U-Boat 154

El cazador del Atlántico

          The U-154 was a Type IXC submarine built by the AG Weser shipyards in Bremen and assigned to the Kriegsmarine in 1941. Designed for long-range operations, it completed eight combat patrols across the North Atlantic, the Caribbean, and the Yucatán Channel, sinking 10 merchant ships (49,288 tons) and damaging three more (23,937 tons), for a total of 544 days at sea.

          It carried a crew of 57 men, living in very limited conditions. Its design allowed it to operate more than 13,000 nautical miles on the surface at cruising speed and reach 18.3 knots, with a capacity of up to 22 torpedoes, a 105 mm deck gun, and anti-aircraft armament. Although it was not one of the most famous U-boats, its constant presence in critical areas and its operational longevity made it a key piece in German naval strategy.

          Korvettenkapitän Heinrich Schuch took command of U-154 on October 7, 1942, during a patrol in which three merchant ships were sunk. That same month, the submarine participated in the wolfpack Südwärts, a short collective convoy-hunting operation. Most of its missions, however, were carried out alone.

          During its service, U-154 was the target of several attacks. On November 3, 1943, it was attacked by a PBY Catalina seaplane near the Amazon without suffering damage. Later, in March 1944, it was struck by the patrol vessel USS PC-469 north of the Panama Canal, and then by the Colombian destroyer ARC Caldas near San Andrés, escaping both attacks without serious consequences.

          Finally, on July 3, 1944, U-154 was located and sunk northwest of Madeira by the U.S. destroyers USS Inch and USS Frost. Its entire crew was lost in the sinking.