German submarine U-183

History
Nazi Germany
Name	U-183
Ordered	15 August 1940
Builder	DeSchiMAG AG Weser, Bremen
Yard number	1023
Laid down	28 May 1941
Launched	9 January 1942
Commissioned	1 April 1942
Fate	Sunk by USS Besugo, 23 April 1945
General characteristics
Class and type	Type IXC/40 submarine
Displacement	1,144 t (1,126 long tons) surfaced; 1,257 t (1,237 long tons) submerged;
Length	76.76 m (251 ft 10 in) o/a ; 58.75 m (192 ft 9 in) pressure hull ;
Beam	6.86 m (22 ft 6 in) o/a; 4.44 m (14 ft 7 in) pressure hull;
Height	9.60 m (31 ft 6 in)
Draught	4.67 m (15 ft 4 in)
Installed power	4,400 PS (3,200 kW; 4,300 bhp) (diesels); 1,000 PS (740 kW; 990 shp) (electric);
Propulsion	2 shafts; 2 × diesel engines ; 2 × electric motors ;
Speed	18.3 knots (33.9 km/h; 21.1 mph) surfaced; 7.3 knots (13.5 km/h; 8.4 mph) submerged;
Range	13,850 nmi (25,650 km; 15,940 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) surfaced; 63 nmi (117 km; 72 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph) submerged;
Test depth	230 m (750 ft)
Complement	4 officers, 44 enlisted
Armament	6 × torpedo tubes (4 bow, 2 stern); 22 × 53.3 cm (21 in) torpedoes ; 1 × 10.5 cm (4.1 in) SK C/32 deck gun (180 rounds); 1 × 3.7 cm (1.5 in) SK C/30 AA gun; 1 × twin 2 cm FlaK 30 AA guns;
Service record
Part of:	4th U-boat Flotilla ; 1 April – 30 September 1942; 2nd U-boat Flotilla ; 1 October 1942 – 30 September 1944; 33rd U-boat Flotilla ; 1 October 1944 – 23 April 1945;
Identification codes:	M 44 100
Commanders:	Kptlt. Heinrich Schäfer; 1 April 1942 – 19 November 1943; Kptlt. Fritz Schneewind; 20 November 1943 – 23 April 1945;
Operations:	6 patrols; 1st patrol:; 19 September – 23 December 1942; 2nd patrol:; 30 January – 13 May 1943; 3rd patrol:; a. 3 July – 30 October 1943; b. 10 – 11 November 1943; c. 28 – 30 January 1944; 4th patrol:; 10 February – 21 March 1944; 5th patrol:; a. 3 – 5 May 1944; b. 17 May – 7 July 1944; c. August 1944; d. 16 – 30 October 1944; e. 22 February – 9 March 1945; 6th patrol:; 21 – 23 April 1945;
Victories:	4 merchant ships sunk ; (19,260 GRT); 1 merchant ship total loss ; (6,993 GRT);

Last updated September 23, 2024

German submarine U-183 was a Type IXC/40 U-boat of the German Navy ( Kriegsmarine ) during World War II. She was commissioned on 1 April 1942, one of the first IXC/40 boats, somewhat larger and faster than the IXC type. She began her service life in the 4th U-boat Flotilla, a training organization, moving on to the 2nd, then the 33rd Flotilla, both operational or front outfits.

Design

German Type IXC/40 submarines were slightly larger than the original Type IXCs. U-183 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.^[1] 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).^[1]

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).^[1] 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-183 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.^[1]

Service history

After serving in the Atlantic, U-183 sailed from France in July 1943, arriving at Penang on 27 October, and operated in the zone for almost two years. She carried out six war patrols including In March 1944, torpedoing the oil tanker British Loyalty that was anchored in the Addu lagoon in the Maldives. The tanker was damaged but not sunk.^[2]

The U-183 was sunk on 23 April 1945, 15 days before Germany's surrender, by the American submarine Besugo (SS-321) in the Java Sea. Only one crew member survived.^[3]

In November 2013 the wreck of either this submarine or U-168 has been located.^[4]

Wolfpacks

U-183 took part in three wolfpacks, namely:

Luchs (4 – 6 October 1942)
Panther (7 – 11 October 1942)
Hartherz (3 – 7 February 1943)

Summary of raiding history

Date	Name	Nationality	Tonnage (GRT)	Fate^[5]
3 December 1942	Empire Dabchick	United Kingdom	6,089	Sunk
11 March 1943	Olancho	Honduras	2,493	Sunk
29 February 1944	Palma	United Kingdom	5,419	Sunk
9 March 1944	British Loyalty	United Kingdom	6,993	Total loss
5 June 1944	Helen Moller	United Kingdom	5,259	Sunk

Related Research Articles

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References

1 2 3 4 Gröner 1991, p. 68.
↑ Kearney, Jonathan (23 September 2020). "Fascinating History of How WWII Brought to the Maldives". maldivestraveller.mv.
↑ "National Archives Catalog". USS BESUGO - Report of FOURTH War Patrol, 3/24/45 - 5/20/45. pp. 20, 21. Retrieved 19 August 2023.
↑ "Archaeologists Find Sunken Nazi Sub in Indonesia with 17 Skeletons". Io9.com. 23 April 1945. Retrieved 25 November 2013.
↑ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit by U-183". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 26 September 2014.

Bibliography

Busch, Rainer; Röll, Hans-Joachim (1999). German U-boat commanders of World War II : a biographical dictionary. Translated by Brooks, Geoffrey. London, Annapolis, Md: Greenhill Books, Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-186-6.
Busch, Rainer; Röll, Hans-Joachim (1999). Deutsche U-Boot-Verluste von September 1939 bis Mai 1945[German U-boat losses from September 1939 to May 1945]. Der U-Boot-Krieg (in German). Vol. IV. Hamburg, Berlin, Bonn: Mittler. ISBN 3-8132-0514-2.
Gröner, Erich; Jung, Dieter; Maass, Martin (1991). U-boats and Mine Warfare Vessels. German Warships 1815–1945. Vol. 2. Translated by Thomas, Keith; Magowan, Rachel. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-593-4.

External links

Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type IXD boat U-183". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 7 December 2014.
Hofmann, Markus. "U 183". Deutsche U-Boote 1935–1945 - u-boot-archiv.de (in German). Retrieved 30 January 2015.
Jedrzejewski, Marcin. "Monsun boats. U-boats in the Indian Ocean and the Far East". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 24 April 2015.

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[FOOTNOTEGröner199168-1] 1 2 3 4 Gröner 1991, p. 68.

[2] Kearney, Jonathan (23 September 2020). "Fascinating History of How WWII Brought to the Maldives". maldivestraveller.mv.

[3] "National Archives Catalog". USS BESUGO - Report of FOURTH War Patrol, 3/24/45 - 5/20/45. pp. 20, 21. Retrieved 19 August 2023.

[4] "Archaeologists Find Sunken Nazi Sub in Indonesia with 17 Skeletons". Io9.com. 23 April 1945. Retrieved 25 November 2013.

[5] Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit by U-183". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 26 September 2014.

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v t e German Type IXC/40 submarines
U-167 U-168 U-169 U-170 U-183 U-184 U-185 U-186 U-187 U-188 U-189 U-190 U-191 U-192 U-193 U-194 U-525 U-526 U-527 U-528 U-529 U-530 U-531 U-532 U-533 U-534 U-535 U-536 U-537 U-538 U-539 U-540 U-541 U-542 U-543 U-544 U-545 U-546 U-547 U-548 U-549 U-550 U-801 U-802 U-803 U-804 U-805 U-806 U-841 U-842 U-843 U-844 U-845 U-846 U-853 U-854 U-855 U-856 U-857 U-858 U-865 U-866 U-867 U-868 U-869 U-870 U-877 U-878 U-879 U-880 U-881 U-889 U-1221 U-1222 U-1223 U-1224 U-1225 U-1226 U-1227 U-1228 U-1229 U-1230 U-1231 U-1232 U-1233 U-1234 U-1235
Preceded by: Type IXC Followed by: Type IXD
List of U-boats of Germany

v t e Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in April 1945
Shipwrecks	1 Apr: Awa Maru 2 Apr: CD-186, USS Dickerson, U-321 3 Apr: Brummer , USS S-16, U-1221 , U-2542 , U-3505 , T111 4 Apr: USS Dickerson, U-237 , U-749 , U-3003 5 Apr: U-242 , USS S-17 6 Apr: Amatsukaze , USS Bush, USS Colhoun, USS Leutze, USS Morris, USS Newcomb, USS Witter, SS Hobbs Victory , SS Logan Victory 7 Apr: Asashimo , Hamakaze , Isokaze , Isuzu , Kasumi , USS LST-447, Oldenburg , USS PGM-18, U-1195 , Yahagi , Yamato 8 Apr: U-774 , U-1001 9 Apr: Admiral Scheer , Ro-56, U-677 , U-747 , U-804 , U-843 , U-982 , U-1065 , U-2509 , U-2514 , U-3512 , U-2516 10 Apr: U-878 , Weser 12 Apr: USS Mannert L. Abele, Ro-64, U-486 13 Apr: Karlsruhe, U-1024 14 Apr: Belgian Airman, U-235 , U-1206 15 Apr: U-103 , U-285 , U-1063 , U-1235 16 Apr: HMCS Esquimalt, Lützow , USS Pringle, U-78 , U-880 , U-1274 17 Apr: Goya 19 Apr: Aquila, U-251 , U-548 , U-879 21 Apr: U-636 22 Apr: USS Swallow, U-518 23 Apr: USS Eagle Boat 56, U-183 24 Apr: USS Frederick C. Davis, U-108 , U-546 25 Apr: Graf Zeppelin , Ro-109, TA 32 , U-326 27 Apr: Canada Victory , TA 34 28 Apr: CH-17 , U-56 29 Apr: I-44, U-56 , U-286 , U-307 , U-1017 30 Apr: HMS Goodall, TA 43 , U-879 , U-1107 Unknown date: I-56, Ro-46, Ro-49, USS Snook, U-246 , U-325 , U-396 , U-398 , U-548 , U-857 , U-1055
Other incidents	2 Apr: USS Dickerson 5 Apr: USS Thornton 6 Apr: USS Defense, USS Emmons, USS Mullany, USS Rodman 8 Apr: USS Bullhead 9 Apr: USS Sea Devil 11 Apr: I-401 12 Apr: USS Lindsey, U-1024 , USS Zellars 14 Apr: USS Sigsbee 15 Apr: HMS Ekins, USS Laffey 16 Apr: USS Bryant, Goya, USS Harding 19 Apr: USS Bullhead, USS Pogy, USS Tolman 27 Apr: HMS Redmill 28 Apr: Argo, USS Huron 29 Apr: USS Baya 30 Apr: U-3525
1944 1945 1946 March 1945 May 1945

History

Nazi Germany
Name	U-183
Ordered	15 August 1940
Builder	DeSchiMAG AG Weser, Bremen
Yard number	1023
Laid down	28 May 1941
Launched	9 January 1942
Commissioned	1 April 1942
Fate	Sunk by USS Besugo, 23 April 1945
General characteristics
Class and type	Type IXC/40 submarine
Displacement	1,144 t (1,126 long tons) surfaced 1,257 t (1,237 long tons) submerged
Length	76.76 m (251 ft 10 in) o/a 58.75 m (192 ft 9 in) pressure hull
Beam	6.86 m (22 ft 6 in) o/a 4.44 m (14 ft 7 in) pressure hull
Height	9.60 m (31 ft 6 in)
Draught	4.67 m (15 ft 4 in)
Installed power	4,400 PS (3,200 kW; 4,300 bhp) (diesels) 1,000 PS (740 kW; 990 shp) (electric)
Propulsion	2 shafts 2 × diesel engines 2 × electric motors
Speed	18.3 knots (33.9 km/h; 21.1 mph) surfaced 7.3 knots (13.5 km/h; 8.4 mph) submerged
Range	13,850 nmi (25,650 km; 15,940 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) surfaced 63 nmi (117 km; 72 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph) submerged
Test depth	230 m (750 ft)
Complement	4 officers, 44 enlisted
Armament	6 × torpedo tubes (4 bow, 2 stern) 22 × 53.3 cm (21 in) torpedoes 1 × 10.5 cm (4.1 in) SK C/32 deck gun (180 rounds) 1 × 3.7 cm (1.5 in) SK C/30 AA gun 1 × twin 2 cm FlaK 30 AA guns
Service record
Part of:	4th U-boat Flotilla 1 April – 30 September 1942 2nd U-boat Flotilla 1 October 1942 – 30 September 1944 33rd U-boat Flotilla 1 October 1944 – 23 April 1945
Identification codes:	M 44 100
Commanders:	Kptlt. Heinrich Schäfer 1 April 1942 – 19 November 1943 Kptlt. Fritz Schneewind 20 November 1943 – 23 April 1945
Operations:	6 patrols 1st patrol: 19 September – 23 December 1942 2nd patrol: 30 January – 13 May 1943 3rd patrol: a. 3 July – 30 October 1943 b. 10 – 11 November 1943 c. 28 – 30 January 1944 4th patrol: 10 February – 21 March 1944 5th patrol: a. 3 – 5 May 1944 b. 17 May – 7 July 1944 c. August 1944 d. 16 – 30 October 1944 e. 22 February – 9 March 1945 6th patrol: 21 – 23 April 1945
Victories:	4 merchant ships sunk (19,260 GRT) 1 merchant ship total loss (6,993 GRT)