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German submarine U-3 (1935)

Coordinates: 57°42′03″N 2°00′12″W / 57.70083°N 2.00333°W / 57.70083; -2.00333
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For other ships with the same name, see German submarine U-3.
History
Nazi Germany
NameU-3
Ordered2 February 1935
BuilderDeutsche Werke, Kiel[1]
Yard number238
Laid down11 February 1935
Launched19 July 1935
Commissioned6 September 1935
FateStricken, August 1944. Scrapped 1945
General characteristics [2]
Class and typeIIA
TypeCoastal submarine
Displacement
  • 254 t (250 long tons) surfaced
  • 303 t (298 long tons) submerged
Length40.90 m (134 ft 2 in)
Beam4.08 m (13 ft 5 in)
Draft3.83 m (12 ft 7 in)
Propulsion
Range
  • 1,050 nmi (1,940 km; 1,210 mi) at 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph) surfaced
  • 35 nmi (65 km; 40 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph) submerged
Test depth80 m (260 ft)
Complement3 officers, 22 men
Armament
Service record
Part of:
Commanders:
  • Oblt.z.S. Hans Meckel
  • 6 August 1935 - 29 September 1937)
  • Ernst-Günter Heinicke
  • 30 September 1937 - July 1938)
  • Kptlt. Joachim Schepke
  • 29 October 1938 - 2 January 1940)
  • Gerd Schreiber
  • 3 January - 28 July 1940)
  • Kptlt. Helmut Franzke
  • 29 July - 10 November 1940)
  • Kptlt. Otto von Bülow
  • 11 November 1940 - 2 July 1941
  • Oblt.z.S. Hans-Hartwig Trojer
  • 3 July 1941 - 2 March 1942
  • Oblt.z.S. Joachim Zander
  • 3 March - 19 September 1942
  • Oblt.z.S. Herbert Zoller
  • 1 October - 18 May 1943
  • Oblt.z.S. Ernst Hartmann
  • 19 May 1943 - 9 June 1944
  • Lt.z.S. Hermann Neumeister
  • 10 June - 16 July 1944
Operations:
  • Five:
  • 1st patrol:
  • 4–8 September 1939
  • 2nd patrol:
  • 13–24 September 1939
  • 3rd patrol:
  • 27 September - 3 October 1939
  • 4th patrol:
  • 16–29 March 1940
  • 5th patrol:
  • 12–19 April 1940
Victories: Two ships sunk, total of 2,348 GRT

German submarine U-3 was a Type IIA U-boat laid down at the Deutsche Werke in Kiel on 11 February 1935 as yard number 238. She was commissioned into the Kriegsmarine on 6 August 1936 under the command of Oberleutnant zur See (Oblt.z.S.) Hans Meckel.

U-3 carried out a total of five combat patrols; she sank two ships while under the command of Joachim Schepke. During April 1940, she was part of the fleet that supported the German invasion of Norway, Operation Weserübung.

As the Type II submarines were too small for combat duty in the Atlantic Ocean, she was assigned to the Baltic for training duties with the 21st U-boat Flotilla, a training outfit.

Emblem

U-3 is known to have had three emblems; one was an oak leaf, with an anchor and a knife or dagger. She also shared this emblem with U-29, U-120, U-747, U-1274 and U-1308.[3]

Operational history

1st and 2nd patrols

The boat's first patrol was relatively uneventful.

Her second sortie was toward the British east Anglian coast.

3rd patrol

She sank the Danish ship Vendia and the Swedish vessel Gun for a total of 2,348 gross register tons (GRT) on 30 September 1939.

U-3 closed Vendia and as was common practice in the early days of the war, ordered her to stop after a few warning shots were fired. The ship's fate is disputed. The German submariners said the Danish vessel tried to ram the U-boat. The ship's crew were convinced she swung with the strength of the wind. A torpedo was fired which hit the vessel and sank her.

The Gun was attacked in the Skagerrak 30 nmi (56 km; 35 mi) northwest of Hanstholm. By now wary from the experience with Vendia, the U-boat sent a boarding party to the Swedish ship, but was obliged to dive by the arrival of HMS Thistle. U-3 fired a torpedo at the British submarine, which missed; indeed they were not aware they had been targeted. The German vessel left the area and came across a lifeboat from Gun, telling the Swedes in it to return to their ship as she was still afloat. The German boarding party had left the ship in a lifeboat, but were picked up by the Danish merchant ship Dagmar. U-3 recovered them and put a torpedo into the empty Gun.

4th and 5th patrols

Patrol number four was also quiet, but number five was enlivened by another British submarine, HMS Porpoise, firing six torpedoes 10 nmi (19 km; 12 mi) west of Egersund at the U-boat on 16 April 1940. They were originally thought to have been aimed at U-1, but the attack caused no damage.

Fate

U-3 was stricken on 1 August 1944 in Gotenhafen. She was captured by Great Britain on 3 May 1945 and scrapped that same year.

Summary of raiding history

Date Name Nationality Tonnage
(GRT) 		Fate[4]
30 September 1939 Vendia  Denmark 1,150 Sunk
30 September 1939 Gun  Sweden 1,198 Sunk

References

  1. ^ Rössler 1979, p. 99.
  2. ^ Gröner 1985, p. 67.
  3. ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Emblems". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
  4. ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit by U-3". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 29 December 2014.

Bibliography

57°42′03″N 2°00′12″W / 57.70083°N 2.00333°W / 57.70083; -2.00333

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