Unterseeboot 37 (1938)
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| Career (Nazi Germany) | |
|---|---|
| Name: | U-37 |
| Ordered: | July 29, 1936 |
| Builder: | AG Weser, Bremen, yard 972 |
| Laid down: | March 15, 1937 |
| Launched: | May 14, 1938 |
| Commissioned: | August 4, 1938 |
| Fate: | Scuttled May 8, 1945 in Sonderburg Bay. |
| Class and type: | Type IX U-boat |
| Service record | |
| Part of | Kriegsmarine: 2. Unterseebootsflottille 4. Unterseebootsflottille 6. Unterseebootsflottille 22. Unterseebootsflottille 26. Unterseebootsflottille |
| Identification codes | M 21 204 |
| Commanders | Heinrich Schuch Werner Hartmann Victor Oehrn Asmus Nicolai Clausen Ulrich Folkers Gustav-Adolf Janssen Albert Lauzemis Hinrich Kelling Peter Gerlach Wolfgang Seiler Eberhard von Wenden |
| Operations | 11 |
| Victories | 53 ships sunk for a total of 200.124 gross register tons (GRT) 2 warships sunk for a total of 2.404 tons 1 ship damaged for a total of 9.494 GRT |
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-37 conducted eleven patrols until she was scuttled on May 8, 1945. Throughout the course of the war, U-37 suffered no casualties.
Contents |
[edit] 1st Patrol
U-37 left the port of Wilhelmshaven, with 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 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. Hartmann 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 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, Hartmann returned to Wilhelmshaven on February 27.
[edit] 4th Patrol
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 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 damaged 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 Viktor 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 Viktor 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 Britain 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 Viktor 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 on January 14, 1941.
[edit] 10th Patrol
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[edit] 11th Patrol
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[edit] School boat
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[edit] References
See Also: List of U-boats
