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 August 1942 for operations. She sank three ships, totalling 8,133 gross register tons (GRT).
She was sunk by an American aircraft on 6 January 1943.
Design
German Type IXC submarines were slightly larger than the original Type IXBs. U-164 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.[2] 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).[2]
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).[2] 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-164 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.[2]
Service history
First patrol
The submarine's first patrol took her from Kiel on 18 July 1942, across the North Sea and into the Atlantic Ocean through the gap between Iceland and the Faroe Islands. She sank Stad Amsterdam on 25 August in the eastern Caribbean. The first torpedoes hit, except they were duds, probably fired from too close-in; but a coup de grǎce caused the ship to sink stern-first. The boat also sank John A. Holloway northwest of Curaçao. U-164 arrived at Lorient, in occupied France, on 7 October. She would be based at this Atlantic port for the rest of her brief career.
Second patrol and loss
She sank Brageland, a neutral Swedish ship, on 1 January 1943. A three-man boarding party inspected the ship and under the prize rules, she was torpedoed.
U-164 was sunk by an American PBY Catalina flying boat of VP-83 125 nmi (232 km; 144 mi) from northwest of Ceará State shoreline, Brazil on 6 January 1943. 54 men died, there were two survivors.
^Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit by U-164". German U-boats of WWII – uboat.net. Retrieved 3 October 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. ISBN1-55750-186-6.
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. ISBN3-8132-0514-2.
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. ISBN0-85177-593-4.
Kemp, Paul (1999). U-Boats Destroyed – German Submarine Losses in the World Wars. London: Arms & Armour. ISBN1-85409-515-3.
External links
Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type IX boat U-164". German U-boats of WWII – uboat.net. Retrieved 7 December 2014.
Hofmann, Markus. "U 164". Deutsche U-Boote 1935-1945 – u-boot-archiv.de (in German). Retrieved 7 December 2014.
