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Type I-A German U-Boat

Actually, this is a misnomer because the first of a U-Boat type did not have the “A” after it. The Type I was merely the Type I, and only two were made because this just was not a very good submarine. The crews did not like their unpredictable handling – they would surface or dive almost on their own. U-25 and U-26 were the only two Type I German U-Boats ever made. The Type I was a twin shaft diesel-electric sea-going submarine with relatively long range and it was based on the GUR that Germany had previously built for the Turkish Navy. The Type I carried fourteen torpedoes.

Displacement: 862/983 tons
Length: 237′ 6″
Beam: 20′ 3″
Draft: 14′ 0″
Power (diesel): 2,800hp
Power (electric): 1,000hp
Speed (diesel): 18 knots
Speed (electric): 8.5 knots

Bunkers: 96 tons diesel fuel
Range (diesel): 6,700 miles @ 12 knots
Range (electric): 78 miles @ 4 knots
Crew: 32 men
Deck gun: single 4 inch
AA guns: single 20mm
Tubes (fwd): four
Tubes (aft): two

History of the German Submarine U-25

      
Under Victor Schütze  Under Heinz Beduhn

Conning tower of U-25 under Victor Schütze

U-25 in pre-war trim

This was one of only two Type I-A boats built; unpopular with their crews due to their bad handling characteristics.

TYPEBUILDERLAUNCHED
I-AAG Weser (Bremen)14 Feb 1936
COMMISSIONEDFELDPOST Nr.SUNK
  6 April 1936M10950  3 Aug 1940
SUNK BYLOCATION SUNKPOSITION SUNK
MineNorth of Terschelling54º 00’N x 05º 00’E

All Hands lost.

 

Commanders of U-25 include:

LAST NAMEFIRST NAMEFROMTOOTHER BOATSCOMMENTS
GODTEBERHARD
Michel  1 Sep1939U-8 and U-54
SchützeVictor  1 Sep 1939May 1940U-14, U-11 and U-103
von SchmidtWernerU-15, U-40 and U-116
LottWernerU-32 and U-35
von FriedeburgHans-Georg
BeduhnHeinz  6 May 1940  3 Aug 1940U-16 and U-23KIA aboard U-25
EBERHARD GODTVictor Schütze

NOTE – Sharkhunters Member’s names appear in bold capital letters followed by their Membership Number.

 

U-25 saw action during the Spanish Civil War but not much is recorded about that time.

With the outbreak of World War II, U-25 was attached to the 1st U-Bootflottille and later to the 2nd U-Bootflottille.  She operated in the North Atlantic – over October and November of 1939 she operated in the Bay of Biscay; over January and February of 1940 she patrolled off the Spanish and Portuguese coasts; then off Norway in April 1940.

U-25 took on fuel from the tanker THALIA in Cadiz, Spain then began operations west of Gibraltar in February 1940.

SHIPS SUNK BY U-25 (Schütze commanding):

DATENAMENATIONTYPEGRT
31 Oct 1939BEOULEFranceFreighter5,874 tons
17 Jan 1940POIZELLAEnglandFreighter4,751 tons
17 Jan 1940ENIDNorwayFreighter1,140 tons
18 Jan 1940PAJALA (photo below)SwedenFreighter6,873 tons
22 Jan 1940SONGANorwayFreighter2,589 tons
  3 Feb 1940ARMINISTANEnglandFreighter6,805 tons
13 Feb 1940CHASTINE MAERSKDenmarkTanker5,177 tons

On 11 April 1940, Schütze claimed he damaged two Royal Navy destroyers – no confirmation.

SHIPS SUNK BY U-25 (Beduhn commanding):

DATENAMENATIONTYPEGRT
13 June 1940SCOTSTOUN
ANTONIS
EnglandArmed merchant
cruiser
17,046 tons
19 June 1940unknown  *EnglandTanker8,000 tons

*  U-25 fired at this tanker, surfaced and watched the torpedo hit and detonate. The ship following the tanker rammed U-25 which took Beduhn’s attention away from the tanker but he saw the tanker stopped dead in the water. When he was able to look again for this target nearly an hour later it was gone, so he assumed a sinking. No confirmation.

On 21 June 1940, U-25 damaged the 10,000 ton French tanker ARAGAS.

The 16 October 1939 issue of LIFE Magazine featured a cover photo of U-25 taken through an open porthole of a ship that U-25 stopped.  With the U-Boat alongside, the ship’s papers were checked and after finding no contraband, she was allowed to proceed unharmed.

Men lost on U-25

LAST NAMEFIRST NAMERANKLAST NAMEFIRST NAMERANK
AhlersGünterStrm MtAlbrechtEdmundMtr Gfr
ArendtAlfredMtr GfrBartelJohannesKtr Gfr
BauerHeinrichFunk Ob GfrBeduhnHeinzKorvettenkapitän
BehlauFritzMasch MtBieligKarlMtr Gfr
BraunHeinzFunk GfrBrodowolfEduardMasch Gfr
DamaschkeRudiMtr GfrDeckingerHelmutMasch Ob Gfr
DienerOttoMasch Ob GfrEiseneckerJakobMasch Mt
ElmenhorstHinrichOblt zSFeddeFranzObersteuermann
FeutnerMichaelMasch MtFriedrichGeorgMtr Gfr
FritscheHeinrichKplt INGGerberAdamMasch Gfr
GruberErnstMtr Ob GfrJürgensErnstOb Masch
KesslerTheodorFunk maatKöhlerWalterMasch Gfr
KohlenbergAlfredMasch Ob GfrKramerWalterMasch Ob Mt
LützlerWilhelmBootsmannsmaatMangermannsAlfredMech Gfr
MetzenauerAdolfMasch GfrMeyerHans GeorgMtr Gfr
MüllerWolfgangBootsmannsmaatNollJohannMech Gfr
NorwigWernerMech MtNothhelferMathiasOber Btsmn
PinkwartAlbertOber MaschRedlichWalterMasch Gfr
RöhleckeKurtOber Masch MtSchäfferValentinMasch HGfr
SchmidMaximillianMasch MtSchulzWernerMtr Gfr
SeidelKurtMtr GfrSeipWilhelmMasch Ob Gfr
SpätlerWernerLt zSSpiwoksWilhelmFunk Maat
SplettstößerHansOber Masch MtStaffelMatthiasMasch Mt
ThiedeWernerMech GfrWasmuthHeinrichBootsmann
WeberHelmutMasch GfrWiebuschFriederichMasch Gfr
History of the German Submarine U-26

          
U-26 Conning Tower Emblems  Under Ewerth


The caption on the back of this photo is hand written:
“To my friend Harry Cooper; Sharkhunters visit Kiel 18.09.1992”
It is signed by ERNST GÖTHLING (1225-1989)

This was one of only two Type I-A boats built; unpopular with their crews due to their bad handling characteristics.

TYPEBUILDERLAUNCHED
I-AAG Weser (Bremen)14 Mar 1936
COMMISSIONEDFELDPOST Nr.SUNK
11 May 1936M07314  3 July 1940
SUNK BYLOCATION SUNKPOSITION SUNK
HMS GLADIOLUS and A/C from 10 Squadron (RAF)SW of Bishop’s Rocks48º 03’N x 11º 30’E

7 Men lost  (list below)

 

Commanders of U-26 include:

LAST NAMEFIRST NAMEFROMTOOTHER BOATSCOMMENTS
HartmannWerner11 May 1936Nov 1938U-37 and U-198
SchomburgOskarNov 1938Aug 1939
EwerthKlausAug 1939Jan 1940U-1, U-35, U-36 and U-850KIA aboard U-850
ScheringerHeinz  3 Jan 194026 Apr 1940U-10 and U-13
FischerHeinz26 Apr 1940  5 Jun 1940
ScheringerHeinz  5 Jun 1940  3 July 1940POW aboard U-26

ERNST GÖTHLING
(1225-1989)
 during
U-Boat training  He later rose to the rank of Kapitänleutnant in the Bundsmarine

Werner HartmannKlaus EwerthMaschinengefreiter

NOTE – Sharkhunters Member’s names appear in bold capital letters followed by their Membership Number.


U-26
 was attached to the 2nd U-Bootflottille and operated in the English Channel during September 1939 and laid mines off Portland, England over 8-10 September 1939.  She successfully broke through the Straits of Gibraltar on 8 November 1939 then she broke out of the Mediterranean through Gibraltar on 18 November 1939.  She was to lay mines at Gibraltar but that plan was aborted.  U-26 then patrolled one time in the North Atlantic and had two patrols off the Norwegian coast and one more in the North Atlantic where she was sunk.

 

SHIPS SUNK BY U-26 (Ewerth commanding)

DATENAMENATIONTYPEGRT
15 Sep 1939ALEX von OPSTAL  * BelgiumFreighter5,965 tons
  7 Oct 1939BINNENDIJK  * NetherlandsFreighter6,873 tons
?? Nov 1939unknown   ** unknownunknownunknown
22 Nov 1939ELENA RGreeceFreighter4,576 tons
20 Sep 1939HMS KITTIWAKE  * EnglandCorvette   530 tons
(damaged, not sunk)

*  Ran onto mines in the field laid by U-26 on 8 September 1939.
** It is recorded in logbooks at BdU (U-Boat HQ) that U-26 sank a ship as she was transiting Gibraltar but it does not appear accurate.

Wreck of ELENA RHMS KITTIWAKE

 

SHIPS SUNK BY U-26 (Scheringer commanding):

DATENAMENATIONTYPEGRT
12 Feb 1940NIDARHOLM NorwayFreighter3,482 tons
14 Feb 1940LANGLEEFORD EnglandFreighter4,622 tons
15 Feb 1940STEINSTAD NorwayFreighter2,476 Tons
21 Apr 1940CEDARBANK EnglandFreighter5,159 Tons
30 Jun 1940FANGOULA
GOULANDRIS
GreeceFreighter6,701 Tons

U-26 fired at an unknown ship of unknown type of unknown tonnage and claimed damage.  No confirmation.

On 3 Feb 1940, U-26 damaged the 4,871 ton British freighter ZARIAN.

Men lost on U-26

LAST NAMEFIRST NAMERANK
AckermannHermannMasch Ob Gfr
BöhmeWilhelmMasch Ob Gfr
BoppRudolfMtr Gfr
HeymannHeinzMtr Gfr
MarschallConradMech Gfr
NordhausenGünterMtr Ob Gfr
RedieckKurtMtr Ob Gfr

Acknowledgements

Deepest thanks to our friends at the U-Bootskameradschaft Kiel for allowing us to bring their sacred book containing the names of all 28,863 U-Bootfahrer who were lost in action during World War II here to the USA where we carefully copied all the names of the fallen and list them here on our site.  Ours is the only website in the world that lists all these names.

Many thanks to our good friend and Sharkhunters Member since 1987 GEORG HÖGEL (240-LIFE-1987)for all the conning tower emblems used in our monthly KTB Magazine and also here on the pages of our website. GEORG was Funkmaat (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.

GEORG HÖGEL