U-31 is a medium German VIIA type submarine from World War II . An order for construction was given on April 1, 1935 . The boat was laid down at the shipyard AG Weser in Bremen on March 1, 1936 under serial number 912. Launched on September 25, 1936 . December 28, 1936 adopted and under the command of Captain Lieutenant Rolf Dau ( German Kapitänleutnant Rolf Dau ) became part of the 2nd Salzwedel Flotilla .
| U-31 | |
|---|---|
| Ship history | |
| Flag state |  Germany |
| Launching | September 25, 1936 |
| Withdrawn from the fleet | November 2, 1940 |
| Current status | sunk northwest of ireland |
| Main characteristics | |
| Type of ship | average DPL |
| Project designation | VIIA |
| Speed (surface) | 17 knots |
| Speed (underwater) | 8 knots |
| Working depth | 220 m |
| Immersion depth | 250 m |
| Autonomy of swimming | 11,470 km , 175 km under water |
| Crew | 42-46 people |
| Dimensions | |
| Surface displacement | 626 t |
| Underwater displacement | 745 t |
| The length is the greatest (on design basis) | 64.5 m |
| The width of the body naib. | 5.85 m |
| Average draft (on design basis) | 4.4 m |
| Power point | |
| Diesel-electric, 2 diesel engines MAN M6V 40/46 with a total capacity of 2 100 - 2 310 liters. with. at 470-485 rpm. | |
| Armament | |
| Artillery | C35 88 mm / L45 with 220 charges |
| Torpedo mine weapons | 4 bow and one stern TA caliber 533 mm, 11 torpedoes or mines 22 x TMA or 33 x TMB |
| Air defense | 2cm Flak 30 |
Content
Battle Path
The boat made 7 military campaigns, sunk 11 vessels with a total displacement of 27,751 gb and 1 auxiliary military vessel with a displacement of 160 gb , the British battleship HMS Nelson with a displacement of 33,950 tons was blown up by a mine delivered by U-31 , but did not sink.
U-31 became the first German submarine in World War II to attack an Allied convoy . September 16, 1939 she sank the British steamer SS Aviemore from the convoy OB-4 . [one]
It was sunk on March 11, 1940 in the Jade Bay ( North Sea , German coast) by British aircraft Bristol Blenheim Mk.IV, piloted by the commander of the 82nd RAF squadron squad leader Dilap. The boat was the first sunk by Royal Air Force aircraft in World War II, 58 dead (entire crew). In the same March 1940 it was lifted, repaired and re-commissioned in July. [2] The new commander was Wilfried Prellberg ( German: Wilfried Prellberg ).
It was sunk again on November 2, 1940, to the north-west of Ireland by deep bombs from the British destroyer HMS Antelope . Of the 46 crew members, 44 were rescued (according to other sources, 43). [3]
Flotillas
- December 28, 1936 - August 31, 1939 - 2nd Flotilla
- September 1, 1939 - December 31, 1939 - 2nd Flotilla
- January 1, 1940 - March 12, 1940 - 2nd Flotilla
- the boat was sunk, then raised, repaired and put back into service
- July 8, 1940 - November 2, 1940 - 2nd Flotilla
Commanders
- December 28, 1936 - November 8, 1938 Rolf Dow
- November 8, 1938 - March 11, 1940 Captain Lieutenant Johannes Habecost
- July 8, 1940 - November 2, 1940 Wilfried Prellberg
Sunken ships
| date | Type of | Affiliation | date | Tonnage (BRT) | Cargo | Fate | A place |
| SS Aviemore | cargo ship | Great Britain | September 16, 1939 | 4 060 | 5105 tons of white and black tin | sunk | |
| SS Hazelside | cargo ship | Great Britain | September 24, 1939 | 4 646 | forest, pulp and wheat | sunk | |
| SS Arcturus | cargo ship | Norway | December 1, 1939 | 1 277 | general cargo consisting of tea, gas stoves, steel wire, stationery, shoes and machine parts | sunk by mistake | |
| SS Ove Toft | cargo ship | Denmark | December 3, 1939 | 2 135 | coal | sunk | |
| SS gimle | cargo ship | Norway | December 4, 1939 | 1 271 | coconuts | sunk | |
| HMS Nelson (28) | battleship | Great Britain | December 4, 1939 | 33 650 | blown up on a mine, damaged | square AM 3826 | |
| SS Primula | cargo ship | Norway | December 4, 1939 | 1 024 | in ballast | sunk | |
| SS Agu | cargo ship | Estonia | December 6, 1939 | 1,575 | coal | sunk | |
| SS Vinga | cargo ship | Sweden | December 6, 1939 | 1 974 | coal | sunk | |
| HMS Glen Albyn | trawler | Great Britain | December 23, 1939 | 82 | blown up on a mine | square AM 3826 | |
| HMT Promotive | trawler | Great Britain | December 23, 1939 | 78 | blown up on a mine | square AM 3826 | |
| Union jack | trawler | Faroe islands | September 22, 1940 | 81 | sunk | ||
| Ms veststard | cargo ship | Norway | September 27, 1940 | 4 319 | in ballast | sunk | |
| SS Matina | cargo ship | Great Britain | October 29, 1940 | 5 389 | 1,500 tons of bananas | torpedo October 26, 1940 U-28 , damaged, re-torpedoed U-30 and sunk |
Boat Attacks
- On September 29, 1940, an unidentified submarine fired two torpedoes at U-31. They passed very close to the boat.
- On October 20, 1940, a British submarine unsuccessfully fired torpedoes at U-31 exiting Lorient .
See also
- List of submarines of the Third Reich
Notes
- ↑ Aviemore (Steam merchant) - Ships hit by U-boats - uboat.net . www.uboat.net. Date of treatment December 19, 2009. Archived March 10, 2013.
- ↑ Kemp, Paul: U-Boats Destroyed, German Submarine Losses in the World Wars , 1997. p. 64. Arms and Armor. ISBN 1-85409-515-3
- ↑ Kemp, p. 67.
Links
Literature
- Bishop K. Submarines Kriegsmarine. 1939-1945. Reference Guide for Flotillas = Kriegsmarine U-boats 1939-1945. - M .: Eksmo , 2007 .-- 192 p. - (Military equipment of the III Reich). - ISBN 978-5-699-22106-6 .
- Rover Yu. Submarines carrying death. Victories of submarines of Hitler Axis countries = Jürgen Rohwer. Axis submarine successes 1939-1945. - M .: ZAO Tsentrpoligraf Publishing House, 2004. - 416 p. - 2000 copies. - ISBN 5-9524-1237-8 .