German submarine U-171
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German submarine ''U-171'' was a Type IXC
U-boat U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare role ...
of Germany's
Kriegsmarine The (, ) was the navy of Germany from 1935 to 1945. It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic. The was one of three official branches, along with the a ...
built for service during
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. It was
laid down Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship. Keel laying is one o ...
on 1 December 1940 at the
DeSchiMAG Deutsche Schiff- und Maschinenbau Aktiengesellschaft (abbreviated Deschimag) was a cooperation of eight German shipyards in the period 1926 to 1945. The leading company was the shipyard AG Weser in Bremen. History The Deschimag was founded in 19 ...
AG Weser Aktien-Gesellschaft „Weser" (abbreviated A.G. „Weser”) was one of the major German shipbuilding companies, located at the Weser River in Bremen. Founded in 1872 it was finally closed in 1983. All together, A.G. „Weser" built about 1,400 ...
yard at
Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (german: Stadtgemeinde Bremen, ), is the capital of the German state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (''Freie Hansestadt Bremen''), a two-city-state consis ...
as yard number 1011, launched on 22 July 1941, and commissioned on 25 October 1941 under the command of
Kapitänleutnant ''Kapitänleutnant'', short: KptLt/in lists: KL, ( en, captain lieutenant) is an officer grade of the captains' military hierarchy group () of the German Bundeswehr. The rank is rated OF-2 in NATO, and equivalent to Hauptmann in the Heer and ...
Günther Pfeffer. After training with the
4th U-boat Flotilla Fourth or the fourth may refer to: * the ordinal form of the number 4 * Fourth (album), ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971 * Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision * Fourth (music), a musical interval * The Fourth (1972 film) ...
, ''U-171'' was transferred to the
10th U-boat Flotilla 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...
for front-line service on 1 July 1942. It was sent to patrol in the Gulf of Mexico. It was sunk by a
naval mine A naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to damage or destroy surface ships or submarines. Unlike depth charges, mines are deposited and left to wait until they are triggered by the approach of, or contact with, any ...
in the
Bay of Biscay The Bay of Biscay (), known in Spain as the Gulf of Biscay ( es, Golfo de Vizcaya, eu, Bizkaiko Golkoa), and in France and some border regions as the Gulf of Gascony (french: Golfe de Gascogne, oc, Golf de Gasconha, br, Pleg-mor Gwaskogn), ...
115 days into its first and only patrol, whilst returning to Lorient in occupied France, with the loss of 22 of its crew of 54. For many years it was believed was sunk by an American aircraft in what was, in reality, an unsuccessful attack on ''U-171'' in the Gulf of Mexico.


Design

German Type IXC submarines were slightly larger than the original Type IXBs. ''U-171'' had a displacement of when at the surface and while submerged. The U-boat had a total length of , a
pressure hull A submarine hull has two major components, the ''light hull'' and the ''pressure hull''. The light hull (''casing'' in British usage) of a submarine is the outer non-watertight hull which provides a hydrodynamically efficient shape. The pressure ...
length of , a
beam Beam may refer to: Streams of particles or energy *Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy **Laser beam *Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles **Charged particle beam, a spatially localized grou ...
of , a height of , and a draught of . The submarine was powered by two MAN M 9 V 40/46
supercharged In an internal combustion engine, a supercharger compresses the intake gas, forcing more air into the engine in order to produce more power for a given displacement. The current categorisation is that a supercharger is a form of forced induct ...
four-stroke, nine-cylinder
diesel engine The diesel engine, named after Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of the fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to mechanical compression; thus, the diesel engine is a so-call ...
s producing a total of for use while surfaced, two Siemens-Schuckert 2 GU 345/34 double-acting electric motors producing a total of for use while submerged. She had two shafts and two
propeller A propeller (colloquially often called a screw if on a ship or an airscrew if on an aircraft) is a device with a rotating hub and radiating blades that are set at a pitch to form a helical spiral which, when rotated, exerts linear thrust upon ...
s. The boat was capable of operating at depths of up to . The submarine had a maximum surface speed of and a maximum submerged speed of . When submerged, the boat could operate for at ; when surfaced, she could travel at . ''U-171'' was fitted with six
torpedo tube A torpedo tube is a cylindrical device for launching torpedoes. There are two main types of torpedo tube: underwater tubes fitted to submarines and some surface ships, and deck-mounted units (also referred to as torpedo launchers) installed aboa ...
s (four fitted at the bow and two at the stern), 22
torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, su ...
es, one SK C/32 naval gun, 180 rounds, and a SK C/30 as well as a C/30 anti-aircraft gun. The boat had a complement of forty-eight.


Service history


Patrol

''U-171'' departed
Kiel Kiel () is the capital and most populous city in the northern Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 246,243 (2021). Kiel lies approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the southeast of the J ...
on 17 June 1942, at the end of which it was to return to Lorient, where it would be based for future sorties. It negotiated the 'gap' between
Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...
and the
Faroe Islands The Faroe Islands ( ), or simply the Faroes ( fo, Føroyar ; da, Færøerne ), are a North Atlantic island group and an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark. They are located north-northwest of Scotland, and about halfway bet ...
and crossed the Atlantic Ocean, entering the Gulf of Mexico. The submarine sank the 4,351 GRT Mexican general cargo merchant ship, SS ''Oaxaca'' on 26 July 1942, at off Corpus Christi, Texas. The ship was at the time en route from
New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster.
; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...
to Tampico via
Veracruz Veracruz (), formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave), is one of the 31 states which, along with Me ...
. The first spread of two
torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, su ...
es missed the ship, but a second spread, also of two ''eels'' (German U-boat slang for torpedoes), was successful when one hit the port side near the fore-part of the ship. Six of the crew of 45 died. On 1 August 1942, also in the Gulf of Mexico, ''U-171'' came under attack from a
U.S. Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, multi ...
J4F-1 Widgeon aircraft, causing it little damage. However, for decades it was believed that the U-boat attacked that day was ; the credit for sinking ''U-166'' went to that aircraft. The wreckage of ''U-166'' was discovered in 2001, just a short distance from its last victim, ''Robert E. Lee'', meaning that the credit for the sinking of ''U-166'' should have gone to the U.S. Navy patrol craft, ''PC-566'', which had reported that they believed they were successful in their
depth charge A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) weapon. It is intended to destroy a submarine by being dropped into the water nearby and detonating, subjecting the target to a powerful and destructive Shock factor, hydraulic shock. Most depth ...
attack on the submarine following the U-boat's successful torpedoing of ''Robert E. Lee'', but ''PC-566'' were believed by investigating officials to have missed. Having not been sunk, as had been believed by the Allies, ''U-171'' continued its patrol. On 13 August 1942 it sank the 6,779 GRT US tanker ''R. M. Parker Jr.'' at which is about south of
Isles Dernieres Last Island (Official name: Isle Dernière, often misspelled as Îsle Dernière, Isle Dernier, L'Îsle Dernière, Île Dernière, etc.) was a barrier island and location of a pleasure resort southwest of New Orleans on the Gulf Coast of Louisiana ...
, Louisiana. The ship, which was carrying water ballast, was struck by two torpedoes; the submarine then surfaced and fired five rounds from its deck gun into the wreck. The whole crew of 44 survived, being picked up eight hours later by the United States Coast Guard auxiliary . On 4 September 1942, the submarine had its final success, the Mexican tanker 6,511 GRT; again in ballast, at . This ship had evaded three spreads of two torpedoes each, before being hit by a torpedo fired from ''U-171''s stern tube. There were 10 dead and 24 survivors.


Loss

''U-171'' was sunk at 13:00 hours on 9 October 1942 in the Bay of Biscay near Lorient, in position , by a mine. Twenty-two men died, thirty survived. Captain Günther Pfeffer (1914–1966), was one of the lucky ones.Kemp, pp. 91-92. The wrecked submarine was classified as a "military cemetery" in 1999 by the French authorities: divers are then warned that going inside the boat is strictly forbidden.


Summary of raiding history


References


Bibliography

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External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:U0171 World War II submarines of Germany U-boats sunk in 1942 Shipwrecks in the Bay of Biscay World War II shipwrecks in the Atlantic Ocean 1941 ships U-boats sunk by mines Ships built in Bremen (state) German Type IX submarines U-boats commissioned in 1941 Maritime incidents in October 1942