German submarine U-26 (1936)
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 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 | 6 May 1936 |
| Fate | Scuttled 1 July 1940, southwest of Ireland. 48 survivors[citation needed] |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement | list error: <br /> list (help) 862 t (848 long tons) ↑ 982 t (966 long tons) ↓[1] Official displacement was 712 tons standard |
| Length | 72.39 m (237 ft 6 in)[1] |
| Beam | 6.21 m (20 ft 4 in)[1] |
| Draft | 4.3 m (14 ft 1 in)[1] |
| Propulsion | list error: <br /> list (help) 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)[1] |
| Speed | list error: <br /> list (help) 17.7–18.6 kn (32.8–34.4 km/h) ↑ 8.3 kn (15.4 km/h) ↓ |
| Range | list error: <br /> list (help) 7,900 nmi (14,600 km) at 10 kn (19 km/h) ↑ 78 nmi (144 km) at 4 kn (7.4 km/h) ↓ |
| Test depth | 200 m (660 ft) |
| Complement | 4 officers, 39 enlisted[1] |
| Armament | list error: <br /> list (help) 6 × 53.3 cm (21.0 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] 1 × 20 mm (0.79 in) AA |
| Service record | |
| Part of: |
list error: <br /> list (help) Kriegsmarine 2nd U-boat Flotilla |
| Identification codes: | M 07 314 |
| Commanders: |
list error: <br /> list (help) Werner Hartmann Oskar Schomburg Klaus Ewerth Heinz Scheringer Heinz Fischer |
| Operations: | Six patrols |
| Victories: |
list error: <br /> list (help) 11 ships sunk for a total of 48.645 GRT GRT uses unsupported parameter (help) 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 the German 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 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
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[2] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
See also
Notes
References
- "U-boat.net". List of all U-Boats – U-26. Retrieved 31 July 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.