German submarine U-26 (1936)

For other ships of the same name, see German submarine U-26.
U-25, the other Type IA U-boat
Career (Nazi Germany)
Name: U-26
Ordered: 17 December 1934
Builder: DeSchiMAG AG Weser, Bremen
Yard number: 904
Laid down: 1 August 1935
Launched: 14 March 1936
Commissioned: 6 May 1936
Fate: Scuttled 1 July 1940, southwest of Ireland. 48 survivors[1]
General characteristics [2]
Displacement:862 t (848 long tons) surfaced
982 t (966 long tons) submerged
Official displacement was 712 tons standard
Length:72.39 m (237 ft 6 in)
Beam:6.21 m (20 ft 4 in)
Draft:4.3 m (14 ft 1 in)
Propulsion:Diesel-electric
2 × MAN M8V40/46 8-cylinder diesel engines with 2,900–3,080 shp (2,160–2,300 kW)
2 × BBC GG UB720/8 double-acting electric motors with 1,000 shp (750 kW)
Speed:18.6 knots (34.4 km/h; 21.4 mph) surfaced
8.3 knots (15.4 km/h; 9.6 mph) submerged
Range:7,900 nmi (14,600 km; 9,100 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) surfaced
78 nmi (144 km; 90 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph) submerged
Test depth:200 m (660 ft)
Complement:4 officers, 39 enlisted
Armament:
Service record
Part of: Kriegsmarine
2nd U-boat Flotilla
Identification codes: M 07 314
Commanders: Werner Hartmann
Oskar Schomburg
Klaus Ewerth
Heinz Scheringer
Heinz Fischer
Operations: Six patrols
Victories: 11 ships sunk for a total of 48.645 GRT
One ship damaged for a total of 4,871 GRT
One warship damaged for a total of 530 tons

German submarine U-26 was one of the two Type IA ocean-going U-boats produced by Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine. Constructed in Bremen, U-26 was commissioned in May 1936. She experienced a short, but successful combat career, sinking eleven ships.

Until 1940, U-26 was primarily used as training vessel and for propaganda purposes by the German government. During her trials it was found that the Type IA submarine was difficult to handle due to her poor stability and slow dive rate.

In early 1940, the boat was called into combat duty due to the shortage of available submarines. U-26 participated in six war patrols, sinking eleven ships and badly damaging one other. On her first patrol laying mines, U-26 sank three merchant ships and damaged one British warship. On her second war patrol it became the first U-boat during World War II to enter the Mediterranean Sea. U-26 participated in three other successful patrols, sinking four additional merchant ships.

Construction history

Laid down by DeSchiMAG AG Weser in Bremen as "werk" 904 on 1 August 1935, U-26 was launched on 14 March 1936. She was commissioned on 6 May with Kapitänleutnant Werner Hartmann in command.

Operational history

U-26 carried out six patrols between August 1939 and July 1940, during which she sank or damaged 12 ships.

Fate

U-26 under attack by a Sunderland flying boat on 1 July 1940.

The boat was scuttled southwest of Ireland after being badly damaged by depth charges dropped by the British Flower-class corvette HMS Gladiolus and an Australian Sunderland flying boat of No. 10 Squadron RAAF. The crew (48 men), all survived.

In fiction

The U-boat in the film Raiders of the Lost Ark has the number U-26.

Summary of raiding history

Date Name Nationality Tonnage
(GRT)		 Fate[3]
15 September 1939 Alex van Opstal  Belgium 5,965 Sunk (mine)
7 October 1939 Binnendijk  Netherlands 6,873 Sunk (mine)
13 November 1939 Loire  France 4,825 Sunk (mine)
22 November 1939 Elena R.  Greece 4,576 Sunk (mine)
12 February 1940 Nidarholm  Norway 3,482 Sunk
14 February 1940 Langleeford  United Kingdom 4,622 Sunk
15 February 1940 Steinstad  Norway 2,477 Sunk
21 April 1940 Cedarbank  United Kingdom 5,159 Sunk
26 June 1940 Frangoula B. Goulandris  Greece 6,701 Sunk
30 June 1940 Belmoira  Norway 3,214 Sunk
30 June 1940 Merkur  Estonia 1,291 Sunk
1 July 1940 Zarian  United Kingdom 4,871 Damaged

References

  1. ↑ Clay Blair, Hitler's U-Boat War: The Hunters 1939-1942, pp. 170-171
  2. ↑ Gröner, p. 66-7.
  3. ↑ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit by U-26". U-boat Successes - German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 29 December 2014.

Bibliography

External links