German submarine ''U-173'' 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 ro ...

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's '' Kriegsmarine'' 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 opposing ...

. She 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 ...

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 1 ...

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 in Bremen as yard number 1013, launched on 11 August 1941 and commissioned on 15 November with ''

Fregattenkapitän Fregattenkapitän, short: FKpt / in lists: FK, () is the middle field officer rank () in the German Navy. Address In line with ZDv 10/8, the official manner of formally addressing military personnel holding the rank of ''Fregattenkapitän'' ...

'' Heinz-Ehler Beucke in command. ''U-173'' began her service career with training as part of the

4th U-boat Flotilla Fourth or the fourth may refer to: * the ordinal form of the number 4 * ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971 * Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision * Fourth (music), a musical interval * ''The Fourth'' (1972 film), a Sovie ...

. She was reassigned to the 2nd flotilla for operations on 1 July 1942.

Design

German Type IXC submarines were slightly larger than the original Type IXBs. ''U-173'' 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 of , a height of , and a draught of . The submarine was powered by two

MAN A man is an adult male human. Prior to adulthood, a male human is referred to as a boy (a male child or adolescent). Like most other male mammals, a man's genome usually inherits an X chromosome from the mother and a Y chromo ...

M 9 V 40/46 supercharged 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-ca ...

s producing a total of for use while surfaced, two Siemens-Schuckert 2 GU 345/34 Motor–generator, double-acting electric motors producing a total of for use while submerged. She had two shafts and two propellers. 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-173'' was fitted with six torpedo tubes (four fitted at the bow and two at the stern), 22 torpedoes, one 10.5 cm SK C/32 naval gun, SK C/32 naval gun, 180 rounds, and a 3.7 cm SK C/30, SK C/30 as well as a 2 cm FlaK 30, C/30 anti-aircraft gun. The boat had a Ship's company, complement of forty-eight.

Service history

First patrol

The boat departed Kiel on 15 June 1942, moved through the North Sea and negotiated the GIUK gap, gap between Iceland and the Faroe Islands. She crossed the Atlantic Ocean and entered the Caribbean Sea. She entered Lorient, on the French Atlantic coast, on 20 September.

Second patrol

The submarine attempted the disruption of the Operation Torch landings (the invasion of North Africa) on 11 November 1942. She attacked convoy UGF-1 which was at anchor in Fedhala Roads. She hit three ships, sinking and damaging two more. One of the damaged vessels, the destroyer , was towed to nearby Casablanca where Seabees cut the ship in two, removed about of hull, then joined the two halves together again; she survived the war. A few days later and further north, ''U-173'' torpedoed but did not sink , on 15 November. This vessel also survived the war, not being Ship breaking, broken up until 1974.

Loss

The boat was sunk by depth charges from the American destroyers , , and in the Atlantic Ocean off Casablanca () on 16 November 1942. All fifty-seven hands were lost.An Army at Dawn, Rick Atkinson, page 153

Summary of raiding history

References

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

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External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:U0173 German Type IX submarines U-boats commissioned in 1941 U-boats sunk in 1942 World War II submarines of Germany 1941 ships World War II shipwrecks in the Atlantic Ocean Ships built in Bremen (state) U-boats sunk by depth charges U-boats sunk by US warships Ships lost with all hands Maritime incidents in November 1942