U 40 (Navy)
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U 40 (Kriegsmarine) ( previous / next - all submarines ) |
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| Type : | IX A |
| Field Post Number : | M 19 297 |
| Shipyard: | AG Weser , Bremen |
| Construction contract: | July 29, 1936 |
| Build number: | 945 |
| Keel laying: | July 1, 1937 |
| Launch: | November 9, 1938 |
| Commissioning: | February 11, 1939 |
| Commanders: |
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| Calls: | 2 patrols |
| Sinkings: |
no |
| Whereabouts: | sunk on October 13, 1939 |
U 40 was a German submarine of type IX A , which in the Second World War by the Navy was used.
history
The order for the boat was awarded to the Deschimag AG Weser shipyard in Bremen on July 29, 1936 . The keel was laid on July 1, 1937, the launch on November 9, 1938, the commissioning under Lieutenant Werner von Schmidt on February 11, 1939.
From the time it was put into service until it was sunk on October 13, 1939, the boat was part of the U-Flotilla "Hundius" in Kiel as an operational or front boat .
U 40 undertook two enemy voyages on which it did not sink or damage any ships.
Use statistics
First patrol
The boat left Wilhelmshaven on August 19, 1939 at midnight and returned there on September 18, 1939 at 10:00 a.m. No ships were sunk or damaged during this 30-day, 6,513 -nm above and 312-nm-long undertaking in the North Atlantic west of Ireland and up to the height of Gibraltar .
Second patrol
The boat ran out of Wilhelmshaven on October 10, 1939 and ran into a mine on October 13, 1939 and sank. No ships were sunk or damaged on this three-day expedition in the North Sea and the English Channel .
Whereabouts
The last patrol was to be used off the Spanish and Portuguese coasts. Since the boat left Wilhelmshaven late, Lieutenant Barten decided to take a shortcut to his meeting point southwest of Ireland . This abbreviation was the English Channel , which had been heavily mined by the British Royal Navy in the months before. Since the boat did not attempt to cross until almost 3½ hours after the water had reached the highest level, the mines were again too close to the water surface. U 40 ran into such a mine and sank immediately. Nine of the 48 crew members managed to escape through an emergency exit hatch at the stern of the boat. With the help of their emergency equipment (diving rescuers), eight of them were able to reach the surface of the water safely; one died while surfacing. However, five of the men died of hypothermia in the hours that followed . Less than ten hours after the sinking, the three remaining sailors were taken in by HMS Boreas and taken into British captivity . This happened at position 50 ° 42 ′ N , 0 ° 15 ′ E in marine grid square BF 3238.
Map with all coordinates: