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U-34

Type

VIIA

 
Ordered25 Mar, 1935
Laid down 15 Sep, 1935 Germaniawerft, Kiel (werk 557)
Launched17 Jul, 1936
Commissioned12 Sep, 1936Kptlt. Ernst Sobe
Commanders
12 Sep, 1936 - 14 Feb, 1938   Ernst Sobe
4 Nov, 1936 - 22 Dec, 1936   Harald Grosse
15 Feb, 1938 - 17 Aug, 1938   Hans Pauckstadt
5 Sep, 1938 - 28 Oct, 1938   Hans Pauckstadt
26 Oct, 1938 - 28 Sep, 1940  Kptlt. Wilhelm Rollmann (Knights Cross)
29 Sep, 1940 - 22 May, 1941  Oblt. Fritz Meyer
23 May, 1941 - 19 Nov, 1941   Karl-Otto Schultz
20 Nov, 1941 - 15 Jun, 1942   Gerhard Remus
16 Jun, 1942 - 1 Feb, 1943  Oblt. Horst-Arno Fenski (Knights Cross)
2 Feb, 1943 - 11 Jun, 1943   Karl-Heinz Hagenau
12 Jun, 1943 - 5 Aug, 1943  Ltn. Eduard Aust
Career7 patrols 12 Sep, 1936 - 31 Aug, 1939  2. Flottille (front boat)
1 Sep, 1939 - 31 Dec, 1939  2. Flottille (front boat)
1 Jan, 1940 - 30 Sep, 1940  2. Flottille (front boat)
1 Oct, 1940 - 1 Nov, 1940  21. Flottille (school boat)
2 Nov, 1940 - 5 Aug, 1943  24. Flottille (training)
Successes19 ships sunk for a total of 91.989 GRT
3 warships sunk for a total of 2.365 tons
2 ships captured for a total of 4.957 GRT
Fate

Sank at 2155hrs on 5 August, 1943 at Memel in position 55.42N, 21.09E after a collision with the U-boat submarine tender Lech. 4 dead and 39 survivors.

See the 24 ships hit by U-34 - View the 7 war patrols

The boat was raised again on 24 Aug, 1943 and stricken on 8 Sept, 1943.

General notes on this boat

U-34, in 1936, took a supervisory part in the German Operation Ursula in Spanish waters during the Civil War there. The boat, then under the command of Kptlt. Harald Grosse, sank the Spanish submarine C-3 on 12 Dec, 1936. Read our article on the incident.

Men lost from U-boats

Unlike many other U-boats, which during their service lost men due to accidents and various other causes, U-34 did not suffer any casualties (we know of) until the time of her loss.



Submarines versus U-boats

Jones, Geoffrey

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Books dealing with this subject include:

German U-Boat Losses During World War II, Niestle, Axel, 1998
Submarines versus U-boats, Jones, Geoffrey, 1986
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-34 in World War One
That boat was launched from its shipyard on 9 May, 1914 and commissioned into the Imperial Navy on 5 Oct, 1914. The Naval war in WWI was brought to an end with the Armistice signed on 11 Nov, 1918. Read about the U 34 during WWI.