U 4 (Navy)

U 4 (Kriegsmarine) ( previous / next - all submarines )
Type :	II A
Field Post Number :	M-13 167
Shipyard:	German works Kiel
Construction contract:	February 2, 1935
Build number:	239
Keel laying:	February 11, 1935
Launch:	July 31, 1935
Commissioning:	17th August 1935
Commanders:	August 17, 1935 - September 29, 1937 First Lieutenant for the Sea Hannes Weingärtner (later Lieutenant Captain ) September 30, 1937 - October 28, 1938 Oberleutnant zur See Hans-Wilhelm von Dresky (later captainleutnant) October 29, 1938 - January 16, 1940 First Lieutenant Harro von Klot-Heydenfeldt (later Lieutenant Captain) January 17, 1940 - June 7, 1940 Oberleutnant zur See Hans-Peter Hinsch June 8, 1940 - July 28, 1940 First Lieutenant Heinz-Otto Schultze July 29, 1940 - February 2, 1941 Oberleutnant zur See Hans-Jürgen Zetzsche February 3, 1941 - December 8, 1941 First Lieutenant Hinrich-Oscar Bernbeck December 9, 1941 - June 15, 1942 First Lieutenant Wolfgang Leimkühler June 16, 1942 - January 23, 1943 Second Lieutenant Friedrich-Wilhelm Marienfeld January 24, 1943 - May 31, 1943 Lieutenant Joachim Düppe June 1, 1943 - August 22, 1943 First Lieutenant Paul Sander 23 August 1943 - May 1944 Leutnant zur See Herbert Mumm (later Oberleutnant zur See) May 1944 - July 9, 1944 First Lieutenant Hubert Rieger
Calls:	4 patrols
Sinkings:	3 ships (5,133 GRT) 1 warship (1,325 t)
Whereabouts:	Captured by the Red Army on March 29, 1945 in Gotenhafen and probably scrapped

U 4 was German submarine from type II A , which in the Second World War by the Navy was used.

history

The construction contract for the boat was awarded to Deutsche Werke Kiel on February 2, 1935 . The keel was laid on February 11, 1935, the launch on July 31, 1935, the commissioning under Lieutenant Hannes Weingärtner on August 17, 1935.

The boat was one of the first submarines to be keeled after the German-British naval agreement . After commissioning, the boat belonged as a school boat to the school association of the U-Schule or the U-boat school flotilla until September 1939 . During the invasion of Poland , it served as a front boat from September to October 1939, before being reassigned as a school boat to this flotilla from October 1939 to February 1940. At the Weser Exercise Company , the occupation of Norway , it was used again as a front boat from March 1940 to April 1940 in order to serve as a school boat again after the occupation of Norway, first again in Neustadt and then from July 1, 1940 to July 31, 1944 in Pillau with the submarine school flotilla that has been moved there and is now called the 21st U-Flotilla .

U 4 undertook four enemy voyages on which it sank three ships with a total tonnage of 5,133 GRT and a submarine with 1,325 t.

Use statistics

First patrol

The boat left Wilhelmshaven on September 4, 1939 at 8 p.m. and returned there on September 14, 1939 at 9 a.m. No ships were sunk or damaged on this nine-day and 553 nm above and 224 nm underwater undertaking in the North Sea , in the western Skagerrak .

Second patrol

The boat was launched on September 19, 1939 at 12:30 of Wilhelmshaven and September 29, 1939 at 23:00 in Kiel one. On this 10-day and 980.7 nm over and 223.1 nm underwater undertaking off southern Norway, three ships with 5,133 GRT were sunk.

• September 23, 1939: The Finnish steamship Martti Ragnar (2,262 GRT) was sunk by three explosive charges. He had loaded cellulose , sulfur and wood pulp and was on his way from Kemi to Ellesmere Port . There were no dead, 24 survivors.

• September 23, 1939: sinking of the Finnish steamship Walma (1,361 GRT) ( location ) by explosive charges. He had loaded 1622.4 tons of cellulose and was on the way from Vyborg to Ellesmere. There were no dead, 18 survivors.

• September 24, 1939: sinking of the Swedish steamer Gertrud Bratt (1,510 GRT) ( location ) by a G7a torpedo . He had loaded paper , pulp , yard goods and cellulose and was on his way from Norrköping to Bristol via Gothenburg . There were no deaths, 20 survivors.

During this patrol, a total of 20 ships were checked for banned property.

Third patrol

The boat left  Kiel on March 16, 1940 at 8 a.m. with  U 3 and the next day at 4:35 p.m. in Wilhelmshaven to replenish supplies. The crew spent the night there and ran the next day at 09:35 again with  U 3  from. U 4  arrived in Wilhelmshaven on March 29, 1940 at 11:25 p.m. No ships were sunk or damaged during this 11-day and approx. 970 nm above and 126 nm underwater expedition in the North Sea, the western  Skagerrak  and off  Lindesnes . On March 26, 1940, it received an emergency call from  U21 , who  ran aground off the island of Odknuppen at the entrance to the Odfjord in  Norway and was unable to escape on its own. However, this was ignored because other boats were closer.

Fourth patrol

The boat left Wilhelmshaven at 12 noon on April 4, 1940 for the Weser Exercise Company and returned there on April 14, 1940 at 10:25 a.m. A submarine was sunk off Stavanger , southern Norway, on this nine-day and approximately 900 nm long undertaking .

• April 10, 1940: Sinking of the British submarine HMS Thistle (1,325 t) ( location ) by a torpedo. It was a total loss with 53 dead.

The same submarine attacked U 4 on April 9, 1940 at 5:05 p.m. with four torpedoes. ( Situation ) They missed their target and later detonated.

successes

date	Surname	nationality	Tonnage (GRT)
September 23, 1939	Martti Ragnar	Finland	2,262	sunk
September 23, 1939	Walma	Finland	1,361	sunk
September 24, 1939	Gertrud Bratt	Sweden	1,510	sunk
April 10, 1940	HMS Thistle	United Kingdom	1,325	sunk

Whereabouts

U 4 was decommissioned on August 1, 1944 in Gotenhafen and cannibalized. The Soviet troops found it in this state on March 29, 1945 , and they probably scrapped it shortly after the end of the war. The position was 54 ° 32 ′ 0 ″  N , 18 ° 33 ′ 0 ″  E

Web links

• U 4 in the database of uboat.net (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Prize Ordinance of August 28, 1938. In: Submarines online. Retrieved July 26, 2018 . 

 Map with all coordinates: OSM | WikiMap