SM U-38
 SM U-38 with crew
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 German Empire | |
| Name | U-38 |
| Ordered | 12 June 1912 |
| Builder | Germaniawerft, Kiel |
| Laid down | 25 February 1913 |
| Launched | 9 September 1914 |
| Commissioned | 15 December 1914 |
| Fate | Surrendered 23 February 1919. |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | German Type U 31 submarine |
| Displacement | list error: <br /> list (help) 685 tons (surfaced) 878 tons (submerged) 971 tons (total) |
| Length | list error: <br /> list (help) 64.70 m (overall) 52.36 m (pressure hull) |
| Beam | list error: <br /> list (help) 6.32 m (overall) 4.05 m (pressure hull) |
| Height | 7.68 m |
| Draught | 3.56 m |
| Propulsion | list error: <br /> list (help) Diesel (2 x 950 PS) Electric (2 x 600 PS) 1850 hp (surfaced) 1200 hp (submerged) |
| Speed | list error: <br /> list (help) 16.4 knots (surfaced) 9.7 knots (submerged) |
| Range | 8790 miles @ 8 kn (surfaced) 80 miles @ 5 kn(submerged)[1] |
| Test depth | 50 m |
| Complement | list error: <br /> list (help) 4 officers 31 crewmen |
| Armament | |
| Service record | |
| Part of: | II Flottille, Kaiserliche Marine |
| Commanders: |
list error: <br /> list (help) Max Valentiner Wilhelm Canaris Hans Heinrich Wurmbach Clemens Wickel |
| Operations: | 17 |
| Victories: |
list error: <br /> list (help) 138 ships sunk for a total of 292,848 tons. 5 ships damaged for a total of 27,112 tons. 1 ship taken as prize for a total of 1,441 tons. 1 warship damaged for a total of 10,850 tons. |
SM U-38 was a German Type U 31 U-boat which operated in the Mediterranean Sea during World War I. It ended up being the third most successful u-boat participating in the war sinking 138 ships sunk for a total of 299.985 tons.
Its longest serving captain was Max Valentiner, who was awarded the Pour le Mérite while in command of U-38. Valentiner was in command of U-38 in November and December 1915 when she sank the passenger liners SS Ancona and SS Persia; both were controversial since the ships were sunk by torpedoes without warning, in defiance of the then-current Prize rules, which stated that merchant vessels carrying passengers be given an opportunity to evacuate their passengers before being sunk.
Valentiner was succeeded as commander of U-38 by Wilhelm Canaris, who later went on to become an Admiral and head of the Abwehr from 1935 to 1944.
Fate
After World War I ended, U-38 was surrendered to France and docked in Brest in 1919, and then broken up.
See also
Notes
References
- Eberhard Rössler: Geschichte des deutschen U-Bootbaus - Band 1. Bernhard & Graefe Verlag 1996, ISBN 3-86047-153-8
- Bodo Herzog: Deutsche U-Boote 1906-1966. Manfred Pawlak Verlags GmbH, Herrschingen 1990, ISBN 3-88199-687-7
- Spindler, Arno (1932,1933,1934,1941/1964,1966). Der Handelskrieg mit U-Booten. 5 Vols. Berlin: Mittler & Sohn. Vols. 4+5, dealing with 1917+18, are very hard to find: Guildhall Library, London, has them all, also Vol. 1-3 in an English translation: The submarine war against commerce.
{{cite book}}: Check date values in:|year=(help)CS1 maint: year (link) - Beesly, Patrick (1982). Room 40: British Naval Intelligence 1914-1918. London: H Hamilton. ISBN 978-0-241-10864-2.
- Halpern, Paul G. (1938). A Naval History of World War I. New York: Routledge. ISBN 978-1-85728-498-0.
- Roessler, Eberhard (1997). Die Unterseeboote der Kaiserlichen Marine. Bonn: Bernard & Graefe. ISBN 978-3-7637-5963-7.
- Schroeder, Joachim (2002). Die U-Boote des Kaisers. Bonn: Bernard & Graefe. ISBN 978-3-7637-6235-4.
- Koerver, Hans Joachim (2008). Room 40: German Naval Warfare 1914-1918. Vol I., The Fleet in Action. Steinbach: LIS Reinisch. ISBN 978-3-902433-76-3.
- Koerver, Hans Joachim (2009). Room 40: German Naval Warfare 1914-1918. Vol II., The Fleet in Being. Steinbach: LIS Reinisch. ISBN 978-3-902433-77-0.
External links
- Homepage for Christian August Max Ahlmann Valentiner:
- Photos of cruises of German submarine U-54 in 1916-1918. Great photo quality, comments in German.
- A 44 min. film from 1917 about a cruise of the German submarine U-35. A German propaganda film without dead or wounded; many details about submarine warfare in World War I.
- Uboat.net: More detailed information about U-38.
- Room 40: original documents, photos and maps about World War I German submarine warfare and British Room 40 Intelligence from The National Archives, Kew, Richmond, UK.