German submarine U-26 (1936)

U-25, the other Type IA U-boat
History
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)
Draught:	4.30 m (14 ft 1 in)
Propulsion:	Diesel-electric 2 × MAN M8V40/46 8-cylinder diesel engines with 2,900–3,080 PS (2,860–3,040 shp; 2,130–2,270 kW) 2 × BBC GG UB720/8 double-acting electric motors with 1,000 PS (990 shp; 740 kW)
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:	6 × 53.3 cm (21 in) torpedo tubes, 4 bow, 2 stern 14 × torpedoes 28 × TMA mines 1 × 10.5 cm (4.1 in) SK C/32 naval gun 1 × 2 cm (0.79 in) AA gun
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 yard number 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

Bibliography

External links

• Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type IA boat U-26". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 31 July 2006. 
• Hofmann, Markus. "U 26". Deutsche U-Boote 1935-1945 - u-boot-archiv.de (in German). Retrieved 2014-12-06.