German submarine U-163 (1941)

For other ships with the same name, see German submarine U-163.

History
U-505, a typical Type IXC boat
Nazi Germany
Name:	U-163
Ordered:	25 December 1939
Builder:	DeSchiMAG, Bremen
Yard number:	702
Laid down:	8 May 1940
Launched:	1 May 1941
Commissioned:	21 October 1941
Fate:	Sunk on 12/13 March 1943 by a Canadian warship^[1]
General characteristics
Class and type:	Type IXC submarine
Displacement:	1,120 t (1,100 long tons) surfaced 1,232 t (1,213 long tons) submerged
Length:	76.76 m (251 ft 10 in) o/a 58.75 m (192 ft 9 in) pressure hull
Beam:	6.76 m (22 ft 2 in) o/a 4.40 m (14 ft 5 in) pressure hull
Height:	9.60 m (31 ft 6 in)
Draught:	4.70 m (15 ft 5 in)
Installed power:	4,400 PS (3,200 kW; 4,300 bhp) (diesels) 1,000 PS (740 kW; 990 shp) (electric)
Propulsion:	2 shafts 2 × diesel engines 2 × electric motors
Range:	13,450 nmi (24,910 km; 15,480 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) surfaced 64 nmi (119 km; 74 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph) submerged
Test depth:	230 m (750 ft)
Complement:	4 officers, 44 enlisted
Armament:	6 × torpedo tubes (4 bow, 2 stern) 22 × 53.3 cm (21 in) torpedoes 1 × 10.5 cm (4.1 in) deck gun (180 rounds) 1 × 3.7 cm (1.5 in) AA gun 1 × twin 2 cm FlaK 30 AA guns
Service record
Part of:	Kriegsmarine 4th U-boat Flotilla 8 July – 31 December 1941 2nd U-boat Flotilla 1 January 1942 – 27 September 1943
Commanders:	K.Kapt. Kurt-Eduard Englemann 21 October – 13 March 1943
Operations:	Three patrols
Victories:	Three ships sunk for a total of 15,011 GRT one warship a total loss, (2,000 GRT)

German submarine U-163 was a Type IXC U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine built for service during World War II. The keel for this boat was laid down on 8 May 1940 at the DeSchiMAG, Bremen yard as yard number 700. She was launched on 1 May 1941 and commissioned on 21 November under the command of Korvettenkapitän Kurt-Eduard Engelmann.

The U-boat's service began with training as part of the 4th U-boat Flotilla. She then moved to the 10th flotilla on 1 August 1942 for operations. She sank three ships, totalling 15,011 tons and one warship was declared a total loss (1,130 tons).

She was sunk by a Canadian corvette in March 1943.

Design

German Type IXC submarines were slightly larger than the original Type IXBs. U-163 had a displacement of 1,120 tonnes (1,100 long tons) when at the surface and 1,232 tonnes (1,213 long tons) while submerged.^[2] The U-boat had a total length of 76.76 m (251 ft 10 in), a pressure hull length of 58.75 m (192 ft 9 in), a beam of 6.76 m (22 ft 2 in), a height of 9.60 m (31 ft 6 in), and a draught of 4.70 m (15 ft 5 in). The submarine was powered by two MAN M 9 V 40/46 supercharged four-stroke, nine-cylinder diesel engines producing a total of 4,400 metric horsepower (3,240 kW; 4,340 shp) for use while surfaced, two Siemens-Schuckert 2 GU 345/34 double-acting electric motors producing a total of 1,000 metric horsepower (740 kW; 990 shp) for use while submerged. She had two shafts and two 1.92 m (6 ft) propellers. The boat was capable of operating at depths of up to 230 metres (750 ft).^[2]

The submarine had a maximum surface speed of 18.3 knots (33.9 km/h; 21.1 mph) and a maximum submerged speed of 7.3 knots (13.5 km/h; 8.4 mph).^[2] When submerged, the boat could operate for 63 nautical miles (117 km; 72 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph); when surfaced, she could travel 13,450 nautical miles (24,910 km; 15,480 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph). U-163 was fitted with six 53.3 cm (21 in) torpedo tubes (four fitted at the bow and two at the stern), 22 torpedoes, one 10.5 cm (4.13 in) SK C/32 naval gun, 180 rounds, and a 3.7 cm (1.5 in) as well as a 2 cm (0.79 in) anti-aircraft gun. The boat had a complement of forty-eight.^[2]

Service history

1st patrol

The submarine's first patrol took her from Kiel on 21 July 1942, across the North Sea and through the 'gap' between Iceland and the Faroe Islands. She arrived at Lorient, in occupied France, on 16 January. She would be based at this Atlantic port for the rest of her career. She had crossed the Atlantic Ocean and sailed to the southern Cuban coast.

2nd patrol

Her second foray took her to the area north of South America. Here she sank La Cordillera on 5 November 1942 85 nmi (157 km; 98 mi) east of Barbados. She also damaged an American gunboat, USS Erie on 12 November and sank Empire Starling northeast of Barbados on the 21st. Her final victim on this patrol was Apóide which went down a day later. She returned to Lorient on 6 January 1943.

3rd patrol and Loss

The U-boat departed Lorient for the last time on 10 March 1943. On the 13 March 1943, she was sunk by depth charges from HMCS Prescott northwest of Cape Finisterre, Spain. 57 men (all hands) died.

Summary of raiding history

Date	Name	Nationality	Tonnage^{[Note 1]}	Fate^[3]
5 November 1942	La Cordillera	United Kingdom	5,185	Sunk
12 November 1942	USS Erie (PG-50)	United States Navy	2,000	Total loss
21 November 1942	Empire Starling	United Kingdom	6,060	Sunk
22 November 1942	Apalóide	Brazil	3,766	Sunk

References

Notes

↑ Merchant ship tonnages are in gross register tons. Military vessels are listed by tons displacement.

Citations

↑ Kemp 1999, p. 107.
1 2 3 4 Gröner 1991, p. 68.
↑ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit by U-163". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 3 October 2014.

Bibliography

Busch, Rainer; Röll, Hans-Joachim (1999). German U-boat commanders of World War II : a biographical dictionary. Translated by Brooks, Geoffrey. London, Annapolis, Md: Greenhill Books, Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-186-6.
Busch, Rainer; Röll, Hans-Joachim (1999). Deutsche U-Boot-Verluste von September 1939 bis Mai 1945 [German U-boat losses from September 1939 to May 1945]. Der U-Boot-Krieg (in German). IV. Hamburg, Berlin, Bonn: Mittler. ISBN 3-8132-0514-2.
Gröner, Erich; Jung, Dieter; Maass, Martin (1991). U-boats and Mine Warfare Vessels. German Warships 1815–1945. 2. Translated by Thomas, Keith; Magowan, Rachel. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-593-4.
Kemp, Paul (1999). U-Boats Destroyed - German Submarine Losses in the World Wars. London: Arms & Armour. ISBN 1-85409-515-3.

External links

Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type IX boat U-163". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 7 December 2014.
Hofmann, Markus. "U 163". Deutsche U-Boote 1935-1945 - u-boot-archiv.de (in German). Retrieved 7 December 2014.

German Type IXC submarine

U-66 U-67 U-68 U-125 U-126 U-127 U-128 U-129 U-130 U-131 U-153 U-154 U-155 U-156 U-157 U-158 U-159 U-160 U-161 U-162 U-163 U-164 U-165 U-166 U-171 U-172 U-173 U-174 U-175 U-176 U-501 U-502 U-503 U-504 U-505 U-506 U-507 U-508 U-509 U-510 U-511 U-512 U-513 U-514 U-515 U-516 U-517 U-518 U-519 U-520 U-521 U-522 U-523 U-524

Preceded by: Type IXB Followed by: Type IXC/40

List of U-boats of Germany

Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in March 1943

Shipwrecks	2 Mar: Kyokusei Maru, Meriwether Lewis 3 Mar: Aiyo Maru, Arashio, Doggerbank, Kembu Maru, Shirayuki, Sin-ai Maru, Stag Hound, Taimei Maru 4 Mar: Asashio, City of Pretoria, Marietta E, Tokitsukaze, U-87 5 Mar: Empire Tower, USS Grampus, Minegumo, Murasame 8 Mar: ′s Jacob, James B. Stephens, U-156 10 Mar: U-633 11 Mar: HMS Harvester, U-432, U-444 12 Mar: HMS Lightning, HMS Turbulent, U-130 13 Mar: Clan Alpine, Empress of Canada, U-163 14 Mar: HMS Thunderbolt 15 Mar: USS Triton 16 Mar: Benjamin Harrison 19 Mar: Lulworth Hill, U-5, U-384 21 Mar: K-3, U-163 22 Mar: U-524, U-665 23 Mar: Delfino, Windsor Castle 24 Mar: Bungsberg 25 Mar: U-469 27 Mar: HMS Dasher, U-169 28 Mar: Caterina Costa, Ceuta, Masaya 29 Mar: U-77 30 Mar: SS Empire Bowman, U-416

Other incidents	19 Mar: HMS Derwent

1942 1943 1944 February 1943 April 1943

Coordinates: 45°05′N 15°00′W / 45.083°N 15.000°W / 45.083; -15.000

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