German submarine U-179
German submarine "U-179" was a Type IXD2 U-boat of Nazi Germany's "Kriegsmarine" built for service during World War II. Ordered on 28 May 1940, the U-boat was laid down on 15 January 1941 at the DeSchiMAG AG Weser yard in Bremen as yard number 1019, launched on 18 November, and commissioned on 7 March 1942, under the command of "Korvettenkapitän" Ernst Sobe. Design. German Type IXD2 submarines were considerably larger than the original Type IXs. "U-179" had a displacement of when at the surface and while submerged. The U-boat had a total length  of , a pressure hull length of , a beam of , a height of , and a draught of . 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 for use while surfaced, two Siemens-Schuckert 2 GU 345/34 double-acting electric motors producing a total of for use while submerged. She had two shafts and two propellers. The boat was capable of operating at depths of up to . The submarine had a maximum surface speed of and a  maximum submerged speed of . When submerged, the boat could operate for at ; when surfaced, she could travel at . "U-179" was fitted with six torpedo tubes (four fitted at the bow and two at the stern), 24 torpedoes, one SK C/32 naval gun, 150 rounds, and a SK C/30 with 2575 rounds as well as two C/30 anti-aircraft guns with 8100 rounds. The boat had a complement of fifty-five. First patrol and loss. "U-179" sailed from Kiel on 8 September 1942 into the Atlantic, passing north of Scotland and then turned southwest through the gap between Iceland and the  Faroe Islands. She headed south for the waters around Cape Town. She made her only kill on 8 October, sinking the unescorted . All but one of the 99 crewmen survived. The survivors managed to recover a cat from the wreckage after the sinking. The boat was sunk by depth charges from the British destroyer west southwest of Cape Town in South Africa on 8 October 1942. Sixty-one men died, there were no survivors.