Type | IXC/40 | |||||||||
| Ordered | 15 Aug 1940 | |||||||||
| Laid down | 18 Aug 1941 | AG Weser, Bremen (werk 1028) | ||||||||
| Launched | 31 Mar 1942 | |||||||||
| Commissioned | 5 Aug 1942 | Oblt. Siegfried Lüdden (Knights Cross) | ||||||||
| Commanders |
| |||||||||
| Career 3 patrols |
| |||||||||
| Successes | 8 ships sunk, total tonnage 49,725 GRT 1 warship sunk, total tonnage 1,190 tons 1 ship damaged, total tonnage 9,977 GRT | |||||||||
| Fate | Scuttled on 20 August, 1944 at the U-boat base in Bordeaux, France when unable to escape the Allied advance. Broken up in 1947. | |||||||||
Wolfpack operations
U-188 operated with the following Wolfpacks during its career:
Seeteufel (21 Mar 1943 - 29 Mar 1943)
Adler (7 Apr 1943 - 13 Apr 1943)
Meise (13 Apr 1943 - 20 Apr 1943)
Attacks on this boat
2 May 1943
At 10.14 hours, the inbound boat was strafed and attacked with 4 bombs by a British Whitley aircraft (RAF Sqdn 612 / W) in the Bay of Biscay. Gunfire wounded the commander KptLt Siegfried Lüdden and another crew member, who died in a hospital in Paris on 14 May. [Matrosengefreiter Leo Rupp] (Sources: Rohwer/Ritschel)
1 recorded attack on this boat.
General notes on this boat
HMS Beverly took part in sinking U-188's sister ship U-187 on 4 Feb, 1943.
19 Jun 1944. June 19, 1944: The U-188 successfully arrives in Bordeaux with a cargo of tin, wolfram, opium and quinine after leaving Penang, Sumatra on January 9th. U-boat Control had assumed U-188 was sunk because the boat's radio had failed and it had been unable to send messages since early May.
Men lost from the boat
2 May 1943
The boat was heading home through the Bay of Biscay when it was attacked by a Whitley aircraft. The commander, KL Siegfried Lüdden and a crewmember were heavily wounded. The crewmember died two weeks later in a hospital in Paris. [Matrosengefreiter Leo Rupp]
Related: For more info on such losses see - Men lost from U-boats -
Buy this title at amazon.com See more sellers |
Books dealing with this subject include
|
