German submarine U-26 (1936)
 U-25, the other Type IA U-boat. |
|
| Career (Nazi Germany) |  |
|---|---|
| Name: | U-26 |
| Ordered: | December 17, 1934 |
| Builder: | AG Weser, Bremen |
| Yard number: | 904 |
| Laid down: | August 1, 1935 |
| Launched: | March 14, 1936 |
| Commissioned: | May 6, 1936 |
| Fate: | Scuttled July 1, 1940 southwest of Ireland. 48 survivors.[citation needed] |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | IA |
| 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: | 6 patrols |
| Victories: | 11 ships sunk for a total of 48.645 gross register tons (GRT) 1 ship damaged for a total of 4.871 GRT 1 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 the German Kriegsmarine. Constructed by AG Weser in Bremen, U-26 was commissioned on May 6, 1936. It experienced a short, but successful combat career, sinking eleven enemy ships.
Until 1940, U-26 was primarily used as training vessel and for propaganda purposes by the German government. During its trials it was found that the Type IA submarine was difficult to handle due to its 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 eight war cruises, sinking eleven enemy ships and badly damaging two. On its first war cruise laying mines, U-26 sunk three merchant ships and damaged one British warship. On its second war cruise it became the first U-boat during World War II to enter the Mediterranean Sea. U-26 participated in three other successful war patrols, sinking four additional merchant ships.
[edit] In fiction
The U-Boat from the film Raiders of the Lost Ark, has the number U-26.
[edit] References
- "U-boat.net". List of all U-Boats – U-26. http://www.uboat.net/boats/u26.htm. Retrieved July 31, 2006.
- ubootwaffe.net webpage about U-26
- u-boot-archiv.de webpage for U-26
- Gordon Williamson. Wolf Pack: The Story of the U-Boat in World War II, Osprey Publishing Limited, 2005.
[edit] See also
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