| abstract | - German submarine U-171 was a Type IXC U-boat of the Nazi German Kriegsmarine built for service during World War II. The submarine was laid down on 1 December 1940 at the AG Weser yard at Bremen as 'werk' 1011; it was launched on 22 July 1941 and commissioned on 25 October 1941 under the command of Kapitänleutnant Günther Pfeffer. After training with the 4th U-boat Flotilla, U-171 was transferred to the 10th U-boat Flotilla for front-line service on 1 July 1942. It was sent to patrol in the Gulf of Mexico and was sunk by a naval mine in the Bay of Biscay 115 days into its first, and only patrol whilst returning to Lorient in occupied France, with the loss of 22 of its complement of 54. For many years it was believed that had been sunk by an American aircraft in what had in reality been an unsuccessful attack on this submarine in the Gulf of Mexico.
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