SM U-38, a Type U 31 U-boat |
U 31 was a class of U-boats built during World War I by the Kaiserliche Marine.
Between 1912 and 1915 eleven were built on Germaniawerft in Kiel, amongst these top-three-scoring U-35 with the famous Lothar von Arnauld de la Perière as commander, U-39 with Walter Forstmann and U-38 with Max Valentiner. Together these U-boats sunk more than 1,244,204 gross register tons (GRT).
Later Admiral and head of the Abwehr from 1935 to 1944 Wilhelm Canaris also served as commander on two different U 31 U-boats. He first took over from Max Valentiner on U-38 and later on U-34.
List of Type U 31 submarines
There were eleven Type U 31 submarines commissioned into the Kaiserliche Marine.
Boat | Armament | Fate |
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U-31 | no deck gun | lost in January 1915 in the North Sea - Discovered 2012 off the East Anglia Coast and identified September 2015 |
U-32 | two 8.8 cm guns, from 1916/17 one 10.5 cm gun | sunk 5 May 1918 north-west of Malta |
U-33 | one 8.8 cm gun, from 1916/17 one 10.5 cm gun | surrendered 1919, scrapped |
U-34 | one 8.8 cm gun, from 1916/17 one 10.5 cm gun | sunk October 1918 in the Mediterranean Sea |
U-35 | one 7.5 cm gun (1914), one 10.5 cm gun (1916) | surrendered 1918, scrapped |
U-36 | two 8.8 cm guns, from 1916/17 one 10.5 cm gun | sunk 24 July 1915 west of Rona, Hebrides |
U-37 | two 8.8 cm guns, from 1916/17 one 10.5 cm gun | sunk by mine in April 1915 in the English Channel |
U-38 | one 8.8 cm gun, from 1916/17 one 10.5 cm gun | surrendered 1919, scrapped |
U-39 | one 8.8 cm gun, from 1916/17 one 10.5 cm gun, from 1916/17 one 10.5 cm gun | sunk 18 May 1918 off El Ferrol |
U-40 | one 8.8 cm gun | sunk 23 June 1915 in the North Sea |
U-41 | one 8.8 cm gun | sunk 24 September 1915 in the English Channel |
Class overview | |
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Builders: | Germaniawerft, Kiel |
Operators: | Kaiserliche Marine |
Preceded by: | Type U 27 |
Succeeded by: | Type U 43 |
In commission: | 3 September 1914 |
Completed: | 11 |
Lost: | 7 |
General characteristics | |
Displacement: |
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Beam: |
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Draught: | 3.56 m (11 ft 8 in) |
Installed power: |
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Propulsion: |
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Speed: |
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Range: |
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Test depth: | 50 m (164 ft 1 in) |
Boats & landing craft carried: |
1 dinghy |
Complement: | 4 officers, 31 enlisted |
Armament: |
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sources: wikipedia
German Type U 31 submarine
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