Jerry:

I couldn't find out much about U-196, however, the following is from Wikipedia:

"Due to the priority accorded the Australian Operation, U-196 was ordered to replace
U-168. However, U-196 disappeared in the Sunda Straight sometime after departing from Penang on November 30. The cause of U-196's loss is not known, though it was
probably due to an accident or mechanical fault."

Source: [en.wikipedia.org] Australian_waters

Regards,

ROBERT M.