| Career | |
|---|---|
| Name: | U-30 |
| Ordered: | 1 April 1935 |
| Builder: | AG Weser, Bremen |
| Yard number: | 911 |
| Laid down: | 24 January 1936 |
| Launched: | 4 August 1936 |
| Commissioned: | 8 October 1936 |
| Decommissioned: | January 1945 |
| Scuttled: | 4 May 1945 Flensburg Fiord, Kupfermühlen Bay |
| Raised: | 1948 Wreck broken up |
| General characteristics [1][2] | |
| 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[3][4] | |
| Part of: | 2nd U-boat Flotilla (8 October 1936 – 30 November 1940) 24th U-boat Flotilla (1 December 1940 – 30 November 1943) 22nd U-boat Flotilla (1 December 1943 – 12 January 1945) |
| Identification codes: | M 05 559 |
| Commanders: | Kapitänleutnant Hans Cohausz (8 October 1936 – 31 October 1938) Hans Pauckstadt (15 February 1938 – 17 August 1938) Kapitänleutnant Fritz-Julius Lemp (November 1938 – September 1940) Robert Prützmann (September 1940 – 31 Mar 1941) Oblt. Paul-Karl Loeser (1 April – April 1941) Oblt. Hubertus Purkhold (April – 22 April 1941) Oblt. Kurt Baberg (23 April 1941 – 9 March 1942) Oblt. Hermann Bauer (10 March – 4 October 1942) Ltn. Franz Saar (5 October – 16 December 1942) Oblt. Ernst Fischer (May 1943 – 1 December 1943) Oblt. Ludwig Fabricius (2 December 1943 – 14 December 1944) Oblt. Günther Schimmel (17–23 January 1945) |
| Operations: | 1st patrol: 22 August – 27 September 1939 2nd patrol: 9–14 December 1939 3rd patrol: 23 December 1939 – 17 January 1940 4th patrol: 11–30 March 1940 5th patrol: 3 April – 4 May 1940 6th patrol: 8 June – 7 July 1940 7th patrol: 13–24 July 1940 8th patrol: 5–30 August 1940 |
| Victories: | 16 commercial ships sunk (86,165 GRT) 1 auxiliary warship sunk (325 GRT) 1 commercial ship damaged (5,642 GRT) 1 warship damaged (31,100 GRT) |
German submarine U-30 was a Type VIIA U-boat of the German Kriegsmarine that served during World War II. She was ordered on 1 April 1935 in violation of the Treaty of Versailles, which prevented the construction and commissioning of any U-boats into the German navy, and as part of the German naval rearmament program known as Plan Z. Built by AG Weser of Bremen on 24 January 1936, she was launched on 4 August 1936 and formally commissioned into the Kriegsmarine on 8 October. She sank the liner SS Athenia, the first ship sunk in World War II, on 3 September 1939, under the command of Fritz-Julius Lemp. She was retired from front-line service in September 1940 after undertaking eight war patrols and having sunk 17 vessels and damaging two others. After this U-30 served in a training role until the end of the war when she was scuttled. She was later raised and broken up for scrap in 1948.
Contents |
U-30 was ordered by the Kriegsmarine on 1 April 1935 (as part of Plan Z and in violation of the Treaty of Versailles). Her keel was laid down on 24 January 1936 by AG Weser, Bremen as Werk 911. U-30 was launched on 4 August 1936 and commissioned on 8 October under the command of Kapitänleutnant Hans Cohausz.[3]
Like all Type VIIA submarines, U-30 had two MAN 6-cylinder 4-stroke M6V 40/46 diesel engines totalling 2,100–2,310 bhp (1,600–1,720 kW) as well as two Brown, Boveri & Cie GG UB 720/8 electric motors, that produced 750 shp (560 kW) and allowed her to travel at 17 knots (31 km/h) while surfaced and 8 knots (15 km/h) submerged. She had a range of 11,470 nmi (21,240 km) at 10 knots (19 km/h) while on the surface and 175 nmi (324 km) at 4 kn (7.4 km/h) while submerged. U-30 had five torpedo tubes (four in the bow, one in the stern). She could also carry a total of eleven 533 mm (21 in) torpedoes or 22 TMA mines or 33 TMB mines and had a C35 88 mm gun/L45 deck gun that held 220 rounds. She was equipped with one C30 20 mm AA anti-aircraft gun. After being commissioned and deployed, U-30 was stationed in the German port city of Wilhelmshaven.[1][2]
During her career U-30 was involved in eight war patrols and sank 16 merchant ships, totalling 86,165 gross register tons (GRT), and one auxiliary warship of 325 GRT. U-30 also damaged one ship totalling 5,642 GRT, and damaged the battleship HMS Barham. All of these attacks took place under the command of Kapitänleutnant Fritz-Julius Lemp.[3][4]
U-30 went to sea on 22 August 1939, before World War II began.[5] U-30's career began on 3 September 1939, just 12 days after leaving the port of Wilhelmshaven and only 10 hours after Britain declared war on Germany, she sank the 13,581 ton passenger ship SS Athenia about 200 miles (320 km) west of the Hebrides while she was en route from Liverpool, England to Montreal, Canada.[6][7] The Athenia was the first ship sunk in World War II and out of 1,400 passengers, 112 of them, including 28 Americans, were killed.[7] After sinking the Athenia, U-30 went on to sink two more vessels, the Blairlogie and the SS Fanad Head.[5]
Following the attack, the German Ministry of Propaganda checked incoming reports from both London and the German Naval High command. Having been told by the Kriegsmarine that there was not a single U-boat in the vicinity of the Athenia on the day of her sinking, the Propaganda Ministry promptly denied all allegations that any German U-boat had sunk the Athenia.[7] Instead, the Germans claimed that the British torpedoed their own vessel in an attempt to bring the United States into the war on the side of the Allies.[8]
In order to calm down any American response to the sinking of the Athenia, Joachim von Ribbentrop, the German Foreign Minister, arranged a meeting between Grand Admiral Erich Raeder and the American naval attaché on 16 September 1939. During the meeting, Raeder assured the attaché that he had received reports from every German submarine at sea and "as a result of which it was definitely established that the Athenia had not been sunk by a German U-boat".[8] Raeder then asked the attaché to inform the American government.[8] However, not every submarine had returned to port and all U-boats maintained radio silence while at sea.[8]
Once U-30 arrived at port on 27 September, Admiral Karl Doenitz met Lemp while he was getting off of the U-boat. Doenitz later said that Lemp looked "very unhappy" and that he told the Admiral that he was in fact responsible for the sinking of the Athenia. Lemp had mistaken the Athenia for an armed merchant cruiser, which he claimed was zig-zagging. Doenitz later received orders that the Athenia affair was to be kept a "total secret",[8] the High Command of the Navy (OKM) were not to court-martial Lemp as they considered his actions in good-faith, and that any other political explanations about the sinking of the Athenia were to be handled by the OKM who would deny any allegations that a German U-boat had sunk the vessel. In order to keep the sinking of the Athenia a secret, Doenitz had U-30's log altered in order to erase any evidence about the truth of U-30's sinking of the Athenia. It was not until the Nuremberg trials in 1946 that the truth about the fate of the Athenia was brought forth publicly by the Germans.[8][9]
As a result of the investigation undertaken by the German General Staff following the sinking of the Athenia, U-30 remained in port until 9 December 1939 when she was finally allowed to put to sea again for her second war patrol. It lasted only six days, however, during which time she travelled up to the southern coast of (then neutral) Norway before returning to Wilhelmshaven on 14 December 1939. During the voyage U-30 did not encounter any enemy vessels and consequently she returned to port without any claims.[10]
U-30's third patrol was much more prosperous. Having left Wilhelmshaven on 23 December 1939, she journeyed into the North Sea. U-30 then circumnavigated the British Isles and travelled south down to the southern coast of Ireland. It was off of the west coast of Scotland that U-30 sank her first enemy vessel during her third patrol, the 325 ton anti-submarine trawler HMS Barbara Robertson, on 28 December 1939. That same day, U-30 hit a much bigger target, the British battleship HMS Barham. Following the sinking of the Barbara Robertson, U-30 fired a torpedo at the British battleship and damaged her, killing four crewmembers. The next three ships that U-30 sank were hit by mines from the U-boat, the El Oso, sunk on 11 January, the Gracia, damaged on 16 January, and the Cairnross, sunk on 17 January. Meanwhile, U-30 returned to her home port of Wilhelmshaven on 17 January 1940.[11]
The fourth patrol that U-30 undertook began on 11 March 1940 when she left Wilhelmshaven for the west coast of Norway in preparation for the German invasion of that nation. For a period of 20 days, U-30 traveled up the Norwegian coast in search of any Allied convoys, she did not find any and returned to Wilhelmshaven on 30 March 1940.[12]
Like her fourth patrol, U-30's fifth patrol ended without any losses. She put to sea on 3 April 1940 to support the German invasion of Norway and Denmark (codenamed Operation Weserubung). For 32 days, U-30 travelled up the west coast of Norway. She then headed east to Scotland in order to intercept British warships that were heading north to defend Norway. She failed to encounter any vessels, however, and returned to Wilhelmshaven, arriving there on 4 May 1940.[13]
U-30's sixth patrol was the first patrol in which she sank any enemy ships since her third patrol. Having left Wilhelmshaven on 8 June 1940, she once again entered the North Sea in an attempt to sink any Allied ships in the area. For 32 days, U-30 circumnavigated the British Isles and sank five enemy ships in the Bay of Biscay. The first to be sunk was the 4,876 ton British vessel, Otterpool which was sunk on 20 June 1940. Two days later, the 3,999 ton Norwegian vessel Randsfjord was sunk. On 28 June, the British ship Llanarth was torpedoed and was followed by the Beignon on 1 July and the Egyptian Angele Mabro on 6 July. Following these attacks, U-30 headed to port. Instead of returning to Wilhelmshaven, however, U-30 put in to Lorient, in France, which had been captured after the Fall of France. In doing so, it became the first German U-boat to enter the port.[14][15]
U-30 began her first patrol operating from Lorient and her seventh overall on 13 July 1940. During a period of 12 days, U-30 travelled as far south as Portugal and sank the 712 ton British ship Ellaroy on 21 July 1940. Three days later, on 24 July, U-30 returned to Lorient,[16] having experienced a malfunction with its engine.[15] Following this it became clear that the boat was suffering a number of mechanical difficulties and as a result it was decided that she would need to be used sparingly. For her next patrol it was decided that she would leave from Lorient, but would return to Germany instead.[17]
The eighth and last war patrol that U-30 was to undertake began on 5 August 1940 when she left Lorient to patrol the North Atlantic. In 26 days, U-30 travelled north of the British Isles, into the North Sea and entered the German port city of Kiel on 30 August 1940. During that time, she sank the Swedish vessel Canton on 9 August and the British steam merchant Clan Macphee on 16 August 1940. Both of these attacks took place off of the west coast of neutral Ireland.[18] After these successes, however, the U-30 once again experienced engine troubles and was forced to end its patrol early, returning to Germany. Before she arrived, however, Lemp received word that he had been awarded the Ritterkreuz (Knights Cross) for the boat's previous war patrols.[19]
Following her eighth patrol, U-30 was retired from front-line service on 15 September 1940 and was assigned to training flotillas in the Baltic for the rest of World War II.[20] After her retirement, many of U-30's experienced crewmembers, including her captain, Lemp, were transferred to theU-110.[21] In the last months of the war the U-30 was used as a range boat before being scuttled by her crew on 4 May 1945 at Flensburg in Kupfermühlen Bay, in order to avoid surrendering the boat to Allies as part of Operation Regenbogen.[22] The wreck of the U-boat was later raised and broken up in 1948.[3]
During her service in the German Kriegsmarine, U-30 sank 16 commercial ships for a loss of 86,165 GRT, and one warship for a loss of 325 GRT. U-30 also damaged one commercial ship totalling 5,642 GRT, and damaged the battleship HMS Barham.[23]
| Date[23] | Ship[23] | Nationality[23] | Tonnage[23] | Fate[23] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 September 1939 | SS Athenia | Great Britain | 13,581 | sunk |
| 11 September 1939 | Blairlogie | Great Britain | 4,425 | sunk |
| 14 September 1939 | SS Fanad Head | Great Britain | 5,200 | sunk |
| 28 December 1939 | HMS Barbara Robertson | Great Britain | 325 | sunk |
| 28 December 1939 | HMS Barham | Great Britain | 31,100 | damaged |
| 11 January 1940 | El Oso | Great Britain | 7,267 | sunk |
| 16 January 1940 | Gracia | Great Britain | 5,642 | damaged |
| 17 January 1940 | Cairnross | Great Britain | 5,494 | sunk |
| 7 February 1940 | Munster | Great Britain | 4,305 | sunk |
| 9 February 1940 | Chagres | Great Britain | 5,406 | sunk |
| 8 March 1940 | Counsellor | Great Britain | 5,068 | sunk |
| 20 June 1940 | Otterpool | Great Britain | 4,876 | sunk |
| 22 June 1940 | Randsfjord | Norway | 3,999 | sunk |
| 28 June 1940 | Llanarth | Great Britain | 5,053 | sunk |
| 1 July 1940 | Beignon | Great Britain | 5,218 | sunk |
| 6 July 1940 | Angele Mabro | Egypt | 3,154 | sunk |
| 21 July 1940 | Ellaroy | Great Britain | 712 | sunk |
| 1 August 1940 | Canton | Sweden | 5,779 | sunk |
| 16 August 1940 | Clan Macphee | Great Britain | 6,628 | sunk |
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