WWI U-boats
U 27
| Type | U 27 | ||||
| Shipyard | Kaiserliche Werft, Danzig (Werk 17) | ||||
| Ordered | 19 Feb 1912 | ||||
| Launched | 14 Jul 1913 | ||||
| Commissioned | 8 May 1914 | ||||
| Commanders |
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| Career | 3 patrols | ||||
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| Successes | 10 ships sunk with a total of 31,120 tons. 2 warships sunk with a total of 6,325 tons. (View ships hit by U 27) | ||||
| Fate | 19 Aug 1915 - Sunk by gunfire from Q-Ship Baralong in Western Approaches 5043N 0722W. 37 dead (all hands lost). | ||||
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 U 27 from WWII.