German submarine U-156 (1941)

Conning tower emblem of U-156
History
Nazi Germany
Name	U-156
Ordered	25 September 1939
Builder	DeSchiMAG AG Weser, Bremen
Yard number	998
Laid down	11 October 1940
Launched	21 May 1941
Commissioned	4 September 1941
Fate	Sunk on 8 March 1943 with all hands on board[citation needed]
General characteristics
Class and type	Type IXC submarine
Displacement	1,120 t (1,100 long tons) surfaced 1,232 t (1,213 long tons) submerged
Length	76.76 m (251 ft 10 in) o/a 58.75 m (192 ft 9 in) pressure hull
Beam	6.76 m (22 ft 2 in) o/a 4.40 m (14 ft 5 in) pressure hull
Height	9.60 m (31 ft 6 in)
Draught	4.70 m (15 ft 5 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	13,450 nmi (24,910 km; 15,480 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) surfaced 64 nmi (119 km; 74 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph) submerged
Test depth	230 m (750 ft)
Complement	48 to 56
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 4 September – 31 December 1941 2nd U-boat Flotilla 1 January 1942 – 8 March 1943
Identification codes:	M 01 308
Commanders:	K.Kapt. Werner Hartenstein 4 September 1941 – 8 March 1943
Operations:	5 patrols: 1st patrol: 24 December 1941 – 10 January 1942 2nd patrol: 19 January – 17 March 1942 3rd patrol: 22 April – 7 July 1942 4th patrol: 20 August – 16 November 1942 5th patrol: 16 January – 8 March 1943
Victories:	19 merchant ships sunk (97,489 GRT) 3 merchant ships damaged (18,811 GRT) 1 warship damaged (1,190 tons)

The German submarine U-156 was a Type IXC U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine built for service during World War II. The keel for this boat was laid on 11 October 1940 at the DeSchiMAG AG Weser yard in Bremen, Germany, as yard number 998. She was commissioned on 4 September 1941 under the command of Kapitänleutnant Werner Hartenstein (Knight of the Iron Cross). The city of Plauen, Hartenstein's home city, adopted the submarine within the then popular sponsorship programme (Patenschaftsprogramm), organising gifts and holidays for the crew.

The U-boat took part in five patrols, which included attacks on shipping in which she sank twenty merchantmen, damaged another three merchantmen, and damaged the American destroyer USS Blakeley.

On February 16th, 1942, there were Attacks on Aruba’s oil refineries, Lago Oil and Transport Company and Arend Petroleum Company, which resulted in four fallen Dutch marines.

U-156 was the main participant in the Laconia Incident in September 1942, during which she torpedoed and sank the troopship Laconia west of Africa. Whilst rescuing the survivors and flying the Red Cross flag, the U-boat was attacked by an American aircraft and forced to dive, resulting in the shipwrecked survivors being cast back into the sea. The incident led to the Laconia Order, banning U-boats from attempting rescues, and later caused major embarrassment to the US during the Nuremberg trials.

U-156 was attacked with depth charges by an American aircraft east of the island of Barbados on 8 March 1943. She sank with the loss of all hands.