize control of territory, but to inflict damage on a target and immediately exit the area to avoid the enemy's defense and/or retaliation.-History:...
attack on Convoy CD-20. U-178 fired two torpedoes, one of which struck the Dutch cargo ship Salabangka, which later sank.
On 4 July she attacked the Norwegian steamer Breiviken, a straggler from Convoy DN-50. The ship sank within minutes and U-178 spent some time picking up the crew from the sea and putting them onto rafts. The survivors of Breiviken later found two drifting lifeboats from their own ship, and on 7 July reached the coast. U-178 sailed off in pursuit of another victim, and sank the Greek merchant ship Michael Livanos later that day. On 11 July her sister ship Mary Livanos was also sunk by U-178.
In the early hours of 14 July, the American Liberty ship
Liberty ship
Liberty ships were cargo ships built in the United States during World War II. Though British in conception, they were adapted by the U.S. as they were cheap and quick to build, and came to symbolize U.S. wartime industrial output. Based on vessels ordered by Britain to replace ships torpedoed by...
was torpedoed about 35 miles off the Mozambique Light. The crew of 44, and 27 Armed Guards
United States Navy Armed Guard
United States Navy Armed Guard units were established during World War I in an attempt to provide defensive firepower to merchant ships in convoy or merchant ships traveling alone...
(the ship was armed with two 3-inch and eight 20 mm guns), abandoned ship before U-178 finished her off with two more torpedoes. The U-boat surfaced and questioned the survivors in one of the boats, giving them directions to land and wishing them good luck before leaving.
U-178 made her last kill on 17 July, sinking the British cargo ship City of Canton northeast of Beira
Beira, Mozambique
Beira is the second largest city in Mozambique. It lies in the central region of the country in Sofala Province, where the Pungue River meets the Indian Ocean. Beira had a population of 412,588 in 1997, which grew to an estimated 546,000 in 2006...
after a pursuit lasting six hours. She then shaped a course across the Indian Ocean to Penang
Penang
Penang is a state in Malaysia and the name of its constituent island, located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia by the Strait of Malacca. It is bordered by Kedah in the north and east, and Perak in the south. Penang is the second smallest Malaysian state in area after Perlis, and the...
, arriving there on 27 August after 153 days at sea.
3rd patrol
KrvKpt. Dommes remained at Penang, commanding the U-Boat baseMonsun Gruppe
The Monsun Gruppe or Monsoon Group was a force of German U-boats that operated in the Pacific and Indian Oceans during World War II...
there, located in the former British seaplane base. U-178 sailed from Penang on 25 November 1943 with Kapitänleutnant Wilhelm Spahr in command. She made only one kill, sinking the American Liberty ship SS José Navarro 175 miles southwest of Cochin, India. She then sailed around Africa, back through the Atlantic, and arrived at Bordeaux on 25 May 1944 after a voyage of 181 days.
Fate
U-178 was scuttled on 25 August 1944 at Bordeaux, as she was not seaworthy enough to escape the Allied advance. The U-boat was broken up in 1947.Victories
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:97%"|-
!Date
!Name of ship
!Tons
!Origin
|-
! colspan=4 | Sunk
|-
|10 October 1942 || SS Duchess of Atholl || 20,119 ||
|-
|1 November 1942 || SS Mendoza || 8,233 ||
|-
| rowspan=2 | 4 November 1942 || SS Hai Hing || 2,561 ||
|-
| SS Trekieve || 5,244 ||
|-
|13 November 1942 || SS Louise Moller || 3,764 ||
|-
|27 November 1942 || SS Jeremiah Wadsworth || 7,176 ||
|-
|1 June 1943 || SS Salabangka || 6,586 ||
|-
| rowspan=2 | 4 July 1943 || SS Breiviken || 2,669 ||
|-
| SS Michael Livanos || 4,774 ||
|-
|11 July 1943 || SS Mary Livanos || 4,771 ||
|-
|14 July 1943 || SS Robert Bacon || 7,197 ||
|-
|17 July 1943 || SS City of Canton || 6,692 ||
|-
|27 December 1943 || SS José Navarro || 7,244 ||
|-
! colspan=4 | Damaged
|-
|15 November 1942 || SS Adviser || 6,348 ||
|-
|}