WWI U-boats

U 27

 

Type

U 27

Shipyard Kaiserliche Werft, Danzig  (Werk 17)
Ordered 19 Feb 1912 Laid down  
Launched 14 Jul 1913 Commissioned 8 May 1914 
Commanders
1 Aug 1914 - 19 Aug 1915   Bernd Wegener
Career 3 patrols
1 Aug 1914 - 19 Aug 1915 IV Flotilla
Successes11 ships sunk for a total of 32,385 tons.
1 warship sunk for a total of 5,600 tons. 
Fate 19 Aug 1915 - Sunk by gunfire from Q-Ship Baralong in Western Approaches 5043N 0722W. 37 dead (all hands lost). 

See the 12 ships hit by U 27

On 18 October, 1914 the British U-boat E3 was torpedoed and sunk in the North Sea by the German U-boat U 27. This was the first decisive fight between U-boats in the First World War.

This boat was sunk by the Q-Ship HMS Baralong (Lieutenant Godfrey Herbert RN). Herbert ordered that all German survivors, among them the commander of SM U 27, should be executed on the spot. Although the British Admiralty tried to keep this event a secret, news spread to Germany and the infamous "Baralong incident" - a war crime which was never prosecuted - had its share in promoting cruelty at sea.


There was another U 27 in World War Two
That boat was launched from its shipyard on 24 Jun 1936 and commissioned into the Kriegsmarine on 12 Aug 1936. Take a look at the U 27 from WWII.

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