SM U 39

SM U 39 ( previous / next - all submarines )
The sister boat U 38
Technical specifications
Submarine type:	Two-hull ocean-going boat
Series:	U 31 - U 41
Builder:	Germania shipyard, Kiel
Displacement:	685 tons (above water) 824 tons (under water)
Length:	64.70 m
Width:	6.32 m
Draft:	3.56 m
Pressure body ø:	4.05 m
Max. Diving depth:	50 m
Dive time:	50-100 s
Drive:	Diesel engines 1850 PS E-machines 1200 PS
Speed:	16.4 knots (above water) 9.7 knots (under water)
Armament:	2 bow and 2 stern tubes, 6-10 torpedoes 1 × 8.8 cm deck gun 1 × 10.5 cm deck gun (from 1916/17)
Mission data
Crew:	4 officers 31 men
Calls:	19th
Successes:	151 sunk merchant ships
Whereabouts:	interned in Spain on May 18, 1918 extradited to France on March 22, 1919 scrapped in Toulon in December 1923

SM U 39 was a submarine of the German Imperial Navy , which in World War I with 151 sunken merchant ships with a total tonnage of 398,564 GRT of 35 U the most successful submarine was the First World War.

Building history

The submarine U 39 launched at the Germania shipyard in Kiel on September 26, 1914 , was part of the last peace contract of the Imperial Navy on June 12, 1912, which included the U 37 to U 41 submarines and required replicas of the type introduced with the U 31 . The keel of the boat with hull number 199 was laid on March 27, 1913.

Calls

U 39 was put into service on January 13, 1915 under Lieutenant Captain Hans Kratsch. On February 11, 1915, Walter Forstmann became the commander of the submarine, which was replaced by Heinrich Metzger on October 15, 1917 .

The boat began its service with the 2nd submarine flotilla, before it moved in September 1915 in the Mediterranean to the U-flotilla Pola . U 39 carried out numerous enemy voyages in the eastern North Atlantic , or in the North Sea , and from August 1915 in the Mediterranean . A total of 151 merchant ships from the Entente and neutral states with a total tonnage of 398,564 GRT were sunk. With this sinking balance, U 39 is, from a military point of view, one of the most successful submarines of the First World War after U 35 .

The first sinking took place on May 1, 1915, when U 39 sank the Norwegian freighter Balduin with a cargo of wood to England in the North Sea . On May 10, 1915, the commander confiscated the small Danish steamer Olga (1911, 798 GRT) as a prize , which was later returned to the Danish owner. On July 3, 1915, the 22nd and last sinking before the transfer to the U-Flotilla Pola in the Mediterranean took place with the steamer Renfrew (1898, 3488 GRT). The following day, U 39 damaged the Anglo-Californian (1912, 7333 GRT), the largest ship attacked to date. The unarmed freighter loaded with horses was able to escape the attack on Queenstown . 21 men died on board the Anglo-Californian . The also fallen captain, Frederick Daniel Parslow, was the first British merchant ship captain and civilian to be honored posthumously with the Victoria Cross . His son, who eventually brought in the ship, was also honored.

The torpedoed and rioted Norseman

The largest ship sunk by U 39 was the Norseman of the Dominion Line , which was torpedoed on January 22, 1916 off Saloniki, with 9542 GRT . It transported mules and ammunition to Saloniki, but could neither be removed nor repaired. The ship, British since 1900, was built in 1897 for HAPAG as Brasilia .

The wreck of the torpedoed Candytuft

On January 25, 1917, U 39 sank the French troop transport Amiral Margon (1904, 5566 GRT), which was on its way to Saloniki with 900 soldiers on board, southwest of the Peloponnese . 211 men drowned, 809 men were rescued by the French escort ships. On February 15, 1917, the Italian troop transport Minas (1891, 2854 GRT) was sunk off Cape Matapan , with which 870 men drowned.

The majority of the sinkings were achieved by the crew of U 39 under the command of Walter Forstmann, who was awarded the Pour le Mérite for this. Under the commandant Metzger, who followed in October 1917, six more ships were sunk, including the first warship, the British sloop HMS Candytuft of the Flower class , which was torpedoed off Bougie on November 18, 1917 . Nine men died in the sinking of the British boat operating as a submarine trap .

The operations of U 39 also served to support the rebellious Sanusiya in Libya . In December 1915, U 39 towed the UC 12, which was used as a transport submarine, and brought it safely off the North African coast. In July 1916 a small German-Turkish landing party was brought to North Africa under the command of Lieutenant Paul Freiherr von Todenwarth . Another trip to Africa with supplies followed in October 1916. On the way back, Otto-Felix Mannesmann's body was transferred to Cattaro .

Known crew members

Karl Dönitz as an officer on U 39

In the first half of 1917, the future theologian and resistance fighter Martin Niemöller drove as a helmsman on U 39 . In the same year, the later Grand Admiral Karl Dönitz was also on board as an officer on watch . On U 39 Dönitz took part in a total of five patrols under commanders Walther Forstmann and Heinrich Metzger until he disembarked in December 1917 to prepare for his own command.

Whereabouts

On April 27, 1918, U 39 launched an operation from Pola in the western Mediterranean. The future admiral of the Kriegsmarine Otto Feige was also on board as an observer . On May 17, 1918, U 39 and UB 50 attacked a convoy north of Oran . The British freighter Sculptor was sunk. The following day U 39 was attacked by two French seaplanes . Henry Butcher let dive, but dropped two depth charges exploded so close to the submarine that there was severe damage. Metzger therefore ordered a course to the nearest Spanish port, Cartagena . Another attack by aircraft could be repelled by the deck gun and machine guns. However, two crew members of the submarine went overboard. On the evening of May 18, 1918, U 39 reached the port of Cartagena and was interned in Spain until the end of the war .

After the German defeat, U 39 was delivered to France on March 22, 1919 and scrapped in Toulon in December 1923 .

List of commanders of U 39

• January 13, 1915 - February 9, 1915: Lieutenant Captain Hans Kratzsch
• February 11, 1915 - October 14, 1917: Lieutenant Captain Walter Forstmann
• October 15, 1917 - May 18, 1918: Lieutenant Heinrich Metzger

List of ships sunk by U 39 (selection)

The following list contains ships with a tonnage of more than 1000 gross registered tonnes that were sunk by U 39:

date	Ship name	GRT	nationality	Sea area, cargo, victim
May 1, 1915	Baldwin	1059	Norway	North Sea 56 ° 58´N, 03 ° 15´E
06/29/1915	Cambuskenneth	1924	Norway	Full ship , southwest of Galley Head, wheat cargo
06/30/1915	Lomas	3048	United Kingdom	west of Bishop Rock, corn load, 1 dead
07/01/1915	Caucasian	4656	United Kingdom	Tanker, South Lizard
07/01/1915	Craigard	3286	United Kingdom	southwest wolf skirt, cotton
07/01/1915	Gadsby	3497	United Kingdom	southwest Wolf Rock, Wheat Cargo
07/01/1915	Inglemoor	4331	United Kingdom	southwest lizard, coal and general cargo
07/01/1915	Richmond	3214	United Kingdom	southwest Wolf Rock
07/02/1915	Boduognat	1411	Belgium	before Ushant, 49 ° 11´N, 05 ° 36´W
July 3, 1915	Fiery Cross	1448	Norway	Bark, southwest of Scilly
July 3, 1915	Larchmore	4355	United Kingdom	southwest Wolf Rock, coal cargo, 1 dead
July 3, 1915	Renfrew	3488	United Kingdom	southwest Wolf Rock, in ballast
09/09/1915	Cornubia	1736	United Kingdom	in the Mediterranean, 36 ° 46'N, 00 ° 15'E
09/09/1915	L'Aude	2232	France	before Oran, in ballast
09/09/1915	Ville De Mostaganem	2648	France	before Mostaganem
09/28/1915	HC Henry	4219	Canada	Tanker, off Cape Matapan
09/29/1915	Haydn	3923	United Kingdom	before Crete, barley
09/30/1915	Cirene	3236	Italy	off Crete,
October 2, 1915	Sailor Prince	3144	United Kingdom	off Crete,
October 7, 1915	Halizones	5093	United Kingdom	off Crete,
October 8, 1915	Thorpwood	3184	United Kingdom	south of Crete, coal cargo
10/9/1915	Apollo	3774	United Kingdom	south of Crete, coal cargo
11/30/1915	Middleton	2506	United Kingdom	south of Crete,
December 3, 1915	Helmsmuir	4111	United Kingdom	south of Crete, sugar
December 6, 1915	LG Goulandris	2123	Greece	northwest Alexandria
December 7, 1915	Veria	3229	United Kingdom	northwest of Alexandria, in ballast
December 9, 1915	Busiris	2705	United Kingdom	northwest Alexandria, general cargo
December 9, 1915	Orteric	6535	United Kingdom	near the Libyan coast, fertilizer
December 10, 1915	Porto Said	5301	Italy	before Derna
01/22/1916	Norseman	9542	United Kingdom	before Saloniki
March 31, 1916	Egeo	1787	Italy	Gulf of Taranto
March 31, 1916	Riposto	1003	Italy	Gulf of Taranto
April 2, 1916	Simla	5884	United Kingdom	South of Sicily, in ballast, 10 dead
04/03/1916	Clan Campbell	5897	United Kingdom	before Cape Bon
April 6, 1916	Stjerneborg	1592	Denmark	south of Sardinia, coal
April 9, 1916	Caledonia	1815	Denmark	near Toulon, coals
04/13/1916	Lipari	1539	Italy	before Calabria, built in Rostock in 1910
05/21/1916	Birmania	2384	Italy	west of Sicily
05/23/1916	Washington	2819	Italy	in front of Genoa
05/24/1916	Aurrera	2845	Spain	before Corsica, coals
May 25, 1916	Fratelli Bandiera	3506	Italy	south of Hyères, flour
May 27, 1916	Mar Terso	3778	Italy	near Balearic Islands, coals
May 27, 1916	Trunkby	2635	United Kingdom	near Balearic Islands, coals
05/28/1916	Lady Ninian	4297	United Kingdom	northeast of Algiers
05/29/1916	Baron Vernon	1779	United Kingdom	northeast of Algiers, in ballast
05/29/1916	Elmgrove	3018	United Kingdom	northeast of Algiers, in ballast
05/29/1916	Southgarth	2414	United Kingdom	northeast of Algiers, in ballast
05/30/1916	Baron Tweedmouth	5007	United Kingdom	east of Algiers, coals
05/30/1916	Dalegarth	2265	United Kingdom	east of Algiers,
05/30/1916	Hermesberg	2884	Italy	before bougie
05/30/1916	Rauma	3047	Norway	east of Algiers, coals
1.06.1916	Dewsland	1993	United Kingdom	east of Algiers,
1.06.1916	Salmon pool	4905	United Kingdom	east of Algiers, in ballast
07/13/1916	Silverton	2682	United Kingdom	before Tunisia, coal
07/14/1916	Antigua	2876	United Kingdom	before Algeria, iron ore
07/14/1916	Ecclesia	3714	United Kingdom	before Algeria, coal
07/15/1916	Sylvie	1354	United Kingdom	off Algeria, in ballast
07/16/1916	Euphorbia	3837	United Kingdom	off Algiers, general cargo, 11 dead
07/16/1916	Sirra	3203	Italy	before Algiers,
07/16/1916	Wiltonhall	3387	United Kingdom	northeast of Algiers, general cargo
07/17/1916	Angelo	3609	Italy	northeast of Algiers
07/17/1916	Rosemoor	4303	United Kingdom	northeast of Algiers, in ballast
07/18/1916	Llongwen	4683	United Kingdom	northeast of Algiers, 14 dead
07/20/1916	Grangemoor	3198	United Kingdom	northwest of Algiers, in ballast
07/20/1916	karma	3710	United Kingdom	northwest Algiers, coals
07/20/1916	Yzer	3538	United Kingdom	northwest of Algiers, in ballast, 1 dead
07/21/1916	wolf	2443	United Kingdom	northwest Algiers, coals
07/22/1916	Knutsford	3842	United Kingdom	northeast Algiers, ores
07/22/1916	olive	3678	United Kingdom	northeast Algiers, hay
07/23/1916	badminton	3847	United Kingdom	northeast of Algiers, in ballast
07/29/1916	Letimbro	2210	Italy	before Benghazi
October 19, 1916	Penylan	3875	United Kingdom	off the Algerian coast, coal
10/20/1916	Mombassa	4689	United Kingdom	east of Algiers, general cargo, 1 dead
10/22/1916	Cluden	3166	United Kingdom	west of Algiers, wheat, 4 dead
10/22/1916	Nina	3383	Italy	west of Algiers,
10/22/1916	W. Harkess	1185	United Kingdom	west of Algiers,
11/27/1916	Margarita	1112	Greece	northwest Alexandria
11/27/1916	Reapwell	3417	United Kingdom	northwest of Alexandria, Kohlen u. General cargo
11/28/1916	King Malcom	4351	United Kingdom	between Alexandria u. Crete, in Ballst
11/28/1916	Moresby	1763	United Kingdom	northwest Alexandria, rice
December 2, 1916	Istrar	4582	United Kingdom	northwest of Alexandria, Kohlen u. General cargo, 1 dead
December 3, 1916	Plata	1861	Italy	between Alexandria u. Crete
January 9, 1917	Baynesk	3286	United Kingdom	northwest Alexandria, sugar, 7 dead
January 15, 1917	Garfield	3838	United Kingdom	west of the Peloponnese, coals
01/28/1917	Amiral Magon	5566	France	west of the Peloponnese, troops and supplies, 211 dead
02/14/1917	Torino	4159	Italy	west of the Peloponnese, cotton, corn
02/15/1917	Minas	2854	Italy	off Cape Matapan, 870 dead
02/20/1917	Rosalie	4237	United Kingdom	off Djidjelli, Algeria, ammunition, 21 dead
02/21/1917	Wathfield	3012	United Kingdom	off Algeria, 18 dead
02/23/1917	Trojan Prince	3196	United Kingdom	west of Algiers, general cargo, 2 dead
02/26/1917	Burnby	3665	United Kingdom	before Oran, coals
June 8, 1917	Huntstrick	8151	United Kingdom	west of Gibraltar, troops and supplies, 15 dead
June 8, 1917	Isle of Jura	3809	United Kingdom	west of Gibraltar, ammunition and coal, 2 dead
June 8, 1917	Valdieri	4637	Italy	west of Gibraltar, ammunition
06/10/1917	Petrolite	3710	United States	west of Gibraltar, tankers in ballast, built in Szczecin
06/19/1917	Kyma	3420	Greece	before Morocco
06/20/1917	Eli Lindoe	1116	Norway	off Morocco, in ballast, new
06/22/1917	Toro	1141	Uruguay	before Morocco, wool
06/23/1917	Isere	2159	France	west of Gibraltar
07/29/1917	Manchester Commerce	4144	United Kingdom	west of Gibraltar, coal and Replenishment, 1 dead
07/30/1917	Carlo	5572	Italy	before Tangier, coals
07/30/1917	Ganges	4177	United Kingdom	west of Gibraltar, coals, 1 dead
07/31/1917	Carolvore	1659	Norway	west of Gibraltar, fruits
August 3, 1917	Halldor	2919	Norway	west of Gibraltar, coals
August 5, 1917	Ryton	3991	United Kingdom	Bj. 1913, west of Gibraltar, iron ore, rams U 39 35 ° 57´N 7 ° 07´W
09/27/1917	Swan River	4724	United Kingdom	Built in 1915, northwest of Oran, ballast
October 1, 1917	Mersario	3847	United Kingdom	west of Gibraltar, coals, 3 dead
October 1, 1917	Normanton	3862	United Kingdom	west of Gibraltar, ballast
October 2, 1917	Almora	4385	United Kingdom	west of Gibraltar, coals
October 2, 1917	Hikosan Maru	3555	Japan	west of Gibraltar, coals
October 2, 1917	Nuceria	4702	United Kingdom	west of Gibraltar, coals, 2 dead
11/18/1917	HMS Candytuft	1290 tons	United Kingdom	Drifted off the coast of Bougie, U-trap
11/21/1917	Schuylkill	2720	United States	west of Algiers, general cargo
11/23/1917	Markella	1124	Greece	before oran, grain
11/25/1917	Karema	5263	United Kingdom	southern Spanish coast, 3 dead
05/17/1918	Sculptor	4874	United Kingdom	northwestern Oran, supply transporter, 7 dead, stranded at Mers el Kebir

Footnotes

1. ↑ Bodo Herzog: German U-Boats 1906–1966 . Karl Müller Verlag, Erlangen 1993, p. 67.
2. ↑ Grave of Captain Parslow
3. ^ Paul Freiherr Wolff von Todenwarth in the Regiowiki Niederbayern
4. ^ Hans Werner Neulen: Feldgrau in Jerusalem . 2nd Edition. Universitas, Munich 2002, ISBN 3-8004-1437-6 , p. 102 f.
5. ↑ Martin Niemöller: From the submarine to the pulpit . Berlin: Martin Warneck Verlag, 1938.
6. ↑ Short biography of Otto Feige (in English). In: Axis Biographical Research. Retrieved June 25, 2016 . 
7. ↑ Some sources give El Ferrol as the place of internment.
8. ↑ Bodo Herzog: German U-Boats 1906–1966 . Erlangen: Karl Müller Verlag, 1993, p. 89.
9. ↑ Guðmundur Helgason: Ships hit during WWI: Ships hit by U 39 . In: U-Boat War in World War I . Uboat.net. Retrieved April 25, 2012.

literature

• Bodo Herzog: German U-Boats 1906–1966 . Erlangen: Karl Müller Verlag, 1993, ISBN 3-86070-036-7 .

Web links

• uboat.net WWI U-boats U 39 (English)
• u-boot-datenbank.de: U 39 Imperial Navy
• windjammer-to-submarine.de