AH-WR-0562

U-166

Submarine · Germany · Lost 1942 · The Gulf of Mexico

The only German U-boat sunk in the Gulf of Mexico, found in 2001 lying near her final victim, SS Robert E. Lee.

Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents. See the documented evidence.

Documented Likeness. Drawn from surviving builder's plans or clear photographs of this vessel. See the documented evidence.

The Vessel and Her Loss

The German Type IXC submarine U-166 was sunk on July 30, 1942, by depth charges from the U.S. Navy patrol craft PC-566, shortly after torpedoing the passenger-freighter SS Robert E. Lee near the mouth of the Mississippi River. All 52 crew died. Long thought sunk elsewhere, the wreck was rediscovered in 2001 by oil-industry surveyors using an autonomous underwater vehicle, resting near her final victim in about 5,000 feet of water. Both wrecks are protected as war graves.

Vessel

Built: 1941
Registry: U-166
Builder: Not established
Yard: Not established
Material: Steel
Length: Not established
Beam: Not established
Tonnage: Not established
Propulsion: Diesel-electric, twin screw
Owners: Kriegsmarine (German Navy)

Loss

Date: July 30, 1942
Cause: Enemy action
Location: About 45 miles south of the mouth of the Mississippi River
Water: Gulf of Mexico
Voyage: Not established
Cargo: Not established
Aboard: 52
Lives lost: 52
Master: Hans-Günther Kuhlmann

The Wreck Today

Depth: 5000 ft
Condition: Largely intact on the seafloor near the wreck of SS Robert E. Lee.
Orientation: Not established
Discovered: 2001
Protection: War grave, protected under international agreement; not to be disturbed, dived, or salvaged.

Position

Coordinates: 28.69° N 88.70° W
Accuracy: Reported, unconfirmed
Nearest: Mouth of the Mississippi River, Louisiana
Region: The Gulf of Mexico

A dive-resource GPS listing gives a specific position in the Gulf off the Mississippi Delta, but the official BSEE/NOAA archaeological report on the war-grave site explicitly withheld coordinates to protect it.

Evidence

Overall confidence: Well documented (90/100)

Exact coordinates are withheld to protect the war grave; only the general search area is publicly described.

NOAA Ocean Explorer, The U-166
Discovery details, depth, location description, war grave status.
Offshore Technology Conference, The Discovery of U-166
Survey and identification methodology, discovery narrative.
Shipwreck World, U-166 wreck location & GPS coordinates
wreck position
ROV Investigations of the DKM U-166 Shipwreck Site, BSEE/NOAA
confirms coordinates withheld