Type | VIIA | |||||||||||||||||
| Ordered | 1 Apr 1935 | |||||||||||||||||
| Laid down | 1 Mar 1936 | AG Weser, Bremen (werk 912) | ||||||||||||||||
| Launched | 25 Sep 1936 | |||||||||||||||||
| Commissioned | 28 Dec 1936 | Kptlt. Rolf Dau | ||||||||||||||||
| Commanders |
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| Career 7 patrols |
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| Successes | 11 ships sunk, total tonnage 27,751 GRT 2 auxiliary warships sunk, total tonnage 160 GRT 1 warship damaged, total tonnage 33,950 tons | |||||||||||||||||
| Fate | Sunk on March 11, 1940 in Jadebusen by bombs from British Bristol Blenheim aircraft (RAF Bomber Command). 58 dead (all hands lost). She was raised in March 1940, repaired and returned to service. Sunk again on November 2, 1940 NW of Ireland by depth charges from the British destroyer HMS Antelope. 2 dead and 44 survivors. | |||||||||||||||||
| Loss position | ||||||||||||||||||
Attacks on this boat
29 Sep 1940
An unknown enemy submarine fired two torpedoes at U-31. The boat escaped by the narrowest of margins.
20 Oct 1940
A British submarine fired torpedoes at U-31 off Lorient, but without success.
2 recorded attacks on this boat.
General notes on this boat
16 Sep 1939. This boat, under the command of Kptlt. Johannes Habekost, attacked the first convoy in the war on 16 Sept, 1939 when she sank the British steamer Aviemore, part of convoy OB-4.
Men lost from U-boats
Unlike many other U-boats, which during their service lost men due to accidents and various other causes, U-31 did not suffer any casualties (we know of) until the time of her loss.
U-boat Emblems
We have 1 emblem entry for this boat! See the emblem page for this boat or view each one below.
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Media links
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There was another U-31 in World War One
That boat was launched from its shipyard on 7 Jan 1914 and commissioned into the Imperial Navy on 18 Sep 1914. The Naval war in WWI was brought to an end with the Armistice signed on 11 Nov, 1918. Read about the U 31 during WWI.