German submarine ''U-29'' was a Type VIIA

U-boat U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare ro ...

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

's '' Kriegsmarine'' during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. She was

laid down Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship. Keel laying is one o ...

on 2 January 1936, launched on 29 August and commissioned on 10 November. During her career ''U-29'' was involved in seven war patrols under the command of ''

Kapitänleutnant ''Kapitänleutnant'', short: KptLt/in lists: KL, ( en, captain lieutenant) is an officer grade of the captains' military hierarchy group () of the German Bundeswehr. The rank is rated OF-2 in NATO, and equivalent to Hauptmann in the Heer an ...

'' Otto Schuhart.

Design

As one of the first ten German Type VII submarines later designated as Type VIIA submarines, ''U-29'' had a displacement of when at the surface and while submerged. She had a total length of , a

pressure hull A submarine hull has two major components, the ''light hull'' and the ''pressure hull''. The light hull (''casing'' in British usage) of a submarine is the outer non-watertight hull which provides a hydrodynamically efficient shape. The pressure ...

length of , a beam of , a height of , and a draught of . The submarine was powered by two

MAN A man is an adult male human. Prior to adulthood, a male human is referred to as a boy (a male child or adolescent). Like most other male mammals, a man's genome usually inherits an X chromosome from the mother and a Y chromo ...

M 6 V 40/46 four-stroke, six-cylinder

diesel engine The diesel engine, named after Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of the fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to mechanical compression; thus, the diesel engine is a so-ca ...

s producing a total of for use while surfaced, two BBC GG UB 720/8 double-acting electric motors producing a total of for use while submerged. She had two shafts and two propellers. The boat was capable of operating at depths of up to . The submarine had a maximum surface speed of and a maximum submerged speed of . When submerged, the boat could operate for at ; when surfaced, she could travel at . ''U-29'' was fitted with five

torpedo tube A torpedo tube is a cylindrical device for launching torpedoes. There are two main types of torpedo tube: underwater tubes fitted to submarines and some surface ships, and deck-mounted units (also referred to as torpedo launchers) installed aboa ...

s (four fitted at the bow and one at the stern), eleven

torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, s ...

es, one SK C/35 naval gun, 220 rounds, and an anti-aircraft gun. The boat had a

complement A complement is something that completes something else. Complement may refer specifically to: The arts * Complement (music), an interval that, when added to another, spans an octave ** Aggregate complementation, the separation of pitch-clas ...

of between forty-four and sixty.

Service history

''U-29'' was responsible for sinking the aircraft carrier , on 17 September 1939, the first British warship sunk in the war by enemy action. The commander of the German submarine force, Commodore Karl Dönitz, regarded the sinking of ''Courageous'' as "a wonderful success" and Grand Admiral

Erich Raeder Erich Johann Albert Raeder (24 April 1876 – 6 November 1960) was a German admiral who played a major role in the naval history of World War II. Raeder attained the highest possible naval rank, that of grand admiral, in 1939, becoming the f ...

, commander of the '' Kriegsmarine'' (German navy), directed that Schuhart be awarded the

Iron Cross First Class The Iron Cross (german: link=no, Eisernes Kreuz, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, and later in the German Empire (1871–1918) and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). King Frederick William III of Prussia est ...

and that all other members of the U-29 crew receive the Iron Cross Second Class. During ''U-29''s career, she sank twelve ships, totaling and one warship of 22,500 tons. At the beginning of 1941, ''U-29'' was removed from front line duty and reassigned to the 24th U-boat Flotilla as a training submarine. The U-boat was used in this role until 17 April 1944 when she was decommissioned and used for instruction.

Fate

''U-29'' was scuttled in Kupfermühlen Bay, (east of Flensburg), on 5 May 1945 as part of '' Operation Regenbogen''. The wreck was still in situ as of 1993.

Wolfpacks

''U-29'' took part in one wolfpack, namely: * Rösing (12 – 15 June 1940)

Emblem

''U-29''s emblem was an oak leaf, with an anchor, and a knife or dagger. She also shared this emblem with , , , and .

Summary of raiding history

References

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

* * *

External links

* *
The sinking of HMS ''Courageous''
{{DEFAULTSORT:U0029 German Type VIIA submarines U-boats commissioned in 1936 Operation Regenbogen (U-boat) World War II submarines of Germany 1936 ships Ships built in Bremen (state) Military units and formations of Nazi Germany in the Spanish Civil War