# German submarine U-167 (1942)

German submarine U-167 was a Type IXC/40 U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine built for service during World War II. Her keel was laid down on 12 March 1941 by the Deutsche Schiff- und Maschinenbau AG in Bremen as yard number 706. She was launched on 5 March 1942 and commissioned on 4 July with Kapitänleutnant Kurt Neubert in command.
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 December 1942 for operations. She was a member of three wolfpacks. She sank one ship of 5,449 gross register tons (GRT) and damaged another of 7,200 GRT.
She was scuttled on 6 April 1943.

## Design

German Type IXC/40 submarines were slightly larger than the original Type IXCs. U-167 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 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 13,850 nautical miles (25,650 km; 15,940 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph). U-167 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) SK C/30 as well as a 2 cm (0.79 in) C/30 anti-aircraft gun. The boat had a complement of forty-eight.

## Service history

The boat moved from Kiel in Germany to Bergen in Norway in December 1942.

### First patrol

The submarine's first patrol took her from Bergen on 21 December 1942, across the North Sea and into the Atlantic Ocean through the gap between Iceland and the Faroe Islands. U-167 lost a man overboard in mid-Atlantic on 8 January 1943. She arrived in Lorient in occupied France, on the 16th.

### Second patrol and loss

On her second patrol on 17 March 1943, she attacked and damaged Molly Pitcher 500 nautical miles (930 km; 580 mi) west of Lisbon. She then sailed round the Azores before approaching the northwest African coast. She sank the Lagosian from convoy RS-3 southeast of the Canary Islands on the 28th.
U-167 was scuttled near the Canary Islands following an attack by a Lockheed Hudson of No. 233 Squadron RAF on 6 April 1943.

### Post-war

The boat was raised in 1951 and transferred to Spain. Before being broken up, she was used for filming.

## Summary of raiding history

| Date | Ship | Nationality | Tonnage (GRT) | Fate |
| 17 March 1943 | Molly Pitcher | United States | 7,200 | Damaged |
| 28 March 1943 | Lagosian | United Kingdom | 5,449 | Sunk |