German submarine U-4 (1935)

History
Nazi Germany
Name	U-4
Ordered	2 February 1935
Builder	Deutsche Werke, Kiel
Cost	1,500 Reichsmark
Yard number	239
Laid down	11 February 1935
Launched	31 July 1935
Commissioned	17 August 1935
Fate	Stricken 1 August 1944, Gotenhafen, scrapped in 1945
General characteristics
Type	IIA
Service record
Part of:	list error: <br /> list (help); Kriegsmarine; U-Boat Training Flotilla; 21st U-boat Flotilla
Identification codes:	M 13 167
Commanders:	list error: <br /> list (help); Oblt. Hannes Weingärtner; (17 August 1935–29 September 1937); Kptlt. Hans-Wilhelm von Dresky; (30 September 1937–28 October 1938); Kptlt. Harro von Klot-Heydenfeldt; (29 October 1938–16 January 1940); Oblt. Hans-Peter Hinsch; (17 January–7 July 1940); Oblt. Heinz-Otto Schultze; (8 June–28 July 1940); Hans-Jürgen Zetzsche; (8 June 1940–2 February 1941); Oblt. Hinrich-Oscar Bernbeck]]; (3 February–8 December 1941); Oblt. Wolfgang Leimkühler; (9 December 1941–15 June 1942); Ltn. Friedrich-Wilhelm Marienfeld; (16 June 1942–23 January 1943); Joachim Düppe; (24 January–31 May 1943); Oblt. Paul Sander; (1 June–22 August 1943); Oblt. Herbert Mumm; (23 August 1943–May 1944); Oblt. Hubert Rieger; (May–9 July 1944)
Operations:	list error: <br /> list (help); Four:; 1st patrol:; 4–14 September 1939; 2nd patrol:; 19–29 September 1939; 3rd patrol:; 16–29 March 1939; 4th patrol:; 4–14 April 1940;
Victories:	list error: <br /> list (help); Three ships sunk for a total of 5.133 GRT GRT uses unsupported parameter (help); one warship sunk of 1.090 tons

German submarine U-4 was a Type IIA U-boat of the German Kriegsmarine before and during World War II. She was one of the longest lasting German submarines of the period, primarily since half of her time was spent on training duties in the Baltic Sea.

Commissioned on 17 August 1935, she was one of the first batch of Type IIA boats constructed following the Anglo-German Naval Agreement that repealed the terms of the Treaty of Versailles which ended the First World War and stated that Germany was not permitted to possess submarines. Built at the Deutsche Werke in Kiel as 'werk' 239, she was a highly sought after command before the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939. Once the war had begun however, she rapidly became obsolete. Before she was superseded, she carried out four combat patrols, mainly in support of the Norwegian campaign.

War patrols

1st and 2nd patrols

U-4 departed Wilhelmshaven for her first patrol on 4 September 1939, in the aftermath of the declaration of war. Given her small size, she only covered the area to the south of Norway and into the North Sea west of Denmark and along the Dutch coast, and returned unsuccessful on 14 September. A second patrol later in the month yielded greater dividends, when she spotted three neutral vessels heading to Britain through the North Sea and sank them on consecutive days; the Marti Ragnar on the 22nd, the Walma on the 23rd and the Gertrud Bratt on the 24th.

3rd and 4th patrols

Her later two patrols were both in support of the German invasion of Norway. It was during this operation that she was able to sink the British submarine Thistle. The engagement was a lengthy one, as U-4 was a small coastal craft with poor endurance. When Thistle attacked and missed U-4 on 9 April, it gave the German submarine a chance to evade and hunt her attacker, finally catching and sinking the British vessel as she recharged her batteries on the surface a day later.

The Baltic

Once Norway was subdued, it became increasingly obvious that U-4 and her sisters were not capable of either outfighting or outrunning enemy craft, neither did they possess the range and endurance necessary to have a major impact on Allied shipping. In response, on 1 July 1940, these boats were relegated to the 21st U-boat Flotilla, and served until 1944 as training craft in the Baltic Sea. Although some of her sisters saw action later against the Soviets, U-4 did not, eventually being retired from all service at Gotenhafen (now known as Gdynia in Poland), on 1 August 1944, and then scrapped for parts sometime in 1945.

Summary of raiding history

Date	Name	Nationality	Tonnage (GRT)	Fate^[1]
22 September 1939	SS Martti Ragnar	Finland	2,262	Sunk
23 September 1939	SS Walma	Finland	1,361	Sunk
10 December 1939	SS Gertrud Bratt	Sweden	1,510	Sunk
10 April 1940	HMS Thistle (N24)	United Kingdom	1,090	Sunk

References

Sharpe, Peter, U-Boat Fact File, Midland Publishing, Great Britain: 1998. ISBN 1-85780-072-9.

^ http://uboat.net/boats/successes/u4/html

v t e German Type II submarines
Type IIA	U-1 U-2 U-3 U-4 U-5 U-6
Type IIB	U-7 U-8 U-9 U-10 U-11 U-12 U-13 U-14 U-15 U-16 U-17 U-18 U-19 U-20 U-21 U-22 U-23 U-24 U-120 U-121
Type IIC	U-56 U-57 U-58 U-59 U-60 U-61 U-62 U-63
Type IID	U-137 U-138 U-139 U-140 U-141 U-142 U-143 U-144 U-145 U-146 U-147 U-148 U-149 U-150 U-151 U-152
Preceded by: Type I Followed by: Type VII List of U-boats of Germany