Name U-191 Laid down 2 November 1941 Fate Sunk on 23 April 1943 Construction started 2 November 1941 Length 77 m Beam 6.86 m | Ordered 4 November 1940 Commissioned 20 October 1942 Class and type Type IXC/40 submarine Launched 23 July 1942 Draft 4.67 m | |
Builders Deutsche Schiff- und Maschinenbau, AG Weser | ||
German submarine U-191 was a Type IXC/40 U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine built for service during World War II.
Contents
She was ordered on 4 November 1940 from DeSchiMAG AG Weser Bremen, laid down on 2 November 1941, and launched on 3 July 1942. She was commissioned under Kapitänleutnant Helmut Fiehn on 20 October 1942 and underwent crew training and work-ups until 31 March 1943.
Design
German Type IXC/40 submarines were slightly larger than the original Type IXCs. U-191 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. 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 6.86 m (22 ft 6 in), a height of 9.60 m (31 ft 6 in), and a draught of 4.67 m (15 ft 4 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 shaft horsepower (1,010 PS; 750 kW) 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).
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). 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-191 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.
Service history
U-191 took part in several wolfpack operations in the North Atlantic. On 21 April 1943, she achieved her only success, torpedoing and sinking the 3,025-tonne Norwegian merchant ship Scebli, killing two of Scebli's crew. Two days later U-191 was attacked and sunk by the Royal Navy destroyer Hesperus off the coast of Greenland south-east of Cape Farewell with the loss of her entire crew of 55.