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Much of this information, the data, the photos etc. comes directly from the veterans, the veterans' organizations and is the most accurate available anywhere..............much of this information is not even known elsewhere.
 

TYPE BUILDER LAUNCHED
II-B Deutsches Werft (Kiel) 13 July 1936
     
COMMISSIONED FELDPOST Nr. SUNK
  3 Aug 1936 M08136  
     
SUNK BY LOCATION SUNK POSITION SUNK
scrapped, not sunk    

             No men lost

Commanders of U-21 include:

LAST NAME FIRST NAME RANK FROM TO OTHER BOATS COMMENTS
Frauenheim Fritz FK   6 Jan 1940 U-101  
Stiebler Wolf-Harro KK     U-8, U-17, U-61 and U-461  
Herbschleb Karl-Heinz Kplt Training   U-85 and U-354  
Lohse Bernhard KK Training   U-585 KIA aboard U-585
Dohler Hans Oblt zS Training   U-606 KIA aboard U-606
Geisler H-F ObltzS Training   U-152, U-3006 and U-3049  
Kügelberg   Oblt zS Training      
Heidtmann Hans Kplt Training   U-2, U-14 and U-559  
Schwartzkopf W. Oblt zS Training   U-2 and U-704  
Fritz Frauenheim Wolf-Harro Stiebler Karl-Heinz Herbschleb

U-21 had operations in the Firth of Forth in September 1939.  She laid mines off the Firth of Forth over the night of 4 and 5 November 1939.  She had operations off Northeastern Scotland in November 1939 and had two Feindfahrten (war patrols) in the North Sea.  There was a diplomatic incident of some kind when U-21 was damaged in a marine accident in late March 1940 off the Southwestern coast of Norway while deployed in support of the imminent German invasion of Norway.  The entire crew of U-21 was interned by the Norwegians until the attacking German forces released them.

U-21 was returned to Germany for overhaul in mid-1940, then attached to the 21st U-Bootflottille based at Pillau t be used as a schulboot (school boat).  U-21 was decommissioned at Neustadt on 5 August 1944 then broken up for scrap in Danzig in February 1945.

                  SHIPS SUNK BY U-21 (Frauenheim commanding)

DATE NAME NATION TYPE GRT
   1 Dec 1939 ARCTURUS Norway Freighter 1,277 tons
21 Dec 1939 MARS Sweden Freighter 1,475 tons
21 Dec 1939 CARL HENCKEL Sweden Freighter 1,352 tons
21 Dec 1939 HMS BAYONET  * England net tender     605 tons
24 Feb 1940 ROYAL ARCHER  * England Freighter 2,266 tons

   * HMS BAYONET and ROYAL ARCHER ran onto mines laid by U-21 on 4 November 1939.

                  SHIPS SUNK BY U-21 (Steibler commanding)

DATE NAME NATION TYPE GRT
31 Jan 1940 VIDAR Denmark Freighter 1,353 tons
  4 Feb 1940 VID Yugoslavia Freighter 3,547 tons

                  SHIPS DAMAGED BY U-21 (Fraueheim commanding)

DATE NAME NATION TYPE GRT
22 Sep 1939 unknown (no confirmation) England Destroyer unknown
21 Nov 1939 HMS BELFAST England Cruiser 11,500 tons
HMS BELFAST (seen here as museum ship in London today) ran onto a mine laid by U-21 on 4 November 1939.


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Many thanks to our friend and Sharkhunters Member since 1987 GEORG HÖGEL for all the conning tower emblems used in our monthly KTB Magazine and also here on the pages of our website.  GEORG was radioman aboard U-30, the first boat into combat, the first to sink a ship (the liner ATHENIA) and the first into an occupied French port.  When that Skipper (Lemp) took command of U-110, GEORG was one of the former crew to transfer to the new boat under Lemp.  After the war, he was Professor of Art at a major German university.