View source for German submarine U-20 (1936)

{{Short description|German World War II submarine}}
{{other ships|German submarine U-20}}
{{Use British English|date=October 2012}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2021}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=U-9 IWM HU 1012.jpg
|Ship image size=300px
|Ship caption=''U-9'', a typical Type IIB boat
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=
|Ship country=[[Nazi Germany]]
|Ship flag={{shipboxflag|Nazi Germany|naval}}
|Ship name=''U-20''
|Ship ordered=2 February 1935
|Ship builder=*[[Germaniawerft]], [[Kiel]]
*[[Galați shipyard]], [[Kingdom of Romania|Romania]]
|Ship original cost=
|Ship yard number=550
|Ship way number=
|Ship laid down =1 August 1935
|Ship launched=14 January 1936
|Ship commissioned=1 February 1936
|Ship homeport=
|Ship identification=
|Ship motto=
|Ship nickname=
|Ship fate=Scuttled 11 September 1944, off the coast of Turkey in the [[Black Sea]]{{sfn|Kemp|1999|p=217}}
|Ship notes=
|Ship badge=
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=
|Ship class=[[Type II U-boat|Type IIB]] coastal submarine
|Ship displacement=
*{{convert|279|t|LT|abbr=on|lk=on}} surfaced
*{{convert|328|t|LT|abbr=on}} submerged
|Ship length=
*{{convert|42.70|m|ftin|abbr=on}} [[o/a]]
*{{convert|27.80|m|ftin|abbr=on}} [[pressure hull]]
|Ship beam=
*{{convert|4.08|m|ftin|abbr=on}} (o/a)
*{{convert|4.00|m|ftin|abbr=on}} (pressure hull)
|Ship draught={{convert|3.90|m|ftin|abbr=on}}
|Ship height={{convert|8.60|m|ftin|abbr=on}}
|Ship power=
*{{convert|700|PS|kW bhp|abbr=on}} (diesels)
*{{convert|410|PS|kW shp|abbr=on}} (electric)
|Ship propulsion=
*2 shafts
*2 × [[diesel engine]]s
*2 × [[Motor-generator|electric motors]]
|Ship speed=
*{{convert|13|kn}} surfaced
*{{convert|7|kn}} submerged
|Ship range=
*{{convert|1800|nmi|abbr=on}} at {{convert|12|kn}} surfaced
*{{convert|35|-|43|nmi|abbr=on}} at {{convert|4|kn}} submerged
|Ship test depth={{convert|80|m|ft|abbr=on}}
|Ship complement=3 officers, 22 men
|Ship armament=
*3 × {{convert|53.3|cm|in|0|abbr=on}} [[torpedo tube]]s
*5 × [[torpedo]]es or up to 12 TMA or 18 TMB [[Naval mine|mines]]
*1 × [[2 cm Flak 30/38/Flakvierling|{{convert|2|cm|in|2|abbr=on}} anti-aircraft gun]]
}}
{{Infobox service record
|is_ship=yes
|label=
|partof=
*[[3rd U-boat Flotilla]]
*1 February – 1 August 1939	 
*1 September – 31 December 1939
*[[1st U-boat Flotilla]]
*1 January – 30 April 1940
*[[1st U-boat Training Flotilla]]
*1 May – 30 June 1940
*[[21st U-boat Flotilla]]
*1 July 1940 – 26 August 1942
*[[30th U-boat Flotilla]]
*27 May 1943 – 10 September 1944
|codes=M 29 241
|commanders=
*''[[Kptlt.]]'' Hans Eckermann
*1 February 1936 – 30 September 1937
*''[[Oblt.z.S.]]'' / ''Kptlt.'' [[Karl-Heinz Moehle]]
*1 October 1937 – 17 January 1940
*''Kptlt.'' Harro von Klot-Heydenfeldt
*17 January – 15 April 1940
*''Oblt.z.S.'' Heinrich Driver
*2 – 15 April 1940
*''Oblt.z.S.'' Hans-Jürgen Zetzsche
*16 April – 7 June 1940
*''Oblt.z.S.'' Ottokar Arnold Paulshen
*8 June 1940 – 5 January 1941
*''Kptlt.'' Herbert Schauenburg
*6 January – 19 May 1941
*''Oblt.z.S.'' Wolfgang Sträter
*20 May – 4 December 1941
*''Oblt.z.S.'' Kurt Nölke
*5 December 1941 – 27 March 1942
*''Oblt.z.S.'' / ''Kptlt.'' Clemens Schöler
*7 May – 26 August 1942	
*27 May – 31 October 1943
*''Oblt.z.S.'' Karl Grafen
*1 November 1943 – 10 September 1944
|operations=*16 patrols:
*1st patrol:
*a. 24 – 31 August 1939
*b. 1 – 20 September 1939
*2nd patrol:
*a. 29 September – 17 October 1939
*b. 6 – 7 November 1939
*3rd patrol:
*18 – 24 November 1939
*4th patrol:
*7 – 13 December 1939
*5th patrol:
*6 – 16 January 1940
*6th patrol:
*a. 21 January 1940
*b. 23 – 31 January 1940
*c. 4 February 1940
*7th patrol:
*27 February – 4 March 1940
*8th patrol:
*a. 14 – 20 March 1940
*b. 21 – 22 March 1940 
*9th patrol:
*22 – 29 June 1943
*10th patrol:
*11 July – 7 August 1943
*11th patrol:
*a. 16 – 22 September 1943
*b. 24 September – 12 October 1943
*12th patrol:
*8 November – 9 December 1943
*13th patrol:
*1 – 26 January 1944
*14th patrol:
*a. 22 February – 1 March 1944
*b. 2 – 27 March 1944
*15th patrol:
*11 June – 11 July 1944
*16th patrol:
*19 August – 10 September 1944
|victories=
*12 merchant ships sunk <br />({{GRT|30,058}})
*1 warship sunk <br />(9 tons)
*2 merchant ships total loss <br />({{GRT|8,446}})
*1 merchant ship damaged <br />({{GRT|1,846}})
}}
|}

'''German submarine ''U-20''''' was a [[German Type II submarine#Type IIB|Type IIB]] [[U-boat]] of [[Nazi Germany]]'s ''[[Kriegsmarine]]''. Her keel was [[Keel laying|laid down]] on 1 August 1935, by [[Germaniawerft]] of [[Kiel]] as yard number 550. She was [[Ship commissioning|commissioned]] on 1 February 1936. During [[World War II]], she conducted operations against enemy shipping.

''U-20'' went on 16 war patrols, sinking 13 ships totalling {{GRT|30,058}} and 9 tons , damaging one more of {{GRT|1,846|link=off}}.

==Design==
[[German Type IIB submarine]]s were enlarged versions of the original [[German Type IIA submarine|Type II]]s. ''U-20'' had a displacement of {{convert|279|t|LT}} when at the surface and {{convert|328|t|LT}} while submerged. Officially, the standard tonnage was {{convert|250|LT|t|0|abbr=on}}, however.{{sfn|Gröner|1991|pp=39–40}} The U-boat had a total length of {{convert|42.70|m|ftin|abbr=on}}, a [[pressure hull]] length of {{convert|28.20|m|ftin|abbr=on}}, a [[beam (nautical)|beam]] of {{convert|4.08|m|ftin|abbr=on}}, a height of {{convert|8.60|m|ftin|abbr=on}}, and a [[draught (ship)|draught]] of {{convert|3.90|m|ftin|abbr=on}}. The submarine was powered by two [[MWM GmbH|MWM]] RS 127 S four-stroke, six-cylinder [[diesel engine]]s of {{convert|700|PS|kW shp|-1}} for cruising, two [[Siemens-Schuckert]] PG VV 322/36 [[Motor–generator|double-acting electric motors]] producing a total of {{convert|460|PS|kW shp|-1}} for use while submerged. She had two shafts and two {{convert|0.85|m|ft|abbr=on|0}} [[propeller]]s. The boat was capable of operating at depths of up to {{convert|80|-|150|m}}.{{sfn|Gröner|1991|pp=39–40}}

The submarine had a maximum surface speed of {{convert|12|kn}} and a maximum submerged speed of {{convert|7|kn}}.{{sfn|Gröner|1991|pp=39–40}} When submerged, the boat could operate for {{convert|35|-|42|nmi}} at {{convert|4|kn}}; when surfaced, she could travel {{convert|3800|nmi}} at {{convert|8|kn}}. ''U-20'' was fitted with three {{convert|53.3|cm|in|0|abbr=on}} [[torpedo tube]]s at the bow, five [[torpedo]]es or up to twelve Type A torpedo mines, and a [[2 cm Flak 30|{{convert|2|cm|in|abbr=on}} anti-aircraft gun]]. The boat had a [[Ship's company|complement]] of twenty five.{{sfn|Gröner|1991|pp=39–40}}

==Operational history==

===First, second and third patrols===
''U-20''{{'}}s first three patrols involved observation (in August 1939) and the laying of [[Naval mine|mine]]s in the [[North Sea]] and off the British east coast. She would start in [[Kiel]] and finish in [[Wilhelmshaven]]; then reverse the process.

===Fourth and fifth patrols===
She sank ''Magnus'' about {{convert|40|nmi|abbr=on}} east northeast of [[Peterhead]] in Scotland. The ship went down in 90 seconds; there was only one survivor. She also sank ''Ionian'' and ''Willowpool'' in November and December respectively, with mines laid in November.

The boat sank ''Sylvia'' northeast of [[Aberdeen]] on her fifth sortie on 13 October 1940.

===Sixth to eighth patrols===
''U-20'' sank a steady number of ships on her sixth and seventh patrols, (her eighth foray was relatively quiet), but a series of changes were on the way.

She was transferred to the ''U-Ausbildungsflottille'' as a school boat on 1 May 1940, then the [[Black Sea]], avoiding the heavy British presence at [[Gibraltar]] and throughout the Mediterranean by being transported in sections along the Danube to the Romanian port of [[Galați]]. She was then re-assembled by the Romanians at the [[Galați shipyard]] and sent to her new home in the [[Black Sea]] so she could serve with the [[30th U-boat Flotilla]].<ref>Steel and Ice: The U-boat Battle in the Arctic and Black Sea 1941-45, Chapter 5 - The Black Sea: War in the South 1942-43, fifth page</ref>

===Ninth and tenth patrols===
The boat's first patrol in the new environment, but her ninth overall, almost ended in disaster when she tried to [[torpedo]] a Soviet submarine chaser; the vessel responded by dropping eight [[depth charge]]s. ''U-20'' was obliged to stay submerged for four hours and returned to base with various mechanical failures.

Near the end of sally number ten, a crew member from {{GS|U-19|1936|2}} who had been taken sick, was transferred to ''U-20'' on 4 August 1943. The boat docked at Constanta on the seventh.

===11th to 14th patrols===
These patrols were conducted between Constanta and [[Sevastopol]]. ''U-20'' sank the Soviet ''Vaijan Kutur'e'' on 16 January 1944 off [[Cape Anakria]].

===15th patrol===
The boat sank ''Pestel'' on 19 June 1944 off [[Trabzon]]. The Soviets reported that this ship was sunk in Turkish territorial waters.

She also sank the Soviet landing craft ''DB-26'' on 26 June with gunfire and demolition charges.

===16th patrol and fate===
She was scuttled on 10 September 1944, in the Black Sea off the coast of Turkey.{{sfn|Kemp|1999|p=217}}

On 3 February 2008, ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'' newspaper reported that ''U-20'' had been discovered by Selçuk Kolay, a Turkish marine engineer, in {{convert|80|ft}} of water off the coast of the Turkish city of [[Karasu, Sakarya|Karasu]].<ref>[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/1577456/Adolf-Hitlers-lost-fleet-found-in-Black-Sea.html Adolf Hitler's "Lost fleet" found in Black Sea], ''The Daily Telegraph'', retrieved 2010-12-27</ref>

==Summary of raiding history==
{|class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Date
! Name
! Nationality
! Tonnage<ref group=Note name=tonnage>Merchant ship tonnages are in [[gross register tons]]. Military vessels are listed by tons [[displacement (ship)|displacement]].</ref>
! Fate<ref>{{cite web
 |url=http://uboat.net/boats/successes/u20.html
 |title=Ships hit by U-20
 |last=Helgason
 |first=Guðmundur
 |website=German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net
 |access-date= 29 December 2014
}}</ref>
|-
|align="right"|29 November 1939
|align="left" |[[List of shipwrecks in November 1939#29 November|''Ionian'']]
|align="left" |{{flagcountry|United Kingdom|civil}}
|align="right"|3,114
|align="left" |Sunk (mine)
|-  
|align="right"|9 December 1939
|align="left" |[[List of shipwrecks in December 1939#9 December|''Magnus'']]
|align="left" |{{flagcountry|Denmark}}
|align="right"|1,339
|align="left" |Sunk
|-
|align="right"|10 December 1939
|align="left" |[[List of shipwrecks in December 1939#10 December|''Føina'']]
|align="left" |{{flagcountry|Norway}}||align="right"|1,674
|align="left" |Sunk
|- 
|align="right"|10 December 1939
|align="left" |[[List of shipwrecks in December 1939#10 December|''Willowpool'']]
|align="left" |{{flagcountry|United Kingdom|civil}}
|align="right"|4,815||align="left" |Sunk (mine)
|-
|align="right"|13 January 1940
|align="left" |[[List of shipwrecks in January 1940#13 January|''Sylvia'']]
|align="left" |{{flagcountry|Sweden}}
|align="right"|1,524
|align="left" |Sunk
|- 
|align="right"|27 January 1940
|align="left" |[[List of shipwrecks in January 1940#27 January|''England'']]
|align="left" |{{flagcountry|Denmark}}
|align="right"|2,319
|align="left" |Sunk
|-
|align="right"|27 January 1940
|align="left" |[[List of shipwrecks in January 1940#27 January|''Faro'']]
|align="left" |{{flagcountry|Norway}}
|align="right"|844
|align="left" |Total loss
|-
|align="right"|27 January 1940
|align="left" |[[List of shipwrecks in January 1940#27 January|''Fredensborg'']]
|align="left" |{{flagcountry|Denmark}}||align="right"|2,094
|align="left" |Sunk
|-
|align="right"|27 January 1940
|align="left" |[[List of shipwrecks in January 1940#27 January|''Hosanger'']]
|align="left" |{{flagcountry|Denmark}}
|align="right"|1,591
|align="left" |Sunk
|- 
|align="right"|29 February 1940
|align="left" |[[List of shipwrecks in February 1940#29 February|''Maria Rosa'']]
|align="left" |{{flagcountry|Kingdom of Italy|civil}}
|align="right"|4,211
|align="left" |Sunk
|- 
|align="right"|1 March 1940
|align="left" |[[List of shipwrecks in March 1940#1 March|''Mirella'']]
|align="left" |{{flagcountry|Kingdom of Italy|civil}}
|align="right"|5,340
|align="left" |Sunk
|-
|align="right"|29 November 1943
|align="left" |[[List of shipwrecks in November 1943#29 November|''Peredovik'']]
|align="left" |{{flagcountry|Soviet Union}}
|align="right"|1,846
|align="left" |Damaged
|-
|align="right"|16 January 1944
|align="left" |[[List of shipwrecks in January 1944#16 January|''Vaijan Kutur'e'']]
|align="left" |{{flagcountry|Soviet Union}}
|align="right"|7,602
|align="left" |Total loss
|-
|align="right"|7 April 1944
|align="left" |[[List of shipwrecks in April 1944#7 April|''Rion'']]
|align="left" |{{flagcountry|Soviet Union}}
|align="right"|187
|align="left" |Sunk (mine)
|- 
|align="right"|19 June 1944
|align="left" |[[List of shipwrecks in June 1944#19 June|''Pestel'']]
|align="left" |{{flagcountry|Soviet Union}}
|align="right"|1,850
|align="left" |Sunk
|- 
|align="right"|24 June 1944
|align="left" |[[List of shipwrecks in June 1944#24 June|''DB-26'']]
|align="left" |{{navy|Soviet Union}}
|align="right"|9
|align="left" |Sunk
|}

==References==

===Notes===
{{Reflist|group=Note}}

===Citations===
{{reflist}}

==Bibliography==
{{Refbegin}}
*{{cite book | last1 = Busch | first1 = Rainer | last2 = Röll | first2 = Hans-Joachim | translator-last = Brooks | translator-first = Geoffrey | title = German U-boat commanders of World War II: a biographical dictionary | publisher = Greenhill Books, Naval Institute Press | location = London, Annapolis, Md | year = 1999 | isbn = 1-55750-186-6 }}
*{{cite book
|last1=Busch
|first1=Rainer
|last2=Röll
|first2=Hans-Joachim
|title=Der U-Boot-Krieg, 1939-1945: Deutsche U-Boot-Verluste von September 1939 bis Mai 1945
|trans-title=The U-Boat War, 1939-1945: German U-boat losses from September 1939 to May 1945
|volume=IV
|publisher=Mittler
|location=Hamburg, Berlin, Bonn
|year=1999
|isbn=3-8132-0514-2
|language=de
}}
*{{cite book
|last1=Gröner
|first1=Erich
|last2=Jung
|first2=Dieter
|last3=Maass
|first3=Martin
|translator-last1=Thomas
|translator-first1=Keith
|translator-last2=Magowan
|translator-first2=Rachel
|year=1991
|chapter=U-boats and Mine Warfare Vessels
|volume=2
|title=German Warships 1815–1945
|location=London
|publisher=Conway Maritime Press
|isbn=0-85177-593-4
|ref=CITEREFGröner1991
}}
*{{cite book
|last=Kemp
|first=Paul
|title=U-Boats Destroyed - German Submarine Losses in the World Wars
|location=London
|year=1999
|publisher=Arms & Armour
|isbn=1-85409-515-3
}}
{{Refend}}

==External links==
* {{Cite web
 |url= http://uboat.net/boats/u20.htm
 |title= The Type IIB boat U-20
 |last=Helgason
 |first=Guðmundur
 |website=German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net
 |access-date= 6 December 2014
}}
* {{cite web
| url =http://www.u-boot-archiv.de/dieboote/u0020.html
| title=''U 20''
| last =Hofmann
| first=Markus
| website=Deutsche U-Boote 1935-1945 - u-boot-archiv.de
| language=de
| access-date=2014-12-06
}}
*{{cite web 
| title = U-boat Archive - U-boat KTB - U-20's 14th War Patrol 
| url = http://www.uboatarchive.net/U-20/KTB20-14.htm 
| access-date = 2017-04-13 
| archive-date = 11 September 2019 
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190911154231/http://uboatarchive.net/U-20/KTB20-14.htm 
| url-status = dead 
}}

{{TypeIIsubmarine}}
{{September 1944 shipwrecks}}
{{coord|41|10|N|30|47|E|display=title|type:landmark_source:dewiki}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:U0020}}
[[Category:German Type II submarines]]
[[Category:U-boats commissioned in 1936]]
[[Category:U-boats scuttled in 1944]]
[[Category:World War II submarines of Germany]]
[[Category:World War II shipwrecks in the Black Sea]]
[[Category:1936 ships]]
[[Category:Ships built in Kiel]]
[[Category:Ships built in Romania]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in September 1944]]
[[Category:Shipwrecks of Turkey]]