German submarine U-37 (1938)

For other ships with the same name, see German submarine U-37.

U-37 at Lorient in 1940
History
Nazi Germany
Name	U-37
Ordered	29 July 1936
Builder	DeSchiMAG AG Weser, Bremen
Yard number	942
Laid down	15 March 1937
Launched	14 May 1938
Commissioned	4 August 1938
Fate	Scuttled, 8 May 1945
General characteristics
Class and type	Type IXA submarine
Displacement	1,032 t (1,016 long tons) surfaced 1,153 t (1,135 long tons) submerged
Length	76.60 m (251 ft 4 in) o/a 58.75 m (192 ft 9 in) pressure hull
Beam	6.51 m (21 ft 4 in) o/a 4.40 m (14 ft 5 in) pressure hull
Height	9.40 m (30 ft 10 in)
Draught	4.70 m (15 ft 5 in)
Installed power	4,400 PS (3,200 kW; 4,300 bhp) (diesels) 1,000 PS (740 kW; 990 shp) (electric)
Propulsion	2 shafts 2 × diesel engines 2 × electric motors
Speed	18.2 knots (33.7 km/h; 20.9 mph) surfaced 7.7 knots (14.3 km/h; 8.9 mph) submerged
Range	10,500 nmi (19,400 km; 12,100 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) surfaced 65–78 nmi (120–144 km; 75–90 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph) submerged
Test depth	230 m (750 ft)
Complement	4 officers, 44 enlisted
Armament	6 × torpedo tubes (4 bow, 2 stern) 22 × 53.3 cm (21 in) torpedoes 1 × 10.5 cm (4.1 in) SK C/32 deck gun (180 rounds) 1 × 3.7 cm (1.5 in) SK C/30 AA gun 1 × twin 2 cm FlaK 30 AA guns
Service record
Part of:	6th U-boat Flotilla 1 April 1938 – 31 December 1939 2nd U-boat Flotilla 1 January 1940 – 30 April 1941 26th U-boat Flotilla 1 May 1941 – 31 March 1942 22nd U-boat Flotilla 1 April 1942 – 30 June 1944 4th U-boat Flotilla 1 July 1944 – 5 May 1945
Identification codes:	M 21 204
Commanders:	Kptlt. Heinrich Schuch 4 August 1938 – 24 September 1939 K.Kapt. Werner Hartmann 25 September 1939 – 6 May 1940 Kptlt. Victor Oehrn 6 May – 26 October 1940 Kptlt. Asmus Nicolai Clausen 26 October 1940 – 2 May 1941 Kptlt. Ulrich Folkers 3 May – 15 November 1941 Oblt.z.S. Gustav-Adolf Janssen 16 November 1941 – 30 June 1942 Oblt.z.S. Albert Lauzemis 1 July 1942 – 3 January 1943 Oblt.z.S. Hinrich Kelling 4 January – 19 November 1943 Oblt.z.S. Peter Gerlach 20 November 1943 – 8 January 1944 Oblt.z.S. Wolfgang Seiler 9 January – 21 December 1944 Kptlt. Eberhard von Wenden 22 December 1944 – 5 May 1945
Operations:	11 patrols: 1st patrol: 19 August – 15 September 1939 2nd patrol: 5 October – 8 November 1939 3rd patrol: 28 January – 27 February 1940 4th patrol: 30 March – 18 April 1940 5th patrol: 15 May – 9 June 1940 6th patrol: 1 – 12 August 1940 7th patrol: 17 – 30 August 1940 8th patrol: 24 September – 22 October 1940 9th patrol: 28 November 1940 – 7 January 1941 10th patrol: 30 January – 18 February 1941 11th patrol: 27 February – 22 March 1941
Victories:	53 merchant ships sunk (200,063 GRT) 2 warships sunk (2,404 tons) 1 merchant ship damaged (9,494 GRT)

German submarine U-37 was a Type IXA U-boat of the German Navy (Kriegsmarine) during World War II. The submarine was laid down on 15 March 1937 at the DeSchiMAG AG Weser yard in Bremen, launched on 14 May 1938, and commissioned on 4 August 1938 under the command of Kapitänleutnant Heinrich Schuch as part of the 6th U-boat Flotilla.

Between August 1939 and March 1941, U-37 conducted eleven combat patrols, sinking 53 merchant ships, for a total of 200,063 gross register tons (GRT); and two warships, the British Hastings-class sloop HMS Penzance, and the French submarine Sfax (Q182). U-37 was then withdrawn from front-line service and assigned to training units until the end of the war. On 8 May 1945 the U-boat was scuttled in Sonderburg Bay, off Flensburg. U-37 was the sixth most successful U-boat in World War II.

Design

As one of the eight original Type IX submarines, later designated IXA, U-37 had a displacement of 1,032 tonnes (1,016 long tons) when at the surface and 1,153 tonnes (1,135 long tons) while submerged. The U-boat had a total length of 76.50 m (251 ft), a pressure hull length of 58.75 m (192 ft 9 in), a beam of 6.51 m (21 ft 4 in), a height of 9.40 m (30 ft 10 in), and a draught of 4.70 m (15 ft 5 in). The submarine was powered by two MAN M 9 V 40/46 supercharged four-stroke, nine-cylinder diesel engines producing a total of 4,400 metric horsepower (3,240 kW; 4,340 shp) for use while surfaced, two Siemens-Schuckert 2 GU 345/34 double-acting electric motors producing a total of 1,000 metric horsepower (740 kW; 990 shp) for use while submerged. She had two shafts and two 1.92 m (6 ft) propellers. The boat was capable of operating at depths of up to 230 metres (750 ft).

The submarine had a maximum surface speed of 18.2 knots (33.7 km/h; 20.9 mph) and a maximum submerged speed of 7.7 knots (14.3 km/h; 8.9 mph). When submerged, the boat could operate for 65–78 nautical miles (120–144 km; 75–90 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph); when surfaced, she could travel 10,500 nautical miles (19,400 km; 12,100 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph). U-37 was fitted with six 53.3 cm (21 in) torpedo tubes (four fitted at the bow and two at the stern), 22 torpedoes, one 10.5 cm (4.13 in) SK C/32 naval gun, 180 rounds, and a 3.7 cm (1.5 in) as well as a 2 cm (0.79 in) C/30 anti-aircraft gun. The boat had a complement of forty-eight.

Service history

First patrol

U-37 left Wilhelmshaven, with Kapitänleutnant Heinrich Schuch in command, on 19 August 1939. The boat operated for nearly four weeks in the North Atlantic, returning to port on 15 September 1939.

Second patrol

U-37 left Wilhelmshaven on 5 October 1939 to conduct operations in the North Atlantic now under the command of Korvettenkapitän Werner Hartmann. During this patrol she sank eight ships: four British, two Greek, one French and one Swedish, including the British steam freighter Yorkshire which was traveling with the Allied convoy HG-3, sailing from Gibraltar to Liverpool, England. Hartmann returned his boat to port on 8 November after nearly five weeks at sea.

Third patrol

On 1 January 1940 U-37 was reassigned to the 2nd U-boat Flotilla based at Wilhelmshaven. On 28 January 1940 the U-boat departed for the North Atlantic, with Werner Hartmann in command. As on his previous patrol, Hartmann sank eight ships, this time three British, two Norwegian, one Danish, one French and one Greek. Of these ships, two were in convoy at the time. U-37 returned to Wilhelmshaven on 27 February.

The crew of U-37 departing the submarine after reaching Wilhelmshaven on 18 April 1940

Fourth patrol

U-37 docking at Wilhelmshaven on 18 April 1940

U-37 departed Wilhelmshaven on 30 March for Werner Hartmann's third consecutive patrol, this time around Norway. Again, Hartmann proved successful, sinking three ships; the Norwegian Tosca, the Swedish Sveaborg and the British Stancliffe. After patrolling for over two weeks, the U-boat returned to Wilhelmshaven on 18 April.

Fifth patrol

Under a new captain, Kapitänleutnant Victor Oehrn, U-37 departed from Wilhelmshaven on 15 May for a patrol around Portugal and Spain. U-37 had her most successful mission, hitting eleven ships, sinking ten of them. Three French ships were sunk, two Greek, two British, one Swedish, one Argentinian, one Finnish; one British ship was damaged. After three and a half weeks at sea, U-37 returned to Wilhelmshaven on 9 June.

The neutral Argentinian ship was Uruguay, sailing from Rosario to Limerick with a cargo of maize. U-37 surfaced and stopped Uruguay and examined her papers, then sank her with scuttling charges. Her crew of 28 were left in their lifeboats. Fifteen died, 13 survived.

Argentine merchant ship SS Uruguay, sunk by U-37

Sixth patrol

U-37 sailed from Wilhelmshaven on 1 August, again with Victor Oehrn in command. This week and a half long patrol in the Atlantic off the west coast of Ireland resulted in the sinking of a single British ship, Upwey Grange. U-37 returned to port on 12 August, but rather than head back to Wilhelmshaven, she made for Lorient in France, where the 2nd U-boat Flotilla was now based.

Seventh patrol

For the first time, U-37 began a patrol from a location other than Germany, in Lorient on 17 August, with Victor Oehrn in command once more. It was to focus on operations off the south-west coast of Ireland. Seven ships were sunk during this voyage; five of which were British, one Norwegian, and one Greek. Of these ships, one was from convoy OA 220, the British Brookwood, traveling from Britain to the Australia, two were from convoy SC 1, the British sloop HMS Penzance (L28) and Blarimore, sailing from Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada, to the United Kingdom. After two weeks at sea, U-37 returned to Lorient on 30 August.

Eighth patrol

On 24 September, U-37 departed Lorient on Victor Oehrn's fourth patrol, in which he would sail to the North Atlantic. During this month-long operation U-37 sank six ships, four of which were in convoy at the time of attack, all of which were British. Five of these six ships were sailing under the British flag, while the sixth was from Egypt. The British ship Corrientes was sunk as part of OB-217, sailing from Liverpool to North America. Heminge was sailing as part of OB-220, also sailing from Liverpool to North America. British General was sunk while sailing as part of convoy OA 222, sailing from Britain to North America. The fourth ship sunk was the British Stangrant, sailing as part of convoy HX 77 from Halifax to the United Kingdom. The U-boat returned to Lorient on 22 October.

Ninth patrol

After over a month in port, U-37 departed with a new captain, Oberleutnant zur See Asmus Nicolai Clausen on 28 November for operations around north-west Africa and Spain. Seven ships were sunk during this patrol; two French, two Swedish, two British and one Spanish. Of these seven ships, three were in convoy at the time of their sinking. The Swedish Gwalia and Daphne and the British Jeanne M were sailing as part of convoy OG 46 from Britain to Gibraltar. The French vessels, the oiler Rhône and the submarine Sfax belonged to Vichy France and were sunk in error. After five weeks on the high seas, U-37 returned to Lorient on 14 January 1941.

Tenth and eleventh patrols

U-37 left Lorient on 30 January 1941 to patrol off the coast of Portugal. On 8 February she spotted Convoy HG-53. The next day, U-37 sank two British ships, Courland and Estrellano. The third merchant vessel that U-37 sank on her tenth patrol was the British ship Brandenburg, on 10 February. The U-boat then returned to Lorient on 18 February after spending 20 days at sea and sinking 4,781 GRT of shipping.

Leaving Lorient for the final time on 27 February 1941, U-37's last patrol took her to the waters south of Iceland. There she sank two vessels, the Greek cargo ship Mentor on 7 March, and the Icelandic trawler Pétursey on the 12th. After spending 24 days at sea, U-37 entered the port of Kiel on 22 March.

Training boat

On 1 May 1941 U-37 was reassigned to the 26th U-boat Flotilla, based at Pillau (now Baltiysk, Russia) as a training U-boat. She was transferred to the 22nd U-boat Flotilla, based at Gotenhafen (now Gdynia, Poland) on 1 April 1942, and finally to the 4th U-boat Flotilla on 1 July 1944, where she remained until the end of the war.

She was scuttled by her crew on 8 May 1945.

Film Portrayals

The British war propaganda film 49th Parallel (1941) uses the name U-37 for the German submarine whose crew comes ashore in Canada during WW2. The craft is shown being blown up in Hudson Bay. The film was released shortly after the real U-37 was removed from active service.

In the 1943 war film Action in the North Atlantic, the U-boat in the opening scenes is titled U-37.

Summary of raiding history

Date	Name of Ship	Nationality	Tonnage	Fate
8 October 1939	Vistula	Sweden	1,018	Sunk
12 October 1939	Aris	Greece	4,810	Sunk
15 October 1939	Vermont	France	5,186	Sunk
17 October 1939	Yorkshire	United Kingdom	10,183	Sunk
24 October 1939	Ledbury	United Kingdom	3,528	Sunk
24 October 1939	Menin Ridge	United Kingdom	2,474	Sunk
24 October 1939	Tafna	United Kingdom	4,413	Sunk
30 October 1939	Thrasyvoulos	Greece	3,693	Sunk
4 February 1940	Hop	Norway	1,365	Sunk
4 February 1940	Leo Dawson	United Kingdom	4,330	Sunk
10 February 1940	Silja	Norway	1,259	Sunk
11 February 1940	Togimo	United Kingdom	290	Sunk
15 February 1940	Aase	Denmark	1,206	Sunk
17 February 1940	Pyrrhus	United Kingdom	7,418	Sunk
18 February 1940	Elin	Greece	4,917	Sunk
18 February 1940	P.L.M. 15	France	3,754	Sunk
10 April 1940	Sveaborg	Sweden	9,076	Sunk
10 April 1940	Tosca	Norway	5,128	Sunk
12 April 1940	Stancliffe	United Kingdom	4,511	Sunk
19 May 1940	Erik Frisell	Sweden	5,066	Sunk
22 May 1940	Dunster Grange	United Kingdom	9,494	Damaged
24 May 1940	Kyma	Greece	3,994	Sunk
27 May 1940	Sheaf Mead	United Kingdom	5,008	Sunk
27 May 1940	Uruguay	Argentina	3,425	Sunk
28 May 1940	Brazza	France	10,387	Sunk
28 May 1940	Julien	France	116	Sunk
28 May 1940	Maria Rosé	France	2,477	Sunk
29 May 1940	Telena	United Kingdom	7,406	Sunk
1 June 1940	Ioanna	Greece	950	Sunk
3 June 1940	Snabb	Finland	2,317	Sunk
8 August 1940	Upwey Grange	United Kingdom	9,130	Sunk
22 August 1940	Keret	Norway	1,718	Sunk
23 August 1940	Severn Leigh	United Kingdom	5,242	Sunk
24 August 1940	Brookwood	United Kingdom	5,100	Sunk
24 August 1940	HMS Penzance	Royal Navy	1,025	Sunk
25 August 1940	Blairmore	United Kingdom	4,141	Sunk
25 August 1940	Yewcrest	United Kingdom	3,774	Sunk
27 August 1940	Theodoros T	Greece	3,409	Sunk
27 September 1940	Georges Mabro	Egypt	2,555	Sunk
28 September 1940	Corrientes	United Kingdom	6,863	Sunk
30 September 1940	Heminge	United Kingdom	2,499	Sunk
30 September 1940	Samala	United Kingdom	5,390	Sunk
6 October 1940	British General	United Kingdom	6,989	Sunk
13 October 1940	Stangrant	United Kingdom	5,804	Sunk
1 December 1940	Palmella	United Kingdom	1,578	Sunk
2 December 1940	Gwalia	Sweden	1,258	Sunk
2 December 1940	Jeanne M.	United Kingdom	2,465	Sunk
4 December 1940	Daphne	Sweden	1,513	Sunk
16 December 1940	San Carlos	Spain	223	Sunk
19 December 1940	Rhône	Vichy France	2,785	Sunk
19 December 1940	Sfax (Q 182)	Vichy French Navy	1,379	Sunk
9 February 1941	Courland	United Kingdom	1,325	Sunk
9 February 1941	Estrellano	United Kingdom	1,983	Sunk
10 February 1941	Brandenburg	United Kingdom	1,473	Sunk
7 March 1941	Mentor	Greece	3,050	Sunk
12 March 1941	Petursey	Iceland	91	Sunk

Bibliography

• Busch, Rainer; Röll, Hans-Joachim (1999). German U-boat commanders of World War II : a biographical dictionary. Translated by Brooks, Geoffrey. London, Annapolis, Md: Greenhill Books, Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-186-6.
• Gröner, Erich; Jung, Dieter; Maass, Martin (1991). U-boats and Mine Warfare Vessels. German Warships 1815–1945. Vol. 2. Translated by Thomas, Keith; Magowan, Rachel. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-593-4.

External links

• Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type IXA boat U-37". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 21 March 2010.
• Hofmann, Markus. "U 37". Deutsche U-Boote 1935-1945 - u-boot-archiv.de (in German). Retrieved 7 December 2014.
• "U-boat Archive - U-boat KTB - U-37 2nd War Patrol". Retrieved 13 April 2017.
• UFA Newsreel of Werner Hartmann and U-37 in 1940 (in German)