| History | |
|---|---|
 Nazi Germany | |
| Name | U-168 |
| Ordered | 15 August 1940 |
| Builder | DeSchiMAG,Bremen |
| Yard number | 707 |
| Laid down | 15 March 1941 |
| Launched | 5 March 1942[1] |
| Commissioned | 10 September 1942[1] |
| Fate | Sunk on 6 October 1944 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Type IXC/40submarine |
| Displacement | |
| Length |
|
| Beam |
|
| Height | 9.60 m (31 ft 6 in) |
| Draught | 4.67 m (15 ft 4 in) |
| Installed power |
|
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed |
|
| Range |
|
| Test depth | 230 m (750 ft) |
| Complement | 4 officers, 44 enlisted |
| Armament |
|
| Service record[1] | |
| Part of: |
|
| Identification codes: | M 49 033 |
| Commanders: |
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| Operations: |
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| Victories: | |
German submarineU-168 was aType IXC/40U-boat ofNazi Germany'sKriegsmarine built for service duringWorld War II. Her keel waslaid down on 15 March 1941 by theDeutsche Schiff- und Maschinenbau AG inBremen as yard number 707. She waslaunched on 5 March 1942 andcommissioned on 10 September withKapitänleutnant Helmuth Pich in command.[2]
German Type IXC/40 submarines were slightly larger than the originalType IXCs.U-168 had a displacement of 1,144 tonnes (1,126 long tons) when at the surface and 1,257 tonnes (1,237 long tons) while submerged.[3] The U-boat had a total length of 76.76 m (251 ft 10 in), apressure hull length of 58.75 m (192 ft 9 in), abeam of 6.86 m (22 ft 6 in), a height of 9.60 m (31 ft 6 in), and adraught of 4.67 m (15 ft 4 in). The submarine was powered by twoMAN M 9 V 40/46supercharged four-stroke, nine-cylinderdiesel engines producing a total of 4,400 metric horsepower (3,240 kW; 4,340 shp) for use while surfaced, twoSiemens-Schuckert 2 GU 345/34double-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).[3]
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).[3] 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 13,850 nautical miles (25,650 km; 15,940 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph).U-168 was fitted with six 53.3 cm (21 in)torpedo tubes (four fitted at the bow and two at the stern), 22torpedoes, one10.5 cm (4.13 in) SK C/32 naval gun, 180 rounds, and a3.7 cm (1.5 in) SK C/30 as well as a2 cm (0.79 in) C/30 anti-aircraft gun. The boat had acomplement of forty-eight.[3]
U-168 conducted four patrols, sinking three ships totalling 8,008 gross register tons (GRT) and damaging one other grossing 9,804 GRT.[1]
U-168's first patrol commenced with her departure fromKiel on 3 March 1943. Her route took her through theKattegat andSkaggerak, along the coast of Norway, through the 'gap' betweenIceland and theFaroe Islands and into the Atlantic Ocean south and southwest ofGreenland. She arrived atLorient in occupied France on 18 May.
The boat then moved into theIndian Ocean, sinking the British steam merchant ship SSHaiching 80 nautical miles (150 km; 92 mi) west southwest ofBombay (now Mumbai), on 2 October 1943.[4]
She was unsuccessfully attacked by aCatalina flying boat ofNo. 413 Squadron RCAF on 3 November. Four 250 lbdepth charges were dropped.
The patrol terminated inPenang,Malaya (now Malaysia) on 11 November.
The submarine began her third and what would turn out to be her most successful patrol when she departed Penang on 7 February 1944. She fired three torpedoes at the British salvage vesselHMS Salviking south ofCeylon (now Sri Lanka) on the 14th. One of the projectiles malfunctioned, but the other two were sufficiently destructive to send the ship to the bottom.
The following day she sank a Greek ship,Epaminondas C. Embiricos about 130 nautical miles (240 km; 150 mi) north ofAddu Atoll in theMaldives. The Master and the Chief Engineer were both taken prisoner and handed over to the Japanese. The former's captivity prevented disciplinary action being taken over why he had ordered the undamaged ship to be abandoned and why the vessel was stationary for two hours, despite standing orders to the contrary.
U-168 also damaged the NorwegianFenris with her last torpedo on the 21st west of the Maldives, but had no ammunition left for herdeck gun to finish the ship off which continued to Bombay under her own power.[5]
The boat returned toBatavia (now Jakarta) on 24 March.
The submarine left Batavia on 5 October 1944. According to normal procedures to safeguard friendly submarines theU-168 gave local Japanese units its precise departure and arrival times, intended course and speed. This was subsequently decrypted and included in aFRUMEL report on 5 October 1944. With little time, theFree Dutch Forces submarineHNLMS Zwaardvisch, under the command of Lieutenant Commander H Goosens, was ordered to intercept. Shortly after sunrise on 6 October, while in theJava Sea,U-168 was spotted on steady easterly course and fired upon by a spread of six torpedoes.[6][7] The torpedoes were spotted mere seconds before impact, being struck by two. One hit theU-168's pressure hull but failed to detonate. The second hit the forward torpedo room and exploded. Attempts to stem the flooding failed and theU-168 sank rapidly.[8] The attack killed 23 men, with a further 27 being captured including Pich.[1] In his interrogation, unaware of Allied code-breaking and signals intelligence, Pich could not explain why he'd been caught unaware with one of his crewmen blaming the Japanese, complaining that they never started anti-submarine air searches before 11:00.[8] Pich later informed the Dutch commander that his submarine was hit three times though only one torpedo exploded.[6][7]
U-168 is not believed to have made any defensive maneuvers in the action, thus it is likely that the Germans were sunk without realizing they were under attack until the torpedoes hit. TheKriegsmarine was convinced that the sinking ofU-168 was the result of "loose talk" due to the crew who brought theirIndonesian girlfriends aboard for a goodbye party. They also assumed that the exact position ofU-168 was discovered by theAllies long before the engagement, though Dutch reports suggest that they encountered the Germans simply by chance.[6][7]
In late-2013 divers found what is believed the wreck of the boat[9] though it is pointed out that alternatively it could be the wreck ofU-183.[10][11]
| Date | Ship | Nationality | Tonnage[Note 1] | Fate[12] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 October 1943 | Haiching |  United Kingdom | 2,183 | Sunk |
| 14 February 1944 | HMSSalviking |  Royal Navy | 1,440 | Sunk |
| 15 February 1944 | Epaminondas C. Embiricos |  Greece | 4,385 | Sunk |
| 21 February 1944 | Fenris |  Norway | 9,804 | Damaged |
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)Sharpe, Peter (1998). U-Boat Fact File. Great Britain: Midland Publishing.ISBN 1-85780-072-9.
