Name U-67 Yard number 986 Commissioned 22 January 1941 Launched 30 October 1940 Draft 4.7 m | Ordered 7 August 1939 Laid down 5 April 1940 Construction started 5 April 1940 Length 77 m Beam 6.76 m | |
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Fate Sunk 16 July 1943 in the Sargasso Sea Builders Deutsche Schiff- und Maschinenbau, AG Weser Part of Kriegsmarine, 2nd U-boat Flotilla | ||
German submarine U-67 was a Type IXC U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine that operated in World War II. She was laid down in the AG Weser yard in Bremen as yard number 986 on 5 April 1940. She was launched on 30 October and was commissioned on 22 January 1941 under Korvettenkapitän Heinrich Bleichrodt.
Contents
Her service life began with training with the 2nd U-boat Flotilla on her commissioning date; the boat was declared operational with the same flotilla on 1 September 1941.
Design
German Type IXC submarines were slightly larger than the original Type IXBs. U-67 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. 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).
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 13,450 nautical miles (24,910 km; 15,480 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph). U-67 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
The boat carried out seven patrols in which she sank 13 ships and damaged another five. She was a member of three wolfpacks.
She was sunk on 16 July 1943 by an Avenger bomber from the US aircraft carrier USS Core. 48 men died, there were three survivors.
Her operational service commenced with a trip from Bergen in Norway to Lorient in France. The submarine was to spend the rest of her career being based in the French port.
1st, 2nd and 3rd patrols
She sank St. Clair II west northwest of the Canary Islands on 24 September 1941 on her first foray.
On her second patrol she was attacked by the British corvette Bluebell on 11 December 1941 west of Gibraltar; slight damage was incurred. U-208 was originally though to have been sunk.
Her third effort, which began with the U-boat's departure from Lorient on 19 January 1942, took her to the Caribbean, where she sank Penelope, about 150 nmi (280 km; 170 mi) west of Dominica on 14 March.
4th, 5th and 6th patrols and loss
Her fourth patrol, as part of Operation Drumbeat, saw the submarine enter the Gulf of Mexico. There she sank eight ships, most of them just off the mouth of the Mississippi River.
Her fifth sortie turned out to be her longest - 97 days. Moving to the area off the north coast of South America, she sank a further six ships, but her success was marred by an explosion while handling torpedoes. One man was killed.
Patrol number six included being part of Seeräuber wolfpack (pirate) which was unfortunate as the boat was badly damaged in an attack on the convoy RS 3. Three U-boats (from a total of eight) were hit in the battle which took place south of the Canary Islands.
The submarine began her seventh and final patrol on 10 May 1943. On 16 July, U-67 was spotted by a Grumman TBF Avenger, piloted by Lt. Robert Pershing Williams of VC-13 embarked in USS Core (CVE-13), who attacked with four Mk 47 Torpex depth charges, sinking the boat. An escort, USS McCormick, was dispatched to the scene and picked up three survivors out of a crew of 51 in position 30°05′N 44°17′W.
Wolfpacks
U-67 took part in three wolfpacks, namely.