German submarine U-67 (1940)

German submarine U-67 was a Type IXC U-boat of the Nazi German Kriegsmarine that operated during World War II. She was laid down in the AG Weser yard in Bremen as 'werk' 986 on 5 April 1940. She was launched on 30 October and was commissioned on 22 January 1941 under Korvettenkapitän Heinrich Bleichrodt.

Her service life began with training with the 2nd U-boat Flotilla on her commissioning date; the boat was declared operational with the same flotilla on 1 September 1941.

Operational career
The boat carried out seven patrols in which she sank 13 ships and damaged another five. She was a member of three wolf packs.

She was sunk on 16 July 1943 by an Avenger bomber from the US aircraft carrier USS Core. 48 men died, there were three survivors.

Her operational service commenced with a trip from Bergen in Norway to Lorient in France. The submarine was to spend the rest of her career being based in the French port.

1st, 2nd and 3rd patrols
She sank the St. Clair II west northwest of the Canary Islands on 24 September 1941 on her first foray.

On her second patrol she was attacked by the British corvette HMS Bluebell on 11 December 1941 west of Gibraltar; slight damage was incurred. U-208 was originally though to have been sunk.

Her third effort, which began with the U-boat's departure from Lorient on 19 January 1942, took her to the Caribbean, where she sank the Penelope, about 150 mi west of Dominica on 14 March.

4th, 5th and 6th patrols and loss
Her fourth patrol, as part of Operation Drumbeat, saw the submarine enter the Gulf of Mexico. There she sank eight ships, most of them just off the mouth of the Mississippi River.

Her fifth sortie turned out to be her longest - 97 days. Moving to the area off the north coast of South America, she sank a further six ships, but her success was marred by an explosion while handling torpedoes. One man was killed.

Patrol number six included being part of the Seerauber wolfpack (pirate) which was unfortunate as the boat was badly damaged during an attack on the convoy RS 3. Three U-boats (from a total of eight) were hit in the battle which took place south of the Canary Islands.

The submarine began her seventh and final patrol on 10 May 1943; she was sunk in mid-ocean on 16 July.