German submarine U-159 (1941)

The submarine's first patrol took her from Kiel on 22 April 1942, across the North Sea and into the Atlantic Ocean through the gap between the Faroe and Shetland Islands. She arrived at Lorient, in occupied France, on 3 May. She would be based at this Atlantic port for the rest of her career.

U-159's second sortie proved to be successful, sinking ships such as Montenol on 21 May 1942 140 nmi (260 km; 160 mi) east southeast of Santa Maria, in the Azores. She also attacked Illinois, which with a cargo of 8,000 tons of manganese ore, sank in 40 seconds. The U-boat's deck gun got plenty of use, sinking Sally on 5 June and Flora on the 18th. On another occasion, due to rough seas, the weapon could not be used in the attack on the Brazilian sailing ship Paracury; her 20mm AA gun was used instead. Holes at the waterline were shot into the vessel, which capsized but did not sink. The wreck was subsequently recovered and repaired. The boat was attacked by a Leigh Light equipped Vickers Wellington aircraft of No. 172 Squadron RAF on 13 July 1942. She was severely damaged and barely managed to reach Lorient, some 12 hours later.

Her third foray was to the South Atlantic and at 135 days, her longest and most destructive. Attacking and sinking among others, Boringia, the Empire Nomad and Ross. The boat was attacked by a SAAF [South African Air Force] Lockheed Ventura on 10 October 1942; only minor damage was sustained. She also torpedoed and sank La Salle on 7 November 1942. When the ships' cargo of ammunition exploded, it was heard at the Cape Point lighthouse, more than 300 nmi (560 km; 350 mi) away. Another of her victims, Star of Scotland, (which despite the name was registered in the US), was a steel sailing ship which was attacked and sunk with the deck gun about 900 nmi (1,700 km; 1,000 mi) west of Luderitz Bay, South Africa. Her master was to be taken away as a prisoner, but he was returned to his men after he pointed out to the submariners that he was the only man who could navigate.

Another "Star", Star of Suez, was sunk. Amongst the floating debris were 45 aircraft tyres, a 20 hp electric motor and 120 grapefruits; they were recovered by U-159. Another U-boat, U-134, which had been thwarted in her attempt to get into an attacking position in time, also managed to rescue some aircraft tyres and spare parts for cars.

On her fourth patrol, U-159 sank Silverbeech on 28 March 1943 south of the Canary Islands from convoy RS 3. The U-boat was attacked by aircraft (she was one of eight), off the coast of Spanish, (now Western) Sahara.

U-159 attacked and sunk by a PBM-3C of VP-32 on 28 July 1943.

Her final patrol saw U-159 depart Lorient on 12 June 1943. She was sunk by a US Navy Mariner aircraft of VP-32.

U-159 took part in two wolfpacks, namely:

• Wohlgemut (12 – 22 March 1943)
• Seeräuber (25 – 30 March 1943)