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16 May, 2008
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Type	IIB
Ordered	2 Feb, 1935
Laid down	1 Aug, 1935	Germaniawerft, Kiel (werk 550)
Launched	14 Jan, 1936
Commissioned	1 Feb, 1936	Kptlt. Hans Eckermann
Commanders	1 Feb, 1936 - 30 Sep, 1937   Hans Eckermann 1 Oct, 1937 - 17 Jan, 1940   Kptlt. Karl-Heinz Moehle (Knights Cross) 17 Jan, 1940 - 15 Apr, 1940   Kptlt. Harro von Klot-Heydenfeldt 2 Apr, 1940 - 15 Apr, 1940   Heinrich Driver 16 Apr, 1940 - 7 Jun, 1940   Hans-Jürgen Zetzsche 8 Jun, 1940 - 5 Jan, 1941   Ottokar Arnold Paulshen 6 Jan, 1941 - 19 May, 1941   Kptlt. Herbert Schauenburg 20 May, 1941 - 4 Dec, 1941   Wolfgang Sträter 5 Dec, 1941 - 27 Mar, 1942   Kurt Nölke 7 May, 1942 - 26 Sep, 1942   Clemens Schöler 27 May, 1943 - 31 Oct, 1943   Kptlt. Clemens Schöler 1 Nov, 1943 - 10 Sep, 1944   Oblt. Karl Grafen
Career	17 patrols	1 Feb, 1936 - 1 Aug, 1939  3. Flottille (front boat) 1 Sep, 1939 - 31 Dec, 1939  3. Flottille (front boat) 1 Jan, 1940 - 30 Apr, 1940  1. Flottille (front boat) 1 May, 1940 - 30 Jun, 1940  1. U-Ausbildungsflottille (school boat) 1 Jul, 1940 - 30 Sep, 1942  21. Flottille (school boat) 1 Oct, 1942 - 10 Sep, 1944  30. Flottille (front boat)
Successes	13 ships sunk for a total of 30.067 GRT 1 ship damaged for a total of 1.846 GRT 2 ships a total loss for a total of 8.446 GRT
Fate	Scuttled at 2130hrs on 10 Sept, 1944 off the coast of Turkey in the Black Sea in position 41.10N, 30.47E.

See the 16 ships hit by U-20 - View the 17 war patrols

Attacks on this boat

General notes on this boat

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-20 did not suffer any casualties (we know of) until the time of her loss.

German U-Boat Losses During World War II Niestle, Axel Buy this title at amazon.co.uk See more sellers

Books dealing with this subject include: German U-Boat Losses During World War II, Niestle, Axel, 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 ... see more Naval books

There was another U-20 in World War One
That boat was launched from its shipyard on 18 Dec, 1912 and commissioned into the Imperial Navy on 5 Aug, 1913. The Naval war in WWI was brought to an end with the Armistice signed on 11 Nov, 1918. Read about the U 20 during WWI.