U-36 at sea in 1936. |
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| Career | |
|---|---|
| Name: | U-36 |
| Ordered: | 25 March 1935[1] |
| Builder: | Friedrich Krupp Germaniawerft, Kiel |
| Yard number: | 559[1] |
| Laid down: | 2 March 1936[1] |
| Launched: | 4 November 1936[1] |
| Commissioned: | 16 December 1936[1] |
| Fate: | Sunk, 4 December 1939[2] |
| General characteristics [3][4] | |
| Type: | Type VIIA submarine |
| Displacement: | 626 long tons (636 t) surfaced 745 long tons (757 t) submerged |
| Length: | 64.5 m (211 ft 7 in) o/a 44.5 m (146 ft 0 in) pressure hull |
| Beam: | 5.85 m (19 ft 2 in) o/a 4.7 m (15 ft 5 in) pressure hull |
| Draft: | 4.4 m (14 ft 5 in) |
| Propulsion: | 2 × MAN 6-cylinder 4-stroke M6V 40/46 diesel engines totalling 2,100–2,310 bhp (1,600–1,720 kW). Max rpm: 470-485 2 × Brown, Boveri & Cie GG UB 720/8 electric motors, totalling 750 shp (560 kW). Max rpm: 322 |
| Speed: | 17 knots (20 mph; 31 km/h) surfaced 8 knots (9.2 mph; 15 km/h) submerged |
| Range: | 11,470 km (6,190 nmi) at 10 kn (19 km/h) surfaced 175 km (94 nmi) at 4 kn (7.4 km/h) submerged |
| Test depth: | 220 m (720 ft) Crush depth: 230–250 m (750–820 ft) |
| Complement: | 42–46 officers & ratings |
| Armament: | • 5 × 533 mm (21 in) torpedo tubes (4 bow, 1 stern) • 11 × torpedoes or 22 TMA mines or 33 TMB mines • 1 × 8.8 cm SK C/35 naval gun (220 rounds) • 1 × C30 20 mm AA |
| Service record[2][5] | |
| Part of: | U-Boat Training Flotilla (16 December 1936 – 1 August 1939) 2nd U-boat Flotilla |
| Identification codes: | M 13 703 |
| Commanders: | Kptlt. Klaus Ewerth (16 December 1936 – 31 October 1938) KrvKpt. Wilhelm Fröhlich |
| Operations: | 1st patrol: 7–30 September 1939 2nd patrol: 2–4 December 1939 |
| Victories: | 2 commercial ships sunk (2,813 GRT) 1 commercial ship captured (1,617 GRT) |
German submarine U-36 was a Type VIIA U-boat of the German Kriegsmarine which served during World War II.[2] She was constructed in the earliest days of the U-boat arm of the Kriegsmarine at Kiel in 1936, and served in the pre-war Navy in the Baltic Sea and North Sea under Klaus Ewerth. In October 1938, Wilhelm Fröhlich took command and continued in the role until the boat was lost.[2] During the war, U-36 undertook two patrols, but was sunk by a torpedo fired by a British submarine before completing the second one. She was lost with all hands.
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U-36 was ordered by the German Kriegsmarine on 25 March 1935 as part of the German Plan Z and in violation of the Treaty of Versailles. Her keel was laid down in the AG Weser shipyard in Bremen as Werk 559 on 2 March 1936. After about eight months of construction, she was launched on 4 November 1936 and commissioned into the Kriegsmarine on 16 December 1936 under the command of Wilhelm Fröhlich.[2]
Like all Type VIIA submarines, U-36 displaced 626 long tons (636 t) while surfaced and 745 long tons (757 t) when submerged. She was 64.5 m (211 ft 7 in) in overall length and had a 44.5 m (146 ft 0 in) pressure hull. U-36's propulsion consisted of two MAN 6-cylinder 4-stroke M6V 40/46 diesel engines that totaled 2,100–2,310 bhp (1,600–1,720 kW). Her maximum rpm was between 470 and 485. The submarine was also equipped with two Brown, Boveri & Cie GG UB 720/8 electric motors that totaled 750 shp (560 kW). Their maximum rpm was 322. These engines gave U-36 a total speed of 17 knots (20 mph; 31 km/h) while surfaced and 8 knots (9.2 mph; 15 km/h) when submerged. This resulted in a range of 11,470 km (6,190 nmi) while traveling at 10 kn (19 km/h) on the surface and 175 km (94 nmi) at 4 kn (7.4 km/h) when submerged. The U-boat's test depth was 220 m (720 ft) but she could go as deep as 230–250 m (750–820 ft) without having her hull crushed.[3][4]
U-36's armament consisted of five 533 mm (21 in) torpedo tubes (four located in the bow and one in the stern). She could have up to 11 torpedoes on board or 22 TMA mines or 33 TMB mines. U-36 was also equipped with a 8.8 cm SK C/35 naval gun and had 220 rounds stowed on board. Her anti-aircraft defenses consisted of one C30 20 mm AA gun.[3][4]
U-36 was at sea when the war broke out, having set out from Wilhelmshaven on 31 August 1939. She arrived in Kiel on 6 September and the following day departed for her first war patrol.[6] After this she patrolled the North Sea for three weeks, hoping to catch ships traveling between Britain and Scandinavia carrying war supplies. During this patrol, U-36 sank two steamers, the SS Truro and the SS Silesia—one British and the other from neutral Sweden—carrying British produce. Later, Seahorse, a British submarine on patrol, fired upon U-36 and subsequently claimed to have sunk her, although in fact the torpedo missed[7] and on 27 September Fröhlich and his crew captured another Swedish vessel, the SS Algeria, which he proceeded to escort back to Germany as the patrol came to an end.[6][7] She returned to her berth at Kiel at the end of September, where she remained until December.[8] During her first patrol, U-36 was also credited for having laid the mine that sank the Norwegian freighter, Solaas.[9]
On 17 November 1939, Naval High Command (SKL) issued secret orders for U-36 and U-38 to scout the location for Basis Nord, a secret German naval base for raids on Allied shipping located off the Kola Peninsula, provided by the Soviet Union.[10] The mission required coded messages to be flashed to Soviet naval vessels patrolling the area preceding a Soviet escort to the prospective base location.[11]
However, U-36 never made it out of the Norwegian Sea.[11] On 4 December 1939, two days out of Wilhelmshaven, U-36 was spotted on the surface near the Norwegian port of Stavanger by the British submarine Salmon. Salmon then fired one torpedo at her unwitting counterpart. It sank U-36 and all 40 of the sailors aboard were lost.[11][12] During the same patrol, the Salmon also torpedoed the light cruisers Leipzig and Nürnberg.[13]
Following the loss of U-36, U-38 continued towards the Kola Peninsula and successfully reached the location and accomplished the scouting mission for Basis Nord.[11]
| Date | Ship | Nationality | Tonnage | Fate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 September 1939 | SS Truro | Great Britain | 974 | Sunk[8] |
| 25 September 1939 | SS Silesia | Sweden | 1,839 | Sunk[8] |
| 27 September 1939 | SS Algeria | Sweden | 1,619 | Captured[6] |
| 28 September 1939 | SS Solaas | Norway | 1,368 | Mined[9] |
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