German submarine U-181 was a Type IXD2 U-boat of Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II. The submarine was laid down on 15 March 1941 at the DeSchiMAG AG Weser yard at Bremen as yard number 1021. She was launched on 30 December 1941 and commissioned on 9 May 1942 under the command of Kapitänleutnant Wolfgang Lüth. After training with the 4th U-boat Flotilla at Stettin, U-181 was attached to the 10th flotilla for front-line service on 1 October 1942, then transferred to the 12th flotilla on 1 November. During the patrol between 1942 and 1943, the submarine was responsible for sinking 22 ships for a total of 103,712 GRT,
On 1 November 1943 under the command of Fregattenkapitän Kurt Freiwald and part of the 12th U-boat Flotilla. U-181 sailed from her base in Bordeaux, France to Penang, Malaya (now Malaysia) in mid–1944, sinking four ships totalling 24,869 GRT. On 1 October 1944 the U-boat was transferred to the 33rd U-boat Flotilla.
Summary of raiding history
thumb|U-boat (either U-181 or [[German submarine U-862|U-862) moored next to the Japanese cruiser Myōkō]]
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:97%;"
|-
! Date || Ship || Nationality || Tonnage<br />(GRT) || Fate
|-
! colspan=5 | 1st patrol
|-
|align="right"|3 November 1942
|align="left" |
|align="left" |
|align="right"|8,159
|align="left" |Sunk
|-
|align="right"|8 November 1942
|align="left" |Plaudit
|align="left" |
|align="right"|5,060
|align="left" |Sunk
|-
|align="right"|10 November 1942
|align="left" |K.G. Meldahl
|align="left" |
|align="right"|3,799
|align="left" |Sunk
|-
|align="right"|13 November 1942
|align="left" |Excello
|align="left" |
|align="right"|4,969
|align="left" |Sunk
|-
|align="right"|19 November 1942
|align="left" |Gunda
|align="left" |
|align="right"|2,241
|align="left" |Sunk
|-
|align="right"|20 November 1942
|align="left" |Corinthiakos
|align="left" |
|align="right"|3,562
|align="left" |Sunk
|-
|align="right"|22 November 1942
|align="left" |Alcoa Pathfinder
|align="left" |
|align="right"|6,797
|align="left" |Sunk
|-
|align="right" rowspan=2| 24 November 1942
|align="left" |Dorington Court
|align="left" |
|align="right"|5,281
|align="left" |Sunk
|-
|align="left" |Mount Helmos
|align="left" |
|align="right"|6,481
|align="left" |Sunk
|-
|align="right"|28 November 1942
|align="left" |Evanthia
|align="left" |
|align="right"|3,551
|align="left" |Sunk
|-
|align="right"|30 November 1942
|align="left" |Cleanthis
|align="left" |
|align="right"|4,153
|align="left" |Sunk
|-
|align="right"|2 December 1942
|align="left" |Amarylis
|align="left" |
|align="right"|4,328
|align="left" |Sunk
|-
! colspan=5 | 2nd patrol
|-
|align="right"|11 April 1943
|align="left" |Empire Whimbrel
|align="left" |
|align="right"|5,983
|align="left" |Sunk
|-
|align="right"|11 May 1943
|align="left" |Tinhow
|align="left" |
|align="right"|5,232
|align="left" |Sunk
|-
|align="right"|27 May 1943
|align="left" |Sicilia
|align="left" |
|align="right"|1,633
|align="left" |Sunk
|-
|align="right"|7 June 1943
|align="left" |Harrier
|align="left" |
|align="right"|193
|align="left" |Sunk
|-
|align="right"|2 July 1943
|align="left" |
|align="left" |
|align="right"|2,798
|align="left" |Sunk
|-
|align="right"|15 July 1943
|align="left" |Empire Lake
|align="left" |
|align="right"|2,852
|align="left" |Sunk
|-
|align="right"|16 July 1943
|align="left" |Fort Franklin
|align="left" |
|align="right"|7,135
|align="left" |Sunk
|-
|align="right"|4 August 1943
|align="left" |Dalfram
|align="left" |
|align="right"|4,558
|align="left" |Sunk
|-
|align="right"|7 August 1943
|align="left" |Umvuma
|align="left" |
|align="right"|4,419
|align="left" |Sunk
|-
|align="right"|12 August 1943
|align="left" |Clan Macarthur
|align="left" |
|align="right"|10,528
|align="left" |Sunk
|-
! colspan=5 | 3rd patrol
|-
|align="right"|1 May 1944
|align="left" |Janeta
|align="left" |
|align="right"|5,312
|align="left" |Sunk
|-
|align="right"|19 June 1944
|align="left" |Garoet
|align="left" |
|align="right"|7,118
|align="left" |Sunk
|-
|align="right"|15 July 1944
|align="left" |Tanda
|align="left" |
|align="right"|7,174
|align="left" |Sunk
|-
|align="right"|19 July 1944
|align="left" |King Frederick
|align="left" |
|align="right"|5,265
|align="left" |Sunk
|-
! colspan=5 | 4th patrol
|-
|align="right"|2 November 1944
|align="left" |
|align="left" |
|align="right"|10,198
|align="left" |Sunk
|}
References
Bibliography
External links
- Submarine I-501: Tabular Record of Movement