German submarine UA (1939)

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German submarine UA was one of fourteen foreign U-boats in the German Kriegsmarine during the Second World War.

UA gun and conning tower detail
History
Nazi Germany
NameUA (ex-Batiray)
Ordered1936
BuilderGermaniawerft, Kiel
Laid down10 February 1937[1]
Launched28 August 1938
Commissioned20 September 1939[1]
FateScuttled on 3 May 1945
General characteristics
Displacement
Length86.65 m (284 ft 3 in)
Beam6.80 m (22 ft 4 in)
Draught4.12 m (13 ft 6 in)
Propulsion
Speed
  • 18 kn (33 km/h; 21 mph) surfaced
  • 8.4 kn (15.6 km/h; 9.7 mph) submerged
Range
  • 13,000 nmi (24,000 km; 15,000 mi) at 10 kn (19 km/h; 12 mph) surfaced
  • 75 nmi (139 km; 86 mi) at 4 kn (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph) submerged
Test depth100 m (330 ft)
Complement4 officers, 41 men
Armament
Service record[1]
Part of:
Identification codes: M 00 073
Commanders:
  • Kptlt. Hans Cohausz[2]
  • 20 September 1939 – 31 October 1940
  • K.Kapt. Hans Eckermann[3]
  • 1 November 1940 – 14 February 1942
  • K.Kapt. Hans Cohausz[2]
  • 15 February – 14 May 1942
  • Ebe Schnoor[4]
  • 15 May – 9 August 1942
  • Kptlt. / K.Kapt. Friedrich Schäfer[5]
  • 10 August 1942 – 22 March 1943
  • Kptlt. / K.Kapt. Georg Peters[6]
  • 23 March 1943 – 14 April 1944
  • Oblt.z.S. Ulrich-Philipp Graf von und zu Arco-Zinneberg[7]
  • 18 April 1944 – 15 Mar 1945
Operations: 9 patrols
Victories:
  • 7 merchant ships sunk
    (32,014 GRT)
  • 1 auxiliary warship sunk
    (13,950 GRT)

Class

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Built at Kiel as one of four submarines of the Ay class for Turkey, Batiray as she was to have been named, was not handed over to the Turkish Navy, being seized by Germany and commissioned into the Kriegsmarine in 1939. Two sister ships, Saldiray and Atılay, had been delivered in June 1939. One boat, Yıldıray, was built slowly in a Turkish shipyard.[1] The design was a modification of the Type IX to fit Turkish requirements. Two of the Turkish U-boats served in the Turkish Navy until 1957, but Atilay was lost in a training exercise off Çanakkale.

Service

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UA was commissioned on 20 September 1939 under the command of Kapitänleutnant Hans Cohausz. She had been built as a minelayer by the Turks but the Germans used her like a Type IX U-boat.[1] UA was attacked on 8 March 1941 by the destroyer HMS Wolverine but survived. During her service, she sank eight Allied ships, including the British 13,950 GRT armed merchant cruiser HMS Andania. Only ten ships in total were destroyed by the Foreign U-boats, UA destroying eight of those.[1] She was used on training duties from July 1942 and carried out no more operational patrols. As the war was drawing to a close she was scuttled on 3 May 1945 at Kiel.[8]

Summary of raiding history

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Date Ship Name Nationality Tonnage
(GRT)
Fate[2][3]
16 June 1940 HMS Andania   Royal Navy 13,950 Sunk
26 June 1940 Crux   Norway 3,828 Sunk
14 July 1940 Sarita   Norway 5,824 Sunk
3 August 1940 Rad   Kingdom of Yugoslavia 4,201 Sunk
15 August 1940 Aspasia   Greece 4,211 Sunk
19 August 1940 Kelet   Kingdom of Hungary 4,295 Sunk
20 August 1940 Tuira   Panama 4,397 Sunk
8 March 1941 Dunaff Head   United Kingdom 5,258 Sunk

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f Helgason, Guðmundur. "Foreign U-boats UA". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 30 April 2015.
  2. ^ a b c Helgason, Guðmundur. "Hans Cohausz". Uboat.net. Retrieved 30 April 2016.
  3. ^ a b Helgason, Guðmundur. "Hans Eckermann". Uboat.net. Retrieved 30 April 2016.
  4. ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ebe Schnoor". Uboat.net. Retrieved 30 April 2016.
  5. ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Friedrich Schäfer". Uboat.net. Retrieved 30 April 2016.
  6. ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Georg Peters". Uboat.net. Retrieved 30 April 2016.
  7. ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ulrich-Philipp Graf von und zu Arco-Zinneberg". Uboat.net. Retrieved 30 April 2016.
  8. ^ Wynn, Kenneth (1998). U-boat operations of the second world war. Vol. 2 Career histories, U511 - UIT25. London: Chatham. p. 278. ISBN 1861760698.

Bibliography

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  • 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). 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.
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