U 39 (Navy)
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U 39 (Kriegsmarine) ( previous / next - all submarines ) |
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| Type : | IX A |
| Field Post Number : | M-12 679 |
| Shipyard: | AG Weser , Bremen |
| Construction contract: | July 29, 1936 |
| Build number: | 844 |
| Keel laying: | June 2, 1937 |
| Launch: | September 22, 1938 |
| Commissioning: | December 10, 1938 |
| Commanders: |
December 10, 1938 - September 14, 1939 |
| Calls: | 1 patrol |
| Sinkings: |
no |
| Whereabouts: | Sunk on September 14, 1939 northwest of Ireland (44 prisoners of war, no dead) |
U 39 was a German submarine of type IX A , which in the Second World War by the Navy was used. It was the first German submarine to be sunk during World War II.
history
The order for the boat was on 29 July 1936 which the Deschimag belonging AG Weser in Bremen awarded. The keel was laid on June 2, 1937, the launch on September 22, 1938, the commissioning under Lieutenant Gerhard Glattes on December 10, 1938.
The boat belonged to the U-Flotilla "Hundius" in Kiel until it was sunk on September 14, 1939 .
U 39 undertook an enemy voyage on which it could not sink any ships.
Use and end
The boat left Wilhelmshaven in the North Atlantic on August 19, 1939 at midnight. On September 14, it sighted the British aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal, which was used to hunt submarines, northwest of Ireland . Two torpedoes fired at the aircraft carrier from a distance of only 800 meters detonated 80 meters from the target due to a technical error (see also torpedo crisis ). The accompanying destroyers HMS Faulknor , HMS Foxhound and HMS Firedrake then became aware of the submarine and immediately attacked it with depth charges . U 39 could no longer go to a safe depth. After several severe water leaks and escaping chlorine gas, it had to appear at 3:46 p.m. All 44 men managed to get off the boat before it finally sank. The entire crew was rescued. 25 men were taken on board by the Foxhound , 11 by the Faulknor and eight by the Firedrake and brought to Scotland. These were the first members of the German Navy, which during World War II in British prisoner of war came. The position was 58 ° 32 ′ N , 11 ° 49 ′ W in marine grid reference AM 2548.
literature
- Rainer Busch, Hans-Joachim Röll: The submarine war 1939-1945. Volume 1: The German submarine commanders. Preface by Prof. Dr. Jürgen Rohwer, Member of the Presidium of the International Commission on Military History. ES Mittler and Son, Hamburg / Berlin / Bonn 1996, p. 79. ISBN 3-8132-0490-1 .
- Rainer Busch, Hans-Joachim Röll: The submarine war 1939-1945. Volume 2: Submarine construction in German shipyards. ES Mittler und Sohn, Hamburg / Berlin / Bonn 1997, pp. 20, 25, 211. ISBN 3-8132-0512-1 .
- Rainer Busch, Hans-Joachim Röll: The submarine war 1939-1945. Volume 4: The German submarine losses from September 1939 to May 1945. ES Mittler and Son, Hamburg / Berlin / Bonn 2008, p. 13. ISBN 3-8132-0514-5 .
- Erich Gröner, Dieter Jung, Martin Maas: The German warships 1815-1945. Volume 3: Submarines, auxiliary cruisers, mine ships, net layers. Bernhard & Graefe Verlag, Munich 1985, ISBN 3-7637-4802-4 .
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