and caused an internal detonation of the submarine's own torpedoes, which broke off the bow. If so, this would be one of the few successful submarine kills caused by direct contact from a depth charge, as typical attacks relied upon depth charges exploding a short distance away to inflict repeated hydraulic shocks that would eventually crack a submarine's pressure hull. Initial credit for the sinking of U-166 had been given to a Grumman G-44 Widgeon, but the position of the wreck made it clear that this should have gone to the submarine chaser PC-566. On 16 December 2014, the Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus posthumously awarded the captain of PC-566, then-LCDR Herbert G. Claudius, USNR (later CAPT USN), the Legion of Merit with a Combat "V" device for heroism in battle and credited him with the sinking of the U-boat. "Seventy years later, we now know that [Claudius's] report after the action was absolutely correct," he said. "[Claudius's ship] did sink that U-boat, and it's never too late to set the record straight." Results of a study released in February 2019 showed that the wreck of U-166 was being badly damaged because of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Seabed bacteria, feeding on the oil, were causing the damage. Summary of raiding history Note One of the foremost authorities on the subject is Charles "C.J." Christ, from Houma, who spent most of his life searching for U-166. His personal account about his search and the final locating and identification of the U-boat can be found in a local newspaper, The Houma Courier: C.J. Christ "WAR IN THE GULF: German submarine, U-166, found in the Gulf of Mexico" (The article can be found online as reprint by another local newspaper, The Daily Comet). References External links The Story of U-166: The Gulf of Mexico's Lost U-Boat Photograph and sonar image of the Robert E. Lee The U-166 - NOAA WWII German UBoats WWII Gulf of Mexico Shipwreck Survey Expedition 2004 - NOAA German Type IX submarines U-boats commissioned in 1942 U-boats sunk in 1942 World War II submarines of Germany 1941 ships Shipwrecks in the Gulf of Mexico World War II shipwrecks in the Gulf of Mexico Ships built in Bremen (state) U-boats sunk by US warships U-boats sunk by depth charges Ships lost with all hands Maritime incidents in July 1942 Shipwrecks on the National Register of Historic Places