SM U-35

SM "U-35" was a German Type U 31 U-boat which operated in the Mediterranean Sea during World War I. It ended up being the most successful u-boat participating in the war sinking 224 ships sunk for a total of 539.741 tons.

Its longest serving captain was Lothar von Arnauld de la Perière, who is famous for allowing the crews of enemy merchant ships to board their lifeboats and giving them directions to the nearest port before sinking their ships. Under his command, "U-35" sank 195 ships.

Career

U-35 was developed by engineer Hans Techel and his drafts also formed the basis for the dual-covered, high-sea U-boats numbered U-51 through U-56, U-63 through SU-65, and U-81 through U-86. "U-35"'s keel was laid on December 20 1912 at the Friedrich Krupp Germaniawerft shipyard in Kiel. Its delivery date was supposed to be March 1 1914, but it was delayed due to development problems with its diesel engine. "U-35" officially entered service on November 3, 1914, under the command of Kapitänleutnant Waldemar Kophamel. The lead engineer was Hans Fechter. It sailed with the II Flottille, stationed in Helgoland.

"U-35" completed its first two deployments in "clean up" actions in the North Sea. In its following three actions, "U-35" sunk 17 merchant ships, for a total of GRT|25,716|metric|first=yes. Later, it was paired with U-34 after a battle near Cattaro, Montenegro, and sunk three merchant ships for a total of GRT|4,067|metric. "U-35" made two more voyages and destroyed 15 more merchant ships totaling GRT|59,409|metric.

On November 18 1915, Kptlt. de la Perière took command of "U-35". He led 15 missions, primarily in the Mediterranean, and sunk 189 merchant ships for a total of GRT|446,708|metric. Additionally, "U-35" sank the British gunboat HMS Primula on February 29 1916 and the French gunboat Rigel on October 2 1916.

"U-35"'s fourteenth patrol (July 26 to August 20 1916) under de la Perière stands as the most successful submarine patrol of all time. During that period, 54 merchant ships totaling GRT|90,350|metric were sunk.

Kptlt. Ernst von Voigt took command of "U-35" on March 17 1918. He undertook two operations, an enemy engagement and a redeployment cruise, between September 7 and October 9 1918, but both were promptly broken off because of engine damage. On October 14 1918, Kptlt. Heino von Heimburg took command and "U-35" was transferred to Kiel.

Fate

After World War I ended, "U-35" was transferred to England and docked in Blyth from 1919 to 1920 and then broken up.

References

*Eberhard Rössler: "Geschichte des deutschen U-Bootbaus - Band 1". Bernhard & Graefe Verlag 1996, ISBN 3-86047-153-8
*Bodo Herzog: "Deutsche U-Boote 1906-1966". Manfred Pawlak Verlags GmbH, Herrschingen 1990, ISBN 3-88199-687-7

External links

* [http://www.uboat.net/wwi/boats/index.html?boat=35 uboat.net webpage for "U-35"]