U-167: The German U-boat That Ended Its Final Patrol off Gran Canaria

In April 1943, during the Second World War, the German U-167, a Kriegsmarine Type IXC/40 U-boat, was operating in waters around the Canary Islands on its second war patrol. One important detail should be corrected in the commonly repeated account: its commanding officer at the time was Korvettenkapitän Kurt Sturm, not Kurt Neubert. Neubert had been U-167’s first commander, while Sturm took command in February 1943.

On 5 April 1943, U-167 was located and attacked by two Lockheed Hudson aircraft of RAF No. 233 Squadron. Depth-charge attacks caused severe damage, compromising the U-boat’s ability to continue operations and submerge safely. After assessing the damage, Sturm headed towards the southern coast of Gran Canaria in order to get his crew safely ashore.

During the night, the U-boat approached the coast and most of the crew abandoned the vessel in the Las Burras area—not Arguineguín beach, as some accounts state. Local Canarian fishermen helped rescue members of the crew. Sturm and a small group initially remained aboard, intending to take U-167 into deeper water before scuttling her; the submarine ultimately sank on 6 April 1943. There were no fatalities among the crew.

The vessel’s story did not end on the seabed. The wreck was raised in 1951 and transferred for use in Spain, where it was even employed for filming before eventually being broken up. U-167 therefore represents a remarkable chapter in the Canary Islands’ maritime history and illustrates the strategic importance of the waters surrounding the archipelago during the Battle of the Atlantic.

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