Unterseeboot 37 (1938)
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| U-37 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Type | IX | ||
| Fieldpost Number | M 21 204 | ||
| Yard Number | 972 | ||
| Ordered | July 29, 1936 | ||
| Launch Date | May 14, 1938 | ||
| Commission Date | August 4, 1938 | ||
| Construction yard | AG Weser, Bremen | ||
| Patrols | |||
| Start Date | End Date | Assigned Unit | |
| April 1, 1938 | August 31, 1939 | 6th Flotilla | |
| September 1, 1939 | December 31, 1939 | 6th Flotilla | |
| January 1, 1940 | April 30, 1941 | 2nd Flotilla | |
| May 1, 1941 | March 31, 1942 | 26th Flotilla | |
| April 1, 1942 | June 30, 1944 | 22nd Flotilla | |
| July 1, 1944 | May 3, 1945 | 4th Flotilla | |
| Commanders | |||
| August 4, 1938 | September 24, 1939 | Kptlt. Heinrich Schuch | |
| September 24, 1939 | May 6, 1940 | KrvKpt. Werner Hartmann | |
| May 6, 1940 | October 26, 1940 | Kptlt. Victor Oehrn | |
| October 26, 1940 | May 2, 1941 | Kptlt. Asmus Nicolai Clausen | |
| May 3, 1941 | November 15, 1941 | Kptlt. Ulrich Folkers | |
| November 16, 1941 | June 30, 1942 | Gustav-Adolf Janssen | |
| July 1, 1942 | January 3, 1943 | Gustav-Albert Lauzemis | |
| January 4, 1943 | November 19, 1943 | Hinrich Kelling | |
| November 20, 1943 | January 8, 1944 | Oblt. Peter Gerlach | |
| January 9, 1944 | December 21, 1944 | Oblt. Wolfgang Seiler | |
| December 22, 1944 | May 8, 1945 | Kptlt. Eberhard von Wenden | |
| Successes | |||
| Type of Ship Sunk | Number of Ships Sunk | Gross Registered Tonnage | |
| Commercial Vessels | 53 Sunk | 200.125 GRT | |
| Military Vessels | 2 Sunk | 2.404 tons | |
Unterseeboot 37 (U-37) was a Type IX U-boat of the Kriegsmarine.
Her keel was laid down March 15, 1937, by AG Weser of Bremen. She was commissioned August 4, 1938 with Kapitänleutnant Heinrich Schuch in command.
U-39 conducted eleven patrols, as part of the 6th Flotilla, 2nd Flotilla, 26th Flotilla, and 4th Flotilla. On May 8, 1945, U-37 was scuttled. Throughout the course of the war, U-37 suffered no casualties.
Contents |
[edit] 1st Patrol
U-37 left the port of Wilhelmshaven, with Kapitänleutnant Heinrich Schuch in command, on August 19, 1939. The ship operated for nearly 4 weeks in the North Atlantic, prior to returning to port on September 19, 1939.
[edit] 2nd Patrol
After returning to port in during September, U-37 left Wilhelmshaven on October 5, 1939, once again to conduct operations in the North Atlantic under the command of Kapitän zur See Werner Friedrich Wilhelm Adolf Hartmann. During this patrol eight ships were sunk, including four British, two Greek, one French, and one Swedish. The British steam freighter Yorkshire was traveling with the Allied convoy HG-3, sailing from Gibraltar to Liverpool, England. Friedrich returned his ship to port November 8, after nearly 5 weeks at sea.
[edit] 3rd Patrol
On January 28, 1940, U-37 once again departed Wilhelmshaven, for the North Atlantic, with Kapitän zur See Werner Hartmann in command. Like his previous patrol, Hartmann sunk eight ships, including, three British, two Norwegian, one Danish, one French, and one Greek. Of these ships, two were in convoy at the time. Once again, Friedrich returned to Wilhelmshaven on February 27.
[edit] 4th Patrol
Kapitän zur See Werner Hartmann departed Wilhelmshaven on March 30 for his third consecutive patrol. This patrol was directed to patrol around Norway. Again, Hartmann proved successful, sinking three ships; the Norwegian Tosca, the Swedish Sveaborg and the British Stancliffe. After patrolling for over two weeks, the ship returned to port on April 18.
[edit] 5th Patrol
For the first time in nearly six months, U-37 was under the command of a new captain, Kapitänleutnant Viktor Otto Oehrn. Departing Wilhelmshaven on May 15 for patrols around Portugal and Spain, U-37 had a very successful mission, hitting eleven ships, sinking nine of them. Three French ships were sank, two Greek, one Swedish, one British, one Argentinian, one Finish, and damanged two British ships. After three and a half weeks at sea, Oehrn returned his ship to Wilhelmshaven on June 9.
[edit] 6th Patrol
Once again, U-37 would head to sea from Wilhelmshaven with Kapitänleutnant Viktor Otto Oehrn in command, on August 1. This week and a half long patrol west of Ireland would lead to a single sinking of the British ship Upwey Grange. Oehrn returned his ship to port on August 12, but rather than returning to Wilhelmshaven, would head to Lorient, France.
[edit] 7th Patrol
For the first time, U-37 would commence their patrol from a location other than Germany, in Lorient, France, on August 17, with Kapitänleutnant Viktor Otto Oehrn in command once again. This patrol was to focus on operations off the southwest coast of Ireland. Seven ships were sunk during this patrol; five of which were British, one Norwegian, and one Greek. Of these ships, one was of the convoy OA-220, the British Brookwood, traveling from Britan to the United States, and two were of the convory SC-1, the British HMS Penzance and Blarimore, sailing from Sydney Australia to the United Kingdom. After two weeks at sea, U-37 once again returned to Lorient on August 30.
[edit] 8th Patrol
On September 24, U-37 departed Lorient on Kapitänleutnant Viktor Otto Oehrn fourth patrol, in which he would patrol the North Atlantic. During this month long patrol U-37 would sink six ships, four of which were in convoy at the time of attack, all of which were British. Five of these six ships were sailing under the British flag, while the sixth was of Egypt. The British ship Corrientes was sunk as part of convoy OB-217, sailing from Liverpool to North America. The Heminge was sailing as part of convoy OB-220, also sailing from Liverpool to North America. The British General was sunk while sailing as part of convoy OA-222, sailing from Britain to North America. The fourth ship sunk while part of a convoy was the British Stangrant, sailing as part of the convoy HX-77 from Halifax to the United Kingdom. The ship returned to Lorient on October 22.
[edit] 9th Patrol
After over a month in port, U-37 departed with a new captain, Oberleutnant zur See Asmus Nicolai Clausen on November 28 for operations around Northwest Africa and Spain. Seven ships were sunk during this patrol; two French, two Swedish, two British and one Spanish. Of these seven ships, three were in convoy at the time of their sinking. The Swedish Gwalia and Daphne and the British Jeanne M were sailing as part of convoy OG-46 from Britain to Gibraltar. After five weeks in the high seas, U-37 returned to Lorient January 41, 1941.
See Also: List of U-boats
