U-19

Type

IIB

 
Ordered2 Feb 1935
Laid down 20 Jul 1935 F. Krupp Germaniawerft AG, Kiel (werk 549)
Launched21 Dec 1935
Commissioned16 Jan 1936Kptlt. Viktor Schütze (Oak Leaves)
Commanders
16 Jan 1936 - 30 Sep 1937  Kptlt. Viktor Schütze (Knights Cross)
30 Sep 1937 - 1 Nov 1939   Hans Meckel
2 Nov 1939 - 2 Jan 1940   Wilhelm Müller-Arnecke
3 Jan 1940 - 30 Apr 1940  Kptlt. Joachim Schepke (Knights Cross)
1 May 1940 - 19 Jun 1940   Wilfried Prellberg
20 Jun 1940 - 20 Oct 1940   Peter Lohmeyer
21 Oct 1940 - 8 Nov 1940  Oblt. Wolfgang Kaufmann
8 Nov 1940 - 31 May 1941   Rudolf Schendel
1 Jun 1941 - Feb, 1942  Oblt. Gerhard Litterscheid
16 Dec 1941 - Feb, 1942   Hans-Ludwig Gaude
Feb, 1942 - 30 Apr 1942   Hans-Ludwig Gaude
1 Oct 1942 - 2 Dec 1943  Kptlt. Hans-Ludwig Gaude
3 Dec 1943 - 6 Sep 1944  Oblt. Willy Ohlenburg
7 Sep 1944 - 11 Sep 1944  Oblt. Hubert Verpoorten
Career20 patrols 1 Jan 1936 - 1 Aug 1939  1. Flottille (front boat)
1 Sep 1939 - 31 Dec 1939  1. Flottille (front boat)
1 Jan 1940 - 30 Apr 1940  1. Flottille (front boat)
1 May 1940 - 30 Jun 1940  1. U-Ausbildungsflottille (training)
1 Jul 1940 - 18 Dec 1940  24. Flottille (training)
19 Dec 1940 - 1 May 1942  22. Flottille (school boat)
1 Oct 1942 - 11 Sep 1944  30. Flottille (front boat)
Successes14 ships sunk for a total of 35,430 GRT
1 warship sunk for a total of 441 tons
Fate

Scuttled at 2230hrs on 11 Sept, 1944 off the coast of Turkey, Black Sea in position 41.34N, 31.50E.

See the 15 ships hit by U-19 - View the 20 war patrols

Attacks on this boat

21 Feb 1940
A British escort attacked U-19 with depth charges in the North Sea. The boat was damaged slightly.

13 Feb 1943
At 15.45 hours, the boat was attacked by four unknown aircraft with 2 bombs off Gelendzhik and suffered light damages. (Sources: Ritschel)

2 recorded attacks on this boat.

General notes on this boat

7 Feb 2008.

7 Feb 2008
The 3 boats, U-19, U-20 and U-23, scuttled in September 1944 off the Turkish coast have been located. They are reported to be in excellent condition.

Men lost from U-boats

Unlike many other U-boats, which during their service lost men due to accidents and various other causes, U-19 did not suffer any casualties (we know of) until the time of her loss.



U-Boat Operations of the Second World War - Vol 2
Wynn, Kenneth


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Books dealing with this subject include:

German U-Boat Losses During World War II. Niestle, Axel, 1998.
Hitler's U-boat War. Blair, Clay, 1996.
Hitler's U-boat War, Vol II. Blair, Clay, 1998.
Okrety plyna po ladzie. Piwowoñski, Jan, 1959.
U-Boat Operations of the Second World War - Vol 1. Wynn, Kenneth, 1998.
U-Boat Operations of the Second World War - Vol 2. Wynn, Kenneth, 1998.


There was another U-19 in World War One
That boat was launched from its shipyard on 10 Oct 1912 and commissioned into the Imperial Navy on 6 Jul 1913. The Naval war in WWI was brought to an end with the Armistice signed on 11 Nov, 1918. Read about the U 19 during WWI.