German submarine U-182 was a Type IX D 2 U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine which served in World War II. Her keel was laid down on 7 April 1941 at DeSchiMAG AG Weser, Bremen as yard number 1022; she was launched on 3 March 1942 and commissioned on 30 June of the same year.
| History | |
|---|---|
 Nazi Germany | |
| Name | U-182 |
| Ordered | 15 August 1940 |
| Builder | DeSchiMAG AG Weser, Bremen |
| Yard number | 1022 |
| Laid down | 7 April 1941 |
| Launched | 3 March 1942 |
| Commissioned | 30 June 1942 |
| Fate | Sunk on 16 May 1943 by a US warship north-west of Madeira |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Type IXD2 submarine |
| Displacement | |
| Length |
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| Beam |
|
| Height | 10.20 m (33 ft 6 in) |
| Draught | 5.35 m (17 ft 7 in) |
| Installed power |
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| Propulsion |
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| Speed |
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| Range |
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| Test depth | Calculated crush depth: 230 m (750 ft) |
| Boats & landing craft carried | 2 dinghies |
| Complement | 4-7 officer, 51-57 enlisted |
| Armament |
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| Service record[1] | |
| Part of: |
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| Identification codes: | M 05 593 |
| Commanders: |
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| Operations: |
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| Victories: |
5 merchant ships sunk (30,071 GRT) |
She carried out a single war patrol, sinking five merchant vessels and spending 159 days at sea.
U-182 was probably sunk near Madeira on 16 May 1943 by USS MacKenzie. 61 crew members and three prisoners of war died. The boat had been unsuccessfully attacked by a USAAF B-24 Liberator the previous day.
Design
editGerman Type IXD2 submarines were considerably larger than the original Type IXs. U-182 had a displacement of 1,610 tonnes (1,580 long tons) when at the surface and 1,799 tonnes (1,771 long tons) while submerged.[2] The U-boat had a total length of 87.58 m (287 ft 4 in), a pressure hull length of 68.50 m (224 ft 9 in), a beam of 7.50 m (24 ft 7 in), a height of 10.20 m (33 ft 6 in), and a draught of 5.35 m (17 ft 7 in). The submarine was powered by two MAN M 9 V 40/46 supercharged four-stroke, nine-cylinder diesel engines plus two MWM RS34.5S six-cylinder four-stroke diesel engines for cruising, producing a total of 9,000 metric horsepower (6,620 kW; 8,880 shp) for use while surfaced, two Siemens-Schuckert 2 GU 345/34 double-acting electric motors producing a total of 1,000 shaft horsepower (1,010 PS; 750 kW) for use while submerged. She had two shafts and two 1.85 m (6 ft) propellers. The boat was capable of operating at depths of up to 200 metres (660 ft).[2]
The submarine had a maximum surface speed of 20.8 knots (38.5 km/h; 23.9 mph) and a maximum submerged speed of 6.9 knots (12.8 km/h; 7.9 mph).[2] When submerged, the boat could operate for 121 nautical miles (224 km; 139 mi) at 2 knots (3.7 km/h; 2.3 mph); when surfaced, she could travel 12,750 nautical miles (23,610 km; 14,670 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph). U-182 was fitted with six 53.3 cm (21 in) torpedo tubes (four fitted at the bow and two at the stern), 24 torpedoes, one 10.5 cm (4.13 in) SK C/32 naval gun, 150 rounds, and a 3.7 cm (1.5 in) SK C/30 with 2575 rounds as well as two 2 cm (0.79 in) C/30 anti-aircraft guns with 8100 rounds. The boat had a complement of fifty-five.[2]
Summary of raiding history
edit| Date | Ship | Nationality | Tonnage (GRT) |
Fate[3] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 January 1943 | Ocean Courage |  United Kingdom
|
7,173 | Sunk |
| 17 February 1943 | Llanashe | United Kingdom
|
4,836 | Sunk |
| 10 March 1943 | Richard D. Spaight |  United States
|
7,177 | Sunk |
| 5 April 1943 | Aloe | United Kingdom
|
5,047 | Sunk |
| 1 May 1943 | Adelfotis |  Greece
|
5,838 | Sunk |
References
edit- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type IXD1 boat U-182". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 25 January 2013.
- ^ a b c d Gröner, Jung & Maass 1991, pp. 74–75.
- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit by U-182". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 8 October 2014.
Bibliography
edit- 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). Vol. 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. Vol. 2. Translated by Thomas, Keith; Magowan, Rachel. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-593-4.
External links
edit- Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type IXD boat U-182". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 7 December 2014.
- Hofmann, Markus. "U 182". Deutsche U-Boote 1935-1945 - u-boot-archiv.de (in German). Retrieved 7 December 2014.