SM_U-35_(Germany)

SM <i>U-35</i> (Germany)

SM U-35 (Germany)

German U-31 class submarine which operated in the Mediterranean Sea during WW1

For other ships with the same name, see German submarine U-35.

SM U-35 was a German U 31-class U-boat which operated in the Mediterranean Sea during World War I. It ended up being the most successful U-boat participating in the war, sinking 220 merchant ships for a total of 505,121 gross register tons (GRT).

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Her longest-serving captain was Lothar von Arnauld de la Perière. Under his command, U-35 sank 191 ships, making him the most successful submarine commander in history.

Design

German Type U 31 submarines were double-hulled ocean-going submarines similar to Type 23 and Type 27 subs in dimensions and differed only slightly in propulsion and speed. They were considered very good high seas boats with average manoeuvrability and good surface steering.[5]

U-35 had an overall length of 64.70 m (212 ft 3 in), her pressure hull was 52.36 m (171 ft 9 in) long. The boat's beam was 6.32 m (20 ft 9 in) (o/a), while the pressure hull measured 4.05 m (13 ft 3 in). Type 31s had a draught of 3.56 m (11 ft 8 in) with a total height of 7.68–8.04 m (25 ft 2 in – 26 ft 5 in). The boats displaced a total of 971 tonnes (956 long tons); 685 t (674 long tons) when surfaced and 878 t (864 long tons) when submerged.[5]

U-35 was fitted with two Germania 6-cylinder two-stroke diesel engines with a total of 1,850 metric horsepower (1,361 kW; 1,825 bhp) for use on the surface and two Siemens-Schuckert double-acting electric motors with a total of 1,200 PS (883 kW; 1,184 shp) for underwater use. These engines powered two shafts each with a 1.60 m (5 ft 3 in) propeller, which gave the boat a top surface speed of 16.4 knots (30.4 km/h; 18.9 mph), and 9.7 knots (18.0 km/h; 11.2 mph) when submerged. Cruising range was 8,790 nautical miles (16,280 km; 10,120 mi) at 8 knots (15 km/h; 9.2 mph) on the surface, and 80 nmi (150 km; 92 mi) at 5 knots (9.3 km/h; 5.8 mph) under water. Diving depth was 50 m (164 ft 1 in).[5]

The U-boat was armed with four 50 cm (20 in) torpedo tubes, two fitted in the bow and two in the stern, with carried 6 torpedoes. In 1915 U-35 was equipped with a 8.8 cm (3.5 in) Uk L/30 deck gun, which was replaced with a 10.5 cm (4.1 in) gun in 1916–17. The boat's complement was 4 officers and 31 enlisted men.[5]

Service history

U-35's keel was laid on 20 December 1912 at the Friedrich Krupp Germaniawerft shipyard in Kiel. Its delivery date was supposed to be 1 March 1914, but it was delayed due to development problems with its diesel engines. U-35 officially entered service on 3 November 1914, under the command of Kapitänleutnant Waldemar Kophamel. The lead engineer was Hans Fechter. It sailed with the II Flottille, stationed in Heligoland.

U-35 completed its first two deployments in reconnaissance actions in the North Sea. In its following three actions, U-35 sunk 17 merchant ships, for a total of 25,716 GRT. Later, it was paired with U-34 after a battle near Cattaro, Montenegro, and sunk two merchant ships for a total of 3,724 GRT. U-35 made two more voyages and destroyed 13 more merchant ships totaling 51,594 GRT. These included on 23 October 1915 the British transport Marquette in the Aegean Sea. She was carrying an Ammunition Column of the 29th Division; and also staff of the 1st New Zealand Stationary Hospital, despite a British hospital ship Grantully Castle sailing on the same route on the same day.[6]

The German submarine SM U-35 next to the merchant ship Roma, also German, in the port of Cartagena. The visit of the submersible on June 21, 1916, endangered Spanish neutrality in the Great War.

On 9 November 1915, with the help of sister U-34, U-35 sank the SS Californian, a cargo ship best known for its inaction during the sinking of the RMS Titanic on 15 April 1912, despite being the closest ship in the area. U-35 delivered a coup-de-grace after U-34 had attacked Californian earlier. She was under tow from a French patrol boat when U-35 moved in to finish her off.[7] Coincidentally, U-35 would also come within close proximity of the ill-fated Titanic's sister ship RMS Olympic on an unknown date in 1916, but "conditions made attack impossible."[8]

On 13 November 1915, Kptlt. de la Perière took command of U-35. He led 15 missions, primarily in the Mediterranean, and sank 187 merchant ships for a total of 417,682 GRT. Additionally, U-35 sank the British gunboat HMS Primula on 29 February 1916 and the French gunboat Rigel on 2 October 1916.

On 26 February 1916, she successfully torpedoed and sank the Armed merchant cruiser La Provence, carrying 1,800 French troops, near Cerigo Island with a loss of 990 men.[9]

U-35's fourteenth patrol (26 July to 20 August 1916) under de la Perière stands as the most successful submarine patrol of all time. During that period, 54 merchant ships totaling 90,352 GRT were sunk.

She also sank on 4 October 1916, the French transport ship SS Gallia, leading to the death of between 600 and 1,800 men.

Kptlt. Ernst von Voigt took command of U-35 on 17 March 1918. He undertook two patrols, an enemy engagement and a redeployment cruise, between 7 September and 9 October 1918, but both were promptly broken off because of engine damage. On 14 October 1918, Kptlt. Heino von Heimburg took command and U-35 was transferred to Kiel.

Fate

After World War I ended, U-35 was transferred to England and docked in Blyth from 1919 to 1920, then broken up.

Summary of raiding history

SM U-35 on the surface in the Mediterranean
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Notes

  1. [N 1]
    Merchant ship tonnages are in gross register tons. Military vessels are listed by tons displacement

Citations

  1. [1]
    Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boat commanders: Waldemar Kophamel (Pour le Mérite)". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 26 January 2015.
  2. [2]
    Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boat commanders: Lothar von Arnauld de la Perière (Pour le Mérite)". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 26 January 2015.
  3. [3]
    Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boat commanders: Ernst von Voigt". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 26 January 2015.
  4. [4]
    Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boat commanders: Heino von Heimburg (Pour le Mérite)". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 26 January 2015.
  5. [5]
    Gröner 1991, p. 6.
  6. [6]
    Cloud over Marquette by J M Smith (1990, Auckland NZ) ISBN 047301081X
  7. [7]
    "Californian".
  8. [8]
    Duzen, Harland (18 October 2018). "The SS Californian and Dundee: Scotland's Forgotten Leviathan". Encyclopedia Titanica.
  9. [9]
    Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit during WWI: La Provence sunk". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 23 December 2014.
  10. [10]
    Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit by U 35". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 16 March 2009.

Bibliography

  • Gröner, Erich; Jung, Dieter; Maass, Martin (1991). German Warships 1815–1945, U-boats and Mine Warfare Vessels. Vol. 2. Translated by Thomas, Keith; Magowan, Rachel. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-593-4.
  • Eberhard Rössler: Geschichte des deutschen U-Bootbaus – Band 1. Bernard & 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 (1966) [1932]. 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.
  • Beesly, Patrick (1982). Room 40: British Naval Intelligence 1914-1918. London: H Hamilton. ISBN 978-0-241-10864-2.
  • Halpern, Paul G. (1935). 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.
  • Bogedain, Clemens (2016). Lothar v. Arnauld de la Perière. Erfolgreichster U-Bootkommandant der Seekriegsgeschichte – Ein vergessener "Kriegsheld"?. Stuttgart: Franz Steiner Verlag. ISBN 978-3-515-11256-7.
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